Certain things get circle jerked, but im gonna keep stroking it for darn tough socks. I started wearing them almost a decade ago, literally daily, and I swear I have only purchased maybe 20 pairs max (I think its around 15 tho) in that time. They last forever.
Ya my mom asked me why I would buy expensive socks and I told her, “I don’t have to buy socks ever again for the rest of my life. They have a lifetime guarantee and can be replaced when damaged.” She thought about that then said it would be a good gift for my step dad.
I own 18 pairs of darn tough socks! I just sent 7 pairs back last month and received 7 brand new ones! I never have to buy another pair of socks again!
Wait a second. I get the value of a lifetime warranty is quite something, but these socks are $20+ a pair. That seems crazy. I paid that for a 6 pack of adidas socks I've been wearing for 10 years and maybe worn 1 pair out.
Edit: Ya'll convinced me. I'm gonna look at getting a pair of darn toughs to give'em a try. I appreciate all the comments.
The most comfortable socks I have ever owned, and they make different cushion patterns and thicknesses for basically whatever way you prefer. Cotton/Poly socks feel like sandpaper to my feet now
I never thought I'd care about socks until I got a pair of nice Patagonia merino socks about ten years ago. Now almost all my socks are wool. It's a huge difference
They are great socks, I started wearing them until I found smartwool. I wish they were as durable as darn tough, but my feet get hot and sweat. Smartwool are much cooler but don't last nearly as long. I think i've only gotten 1 hole in a darn tough sock, my smart wools have probably have 4 now after about 4 years. I think the darn tough I actually caught a nail coming up from a wooden floor too.
I would say no, at least they should wick moisture better than regular cotton. They are a bit thicker than most so maybe more insulation. My feet just get sweaty and I think the smartwool are a bit thinner. Wool tends to help socks wick moisture better, and keep them from smelling as well. The nylon I think helps them dry faster too. I haven't worn regular cotton socks or boxers in years, and i could never be convinced to go back. I've been slowly switching away from cotton tshirts as well.
I own maybe 10 pairs and it’s 99.9% of what I wear for socks. Occasionally I’ll wear smart wool, or some cozier Icelandic wool socks in deep winter, but the Darn Toughs are the best by far. So worth the money.
I've tried a lot and done a lot of hiking. I don't live in the US so the prices for them are even higher. Darn toughs are fantastic, most of my family uses them now too and everyone here moves around a lot, working with forestry or just walking a lot.
If I can I will keep buying darn toughs til the day I die.
I’ve owned Darn Tough socks for several years now and can attest to the good build quality, but unfortunately they are just too narrow and tight for me. I recently switched to some toe socks from Creepers, and although they are not built darn tough, they are definitely much more comfortable for me. If only DT would make toe socks themselves…
Darn Tough acknowledged they are narrow, which they spun into a business: https://wideopensocks.com/ I just bought my first pair 3 months ago, and its size is fantastic compared to the narrow DT sock. They don't have alot of options though, probably not enough business to drive item type diversity yet.
That’s great. It’s a shame the only thing my current toe socks are missing (over the calf option) is also missing for this brand. I’ll definitely keep an eye out though.
I've got three pairs, I rotate through them every day wearing slip-ons shoes or boots, and occasionally just walking around in just my socks. Amazon history says I bought them in 2018 and they all look basically new - no wear, no thinning, no holes. Still are tight too, no saggyness or loose threads.
Sure, say what you will, but I bought 8 pairs about 12 years and 4 are still in great shape and the other 4 pairs were replaced by warranty after daily wear.
good summer and hiking socks, but give me Smartwool any day for snowsports. darn tough just can't hold up first to last chair, I normally have to swap halfway through the day
I’ve bought 8 pairs of darn tough socks over the past decade and I just had to replace the first pair. Took it to a shoe store that sold darn tough and they exchanged them no questions asked. I’ll always buy darn toughs
Damn you cant even buy a new pair after a decade of use? I get that they have a lifetime warranty and all, but they deserve that new purchase at that point IMO
Sure, that’s why I bought 8 more pairs. I keep supporting them but I’m gonna take advantage of the free warranty if it’s given to me. I've also advertised this to many people and i'm sure that they've made sales off of this.
If there's a warranty and you're within the warranty period, there's no reason not to take advantage of it - whether it's 5 years or 50 years. If they didn't want to deal with returns, then they'd get rid of it - like LLBean did.
I had an Eastpak backpack I used all through high school, college and several camping and hiking trips. Sent it in for repair/ warranty service and even after all that time the fixed it up new for free.
Same with my Benchmade edc knife. Used and abused for years. Sent in and they fixed it up/ sharpened for free.
You're definitely paying for that lifetime warranty with Benchmade. I will never feel the slightest amount of guilt sending one of their knives in for service & repair 😬
I have a couple pair and really like them, but was surprised when I picked up a pair of smart wools on a trip and found the cushioning to be better to me.
Agreed. I was hesitant to spend what I spent on them, but I'm tough on my shoes/socks/feet due to my job. I have two pairs I cycle through each week and they've been through a lot, but are still going strong 2 years later.
They're merino wool. They don't need to be washed all that often. They do not retain odor. I doubted the claim at first, but trust me, my feet could kill an ox at 20 yards after some days, but the socks are odor free.
I do wash them twice a week, though, just because I can't bring myself to wear them longer than a few days in a row without skeeving myself out. Odor aside, they still absorb sweat and dead skin.
ETA: I do have more than two pairs of socks. I just wear those two for work. Regular cotton for home.
They are Marino Wool so you can get away with wearing them several days consecutively without them smelling. Marino wool has natural antibacterial and odor-resistant properties. Just leave them to dry at night and you are good to go.
my personal best was 98,600 on a long ass hike with lots of hills and elevation changes after a full day workin the farm and walkin the fields.
Wore timberland hiking boots.
Ended up with a microtear in my left achilles that I still feel almost 10 years later. I remember thinking back then, "Well I'll probably feel this for the rest of my life." So far I've been right. Also had a bilster that covered the back of that left foot and basically theskin on the heel/achilies region just sloughed off.
The right foot and leg was 100% fine tho, totally weird
my left leg is 3/4 of an inch shorter than my right and yes, it causes me back pain and sciatica now that I'm older. I use 2 foot pad thingies in my left shoe to make up the difference which helps a LOT
i mean, my feet hurt and there was the smallest sharp pain in my achilles but it wasn't like, omg-this-is-terrible kind of bad. But also when you're like 15 miles from your car you don't really have a choice but to keep heading back
I walked in 6 30 mile walk-a-thons back when walk-a-thons were a thing. Ages 13 to 16. Only took me 7 hours to stroll 30 miles, 81k is 50 miles, that seems easily doable in a day. Most healthy adults should be able to do it.
Walking is us human's super power, we can walk further, for a longer time than almost any other animal. Primitive man would just walk down their prey over the course of a day or two then attack when they become exhausted.
I think it was the elevation change that was the final nail in the coffin. Tonnes and tonnes of hills which stretched and stressed my heel to the breaking point
I did a 100 mile run once, didn’t take care of my feet and the bottoms of both feet peeled off in the perfect shape of my feet. Let me tell you, walking on completely peeled, blistered feet is not a good time. Lost a few toenails too.
Moral of the story, care for your feet on long hikes and runs. That’ll get you quicker than anything else.
my personal best was 98,600 on a long ass hike with lots of hills and elevation changes after a full day workin the farm and walkin the fields.
This sounds fun and doable, I've to try this.
Wore timberland hiking boots.
I've timberland boots! I'm doing this!
Ended up with a microtear in my left achilles that I still feel almost 10 years later. I remember thinking back then, "Well I'll probably feel this for the rest of my life." So far I've been right.
On a second thought, maybe this is not a good idea...
Also had a bilster that covered the back of that left foot and basically theskin on the heel/achilies region just sloughed off.
Nope, I'm staying with my 10,000 Steps a day. That's more than fine.
I worked til noon then went hiking. Think it was 5 hours one way, made some food n chilled by the lake for an hour, then 5 hours back to the car. Summer up north is light til like 11 so it was just barely dark when I got to my car just before 10 or so.
Even if it was 30 miles, you end up with a step size of under 20 inches. Which is small. Hope I’m not irritating you, the distance is amazing. My mind just can’t wrap itself around the number of steps. Maybe the device miscalculated?
Whatever, still a great distance. Most of my hikes have been upwards and downwards, so there was very little distance covered, but with high elevations. Those are taxing.
I worked an outdoor cannabis farm. We had to hoe the entire quarter section (1/2 mile x 1/2 mile) by hand because machine and pesticides aren't approved for outdoor cannabis use in Canada. There were 12 rows of plants per strain and we had 4 of those, then the entire 2nd half was 48 rows of a single strain but we did that the next day. That's 48 half miles by lunch. Plus the ~25 mile hike in the afternoon and evening. And yes I used miles even though I'm a canuck because that's how farmers fields and grid roads are measured and it's easy for me. An average day for me was 4-60000 steps so the 100k wasn't crazy. How's that mathing for ya?
I use sketchers, only hit 100k steps once and it was really uncomfortable. I walk around 30k steps per day and go through trainers around every 6 months but they are comfortable and I don't get blisters often. 75k steps for long walks seems more comfortable for me. Breaks when you need and food/water when you need. Also going before the sun is too hot. I've found it's great for my mental health and having some time just to breathe.
Do you find they need a break in period? I just got a pair of Skechers for working on my feet and after only a single day my entire legs were screaming.
I did at the beginning for walking and had breaks, worked up to 30k. Trainers and feet wise, I think I've made my feet harder from prior blisters as I'm sure at the very beginning I got more blisters too. When I get a new pair of trainers I alternate the days with my old ones for a few days and put thick fluffy socks that I tore up behind my heel to try prevent new ones forming. Some people recommend stretching before and after to help with your screaming legs too.
I walked slightly above 100km (with light hiking backpack on a trail) in 24h once while doing a thru hike (Start point for the stretch was around Burney, CA to Mt. Shasta). I was wearing injinji toe socks, darn toughs outside that and then finally altra lone peaks. Can recommend that setup.
Here are my feet and legs at the midway point and my shoes after.
This is really cool seeing his list, thank you for posting. I like camping and dual sport camping and travel a lot for work so have also tried to hone down options like this. It is really interesting as I have a somewhat similar just not so refined list. I used to wear darn tough and switched to smart wool (not as durable), I've tried the uniqlo, was ultimately wearing exofficio, and have now switched to deluth armachillo (for the same reason i switched to smart wool socks). For top I like smartwool and patagonia shirts (under armor actually aren't bad but can stink after a bit), I need to check out 50/50 shirts he lists as they seem similar in material to the patagonia i like but significantly cheaper (although i buy through sierra and cheapandsteap).
I also have an REI down jacket I got during one of their sales on a markdown rack for like $70. Been looking for a hooded one but damn the prices now are super high.
I broke my ankle and had surgery 5 months ago. I wanted a good shoe for backpacking through Asia and did my research. Couldn’t be happier so far and really glad to see professionals over here liking them too.
Don’t walk in Crocs. Go to a shoe store and try on a few of their OnCloud shoes, they are well-engineered and don’t break the bank. If you want to walk for hours and have your shoes float with you gracefully, treat yo self to the good stuff. You deserve it, walking is so healthy
I work in construction and people always laugh when I tell them about how much my redwings cost ($200-$400) but don't understand how comfortable they are. I spend most of my day in those boots my back and feet definitely thank me.
Not to sound like a shill but I love my Red Wing boots too! I've worn them for years hiking and in the snow and whatnot and they're so comfortable and still look new. Think I only paid $170 for them. I will always invest in a good pair of shoes or boots.
People that laugh at that price have never experienced good boots. The supple interior glove leather of a quality boot feels fucking amazing.
Besides, $200-$400 isn't even expensive for boots, just the bare minimum you should expect to pay for quality that holds up. You'd go through 2-3 pairs of cheap boots before a mid-range boot from a credible brand starts to fall apart. And even then, you could likely just have them resoled instead of replacing altogether.
200-400 is the bare minimum. Sheesh someone has a lot of money. You sound like one of those office chair guys who swears you must buy a herman miller or nothing.
I used to feel this way too but after many years of experimenting and listening to older more experienced and successful people I have splurged and my feet feel wonderful. It’s not that they are expensive the emphasis is on the damage your body experiences when buying shoes built wrong.
How have they held up? Do you perform aftercare on them regularly? Are the soles orignal? I'm genuinely curious. I walk 9 miles a day at work, and my boots definitely have good wear on them. They were wolverines. I think they've held up real well considering what they've seen and that they were only a bit above $100. However, if a good boot can genuinely last longer and actually take a load off of my back, great.
I feell half of the battle is just getting a good foot pad, though. Whether orthopedic or not. I'm not too worried about the boots looking pretty after a time so long as they function just as good.
$200-$400 is an absolute bargain for good boots. Good boots that lasted for 5+ years of daily wear are easily worth $2000 or more. Like if people understood value and paid accordingly Red Wing could EASILY charge that much, they are -10x cause of sheer idiocy.
Yeah I have a pair of burnsides I am waiting to wear again as I need to get them repaired again. I want to say they cost around $350 after tax but I have owned them for 8 years...
Hahah right on, I’ll tell a quick story as a vote of confidence in your Crocs:
We went hiking in the Thai highlands. A bus took us & a group to a spot; a guide took us into the mountains, where we slept in a little village with people so remote that they actually speak a different language from Thai.
We had to make our way over some insane landscapes to get into the mountains; there’s tons of moisture in Thailand even outside of monsoon season, and there was lots of slippery terrain. Everyone in the group had on some solid footwear… except the guide. That little Thai machine, such a champ, he was wearing knock-off crocs with no socks. I constantly looked at his feet, unable to determine whether I was more jealous or impressed.
Sure enough, I went on a hike of my own, inspired by that guy’s footwear. Crocs don’t suck until you’re 4-5 hours into the hike, that’s when they make themselves known.
Seconding the OnCloud hype - I regularly hike long distances at the weekend (30 miles +) and alternate between some barefoot boots (I love my Vivo Barefoot Forest Esc's - done about 1200 miles in them so far) or, when I know I have a lot of hardened/man made surfaces to walk on; I wear my On CloudRock's and they are seriously comfortable
There's any fitness Youtuber named "Will Tennyson" who has a full video doing this a few years ago. His ankles were bleeding fairly early into it, and he got permanent knee injuries from it.
I wanna know how he went 3RD person near the end there. Did someone just randomly join him for 5 seconds late at night that he didn’t bother acknowledging?
On a day I was released from military prison in Tzrifin, I was discharged with no socks, just a pair of old Chinese-made shoes with no shoelaces (everything that looks like a rope is confiscated upon entry, and they didn't return my stuff) I walked to Jerusalem, close to the market. It's probably something like 60km. (I had no money to buy a bus ticket.)
Took me the whole day, and I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. Also, I wasn't in a great shape after half an year sitting on my ass doing nothing. Pretty sure anyone in their 20s could do that. The quality of shoes or socks doesn't matter.
I'm not him but did about 110k in a day once and wore Merrell Moab FSTs with a pair of injini toe socks and darn toughs over them.
Would recommend the gear, not the activity!
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u/fastgr 6d ago
I wanna know what shoes he's wearing.