Buying the Perfect Hiking Socks

If you suspect that purchasing a couple of hill climbing boots is tough, then just wait till it comes to getting an acceptable pair of hiking socks.Now socks are socks, right? Well, when it comes to hiking, grabbing any old pair of sports socks out of the drawer simply won’t work. Sadly, sports socks aren’t hiking socks and you don’t want to wear the same socks that you use for jogging or playing soccer when you head off on a lengthy hike.

Good hiking sock have to be comfortable but they also have to be thick and really hard wearing with superb thermal and moisture-wicking properties. Remember that, even if you’re just hiking modest distances at the weekends, you may probably cover getting on for 1,000 miles in a year and you should be expecting a great pair of hiking socks to last almost that distance.

Most significantly, you want your socks to provide you with comfort for that 1,000 miles. Problems like chafing, blisters other foot damage can quickly turn a 2 or 3 mile hike back to your automobile into sheer pain if your socks are not up to the job.

Good moisture-wicking is also an essential. ‘Wicking ‘ is a technique like that supplied by the wick in an old school oil lamp and basically means drawing sweat off the outer surface of your feet to keep them dry. If your socks do not do this, you’ll develop chafing, blisters, fungi and other less pleasant results. And, if you’re worrying about bad smelling feet, this will be a small problem – we’re talking about real health issues here.

Whether you’re spending lots of time hiking, or merely undertaking short walks at the weekend, you may also need good thermal properties from your socks. In hot weather your socks have to conduct heat away from your foot and out through your boot and, in chilly weather conditions, they need to keep your feet at a cushty temperature.

It’d seem strange to suspect that one pair of socks could deal with both cold and hot conditions, but modern materials and producing technology suggests that this is indeed possible today.

A good place to begin when looking out for a pair of hiking socks is to start with cotton, which is one of nature’s materials that offers the range of features you’re looking for. Nevertheless clever engineers have now managed to improve on Mother Nature and mixes,eg Lycra, wool and others, mixed with micro-geometry producing, can also produce hiking socks with great support and comfort, fantastic thermal control and superior moisture-wicking.

All hiking socks should ideally have thickened areas around the toe, ankle and heel as these are the area that will get the maximum wear. You should also make sure that there aren’t any ridges, particularly near the toes or at the ankle bone. Ridges can irritate your feet as fast as a stone in your boot. Socks also should be long enough to come well above the top of your boot so they can be folded down.

All socks will lose pliancy at the top and regularly folding them down OTT of the boot is necessary to stop them sliding inside the boot as you walk. In spite of this fact, you must still try and buy socks which won’t lose their flexibility too fast.

Hiking socks aren’t cheap and you may expect to pay $10 a pair, or even more, for a fair pair. However, this is one investment that, like your hill-climbing boots, is really worth the cost and you should arm yourself with at least 3 or pairs of hiking socks and always carry one spare pair with you in your back-pack.

Read some more about adventure hiking trail and best hiking shoes. Visit http://hikingtripsandtrails.com/.