Long Term Report

Teko EcoMerino Wool Light Hiking Socks
Long Term Report
February 7, 2006

Biographical Information

Product Information

Field Test

Product Review

Summary

Front view of socks

Biographical Information
Name	Jennifer Pope
Age	25
Gender	Female
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Weight	140 lb (64 kg)
Shoe size	Women's 8 US
Email address	Jennifer dot Pope at gmail dot com
Location	Los Angeles, CA
Backpacking Background Intermediate. I've been a car-camper as long as I can remember and started backpacking in Northern California when I was 16. I've been backpacking for a little over a year after a hiatus during college. I backpack in the Sierras as well as other National Forests and Parks in the Los Angeles vicinity. I also spend time in the California deserts and the mountains and coast of Northern California. I'm a tent camper leaning towards lightweight; but I'm also a fan of gadgets and I like being comfortable. I also frequently day hike close to home and while car camping.

Product Information (back to top)
Manufacturer	Teko
Manufacturer URL	http://www.tekosocks.com/
Year of Manufacture	2005
Fabric Content	58% Merino Wool, 25% Ecopoly Recycled Polyester, 14% nylon, 3% Lycra
Color	Sky with moon mist (light blue and gray) (also available in golden green with moon mist and black with moon mist)
Size tested	medium
Actual Weight	2.7 oz (77 g) per pair
MSRP	$16.95 US
Guarantee	one-year satisfaction guarantee
Care Instructions	Machine wash warm inside-out, tumble dry low, no iron, no bleach

For more details on this item please see my Initial and Field Reports.

Field Testing Information (back to top)

These socks have been used in the Los Angeles area in elevations from sea level to 500 ft (150 m). Temperatures were mild ranging in the 60s to 80 F (15 to 25 C). These socks were also used in a forested area at elevations up to 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Temperatures there were chilly in the 30s and 40s (15 to 25 C) while the socks were in use there. Precipitation was nonexistent on all trips. I also wore the socks for everyday wear in urban environments as well as to the gym on several occasions.

Product Review (back to top)

Comfort
These socks are so comfortable to wear. They’re cushy and plush. I’ve said before and I still stick by it- they are comfortable enough to wear as slippers and I do this often. They are cozy and warm.

Fit
The only complaint I could think of is that the toe is a little oversized. The sock doesn’t taper down on the pinky toe side like my foot does. But that’s really a minor nitpick; it doesn’t make the sock uncomfortable to wear by any means. The top of the sock fits snugly around my calf. It’s a little tight (it does leave a slight indentation in my calf when I take the socks off) but it never slides down. I can’t think of a time when I ever had to hike the sock back up while hiking; I don’t think it happened once.

I also really like the “gathers” around the middle and arch of my foot. This feels like it give my foot some extra support. It’s also very comfortable.

I wear a shoe size 8.5 US (women’s) which falls right in the middle of the range these socks are supposed to fit (women’s 6-10 US). There seems to be a little bit of extra room in the socks and they do have some stretch to them.

Performance
This is probably the most important consideration for these socks (for me anyway) and the socks shined here as well. I was surprised that such a thick sock didn’t make my feet sweat. It’s hard to say whether my feet would have been sweating if I were wearing different socks but I really didn’t have a problem with hot feet at any time during the test. I’ve worn the socks mostly over the winter months but these past few weeks have been downright warm here (high of 86 F/30 C today!). This is my first experience with merino wool socks and I really think this materials works great in socks. This probably surprised me the most about these socks. I was really hesitant to wear them where I knew it would be hot. My fears proved to be completely unfounded.

I also never had a problem with blisters at any time. I wore these socks with liners once or twice but that really wasn’t necessary for me. The socks performed fine on their own.

Care
The care instructions are simple enough, wash inside out and tumble dry on low. I probably washed the socks inside out about half of the time and used my dryers regular heat setting. I haven’t had any major problems with the socks’ durability or any fading whatsoever. I mentioned a minor issue of some fuzz developing on the sock in my Field Report; that has not worsened any since then. It’s also a minor nitpick since you can only see the fuzz close-up anyway.

Summary (back to top)

As I said in the beginning I love these socks. I will most definitely keep wearing them and when they do wear out I will definitely buy a new pair (but that seems to be a ways off). I’m also looking forward to trying other versions of these socks (I think the ankle socks would be great for the gym). I will definitely keep looking for Teko products in the future. As an added bonus they’re a “green” company and environmentalism is important to me.

My only suggestion is that I wish the socks came in more colors. I’d like a tan or more neutral color in addition to my blue ones.

Many thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and to Teko for introducing me to a great new sock!

Read more reviews of Teko gear
Read more gear reviews by Jennifer Pope

Reviews > Clothing > Socks > Teko Eco Merino Light Hiking Socks > Jennifer Pope > Long Term Report

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