Communications

Tech Spun Sock System

Sophisticated sock system

The previously reviewed Smartwool socks are great when worn with a lightweight capilene or polypro liner, and they are my standard day-hiking sock. But when I go into the mountains for a couple of days wearing serious mountaineering boots, Smartwool socks don’t cut it. My feet are always too warm and too moist as it is, and this combined with an insulated, solid boot tends to compress the wool socks, which makes the boot fit more loosely, which leads to all sorts of bad foot juju.

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The solution: Techspun Environmental Sock Systems (yeah, right). They use a Coolmax liner and a wool/polypro outer sock. They will not collapse. Period. So no blisters. They also keep my feet drier than any other sock system I’ve tried.

They have two weights, choose the one you need based on temperature and load. Unless you’re humping loads in military conditions or on Denail, you can probably get away with the “All Weather” version.

-- Chris Kantarjiev 03/4/11

(Note: While the TechSpun website may indicate otherwise, hiking forums indicate that the effect can be, at least in part, imitated by pairing any Coolmax liner (like the previously reviewed Injinji toe socks) and a thick wool sock.-- OH — editors)

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