The Right Socks: A Party in Your Boots

The Skirts have been hiking religiously for nearly seven months now and one thing I’ve learned is that we’re learning new things every day. You all may have picked up on the fact that one of the things I love about my new-found sportiness is shopping for gear.

We like the light hiking sock from REI

Through my shopping I’ve made a crucial discovery in the hiking sock.

I admit it. I was a naysayer. I thought “a sock is a sock” so why pay ten bucks more? I was wrong. There. I said it. Wrong. (Editor’s note: Jill was neither pressured nor given incentives for this admission) I had a gift card to REI and thought why not buy something I ordinarily would not buy. Hiking socks it is!

I’ve worn the special socks out on the trails a couple of times now and am now an evangelical member of the Church of the Hiking Sock. Here’s the thing, my Oboz boots are awesome and get more comfortable every time I wear them. But the reality is, and a podiatrist would likely confirm, that my feet have suffered from a decade of wearing heels to work. Depending on the terrain, I was experiencing pain from my foot rubbing against the inside of my left boot. I figured all I needed to do was put in more time breaking in my boots.

But then, I wore the hiking socks. They were like a party in my boots. Not only do the socks, made with wool, provide extra warmth, they also provide extra cushion. I no longer felt the rubbing pain in my left boot. There was a new spring in my step.

Bottom line, it’s worth the extra money and making space in your sock drawer to have a few pairs of hiking socks.  And if you are shopping for a hiker this holiday season, I cannot think of another kind of gear that you really can’t have enough of. Get some and get out on the trail with them and you’ll join me in singing the praises of this crucial hiking item.