Toe socks

[Dennis]

How are these going to keep your feet warm during long hikes? Do you use them during Winter? Don't the toes wear out fast?

I can definitely see the comfort aspect, but I can't see myself wearing them for prolonged hikes or even in 32 F weather. Hmmmm...

What are they made of? And don't they increase the width of your feet inside the shoes?

EDIT
And NO, you can not keep me out of a socks thread!

I wear them hiking too. They saved my hiking I would say as I had a lot of blister problems before discovering Injinjis. The ones I have are thin (tan in color as well) so I use them as a liner sock with Vermont Darn Tough socks over them. The socks keep down friction between toes which greatly reduces blistering for me. It is the same principle as taping. I will sometimes use lubrication or powder as well inside the socks. (See Fixing Your Feet)

Injinjis have no seam - they are one unit from bottom to top. They make several models afaik, and the ones I have are a synthetic of some kind like Coolmax or similar - there is no tag in the sock as I just checked a pair. I've put over 3 hiking seasons on my socks and they are just now to the point where I need to order some more. They are quite durable. The toes do not wear out in my experience.

As far as changing the foot volume, sure it does to some extent. It is the same thing as wearing a liner sock and an oversock on top like many runners do. My hiking shoes are Lowas and have enough volume to take the two socks. I also size my hiking shoes about 1 size up as feet swell under hiking conditions. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

 

[Rossmeister]

It's true that most of my walking was city-only. I forgot to mention that I was wearing the winterized version of the socks (composed at least partially of wool) most of the time, though I didn't like them as the material "moved" more around my feet and felt like they would have encouraged blisters over time. I did have a couple pairs of the regular version which I used almost exclusively in Halden, where I did a bit of "off-roading," though nothing serious.

The summer prior to that, I went on a ~40km backpacking trip with >2500m of elevation change while carrying a 20kg pack--the socks held up fine and ultimately convinced me that I'd switch to using them almost exclusively. In your typical winters however, I would wear a normal boot sock for any serious expeditioning, though I would consider using the Injinjis as a base layer.

I'd never use a synthetic as a base layer IF it was very cold. As a matter of fact, I usually prefer to use synthetics as base layers on my feet of the temperature permits, as it helps against blisters, which I get very easily.

In that way, I can see the toe socks alleviating toe blisters, but I usually get them on my heels. And I can see why the Winter versions would slip more, as less synthetics and more wool tends to do that, unfortunately.

And wow, that looks like one heck of a trip. 20 kilos all the way is impressive too. So am I to understand you walked the Kalalau Trail back and forth? How long did it take you?

Thanks for sharing!

 

[wrl]

I'd never use a synthetic as a base layer IF it was very cold. As a matter of fact, I usually prefer to use synthetics as base layers on my feet of the temperature permits, as it helps against blisters, which I get very easily.

In that way, I can see the toe socks alleviating toe blisters, but I usually get them on my heels. And I can see why the Winter versions would slip more, as less synthetics and more wool tends to do that, unfortunately.

And wow, that looks like one heck of a trip. 20 kilos all the way is impressive too. So am I to understand you walked the Kalalau Trail back and forth? How long did it take you?

Thanks for sharing!

The pack weight varied, as I would be carrying 3-4 liters of water at any given time, plus food was largely depleted on the return trip. My group members' packs were a bit lighter. ~8 hours in and ~6 hours back out with 5 days in between. Amazing throughout, highly recommended! I plan to do it again this summer.

 

[Doc4]

How are these going to keep your feet warm during long hikes? Do you use them during Winter? Don't the toes wear out fast?

I can definitely see the comfort aspect, but I can't see myself wearing them for prolonged hikes or even in 32 F weather. Hmmmm...

What are they made of? And don't they increase the width of your feet inside the shoes?

EDIT
And NO, you can not keep me out of a socks thread!

They are made of cotton, not wool, so you probably won't ever buy any.

I have some injiji ones for wearing with Vibram 5fingers, which is pretty much a summer sort of thing, so I can't say they would be worthwhile in winter, unless you have footwear that you are comfortable wearing with other thin socks. (The in-between-toe construction basically limits the socks to thin material.)

That thinness of the material keeps the width-increase to a minimum ... almost nothing. I wouldn't wear them with already-tight-toed shoes, but otherwise they are fine.

I find that if I go for a prolonged hike in anything above very cold weather, proper layering (including long underwear if cold) and decent boots makes heavy socks unnecessary for insulation purposes, provided you actually keep moving rather than stand around a lot.

 

[life2short1971]

here's mine

 

[The Pontificator]

My college girlfriend had a pair of those - in 1977.

Ditto.