Advice for Walking Socks
Whether you're planning a 20km hike or a leisurely stroll along a coastal track, your passion for the great outdoors is unrelenting.
When the longer spring days arrive, there is nothing more rewarding than hitting the paths or hillsides armed with a day pack and an OS map. It warms the cockles of your heart.
SHOP - HIKING SOCKS
But one thing is essential and that's the right gear for the job. A quick stroll along the high street rarely creates any major issues, but a longer power walk does require some thinking about the gear you wear and never more so than for your feet....you need to look after them.
This is one of the biggest topics of conversation we have yet so little attention is given to this massive problem. It can be totally debilitating and end up ruining your activity for days so it should never be taken lightly. As the saying goes...."put your feet first".
You've probably spent a fair penny on your shoes but without a decent pair of socks to wear, no footwear will work well and when you're 10 miles from the nearest relief point, you'll wish you had given it more thought.
Here at Baselayer™ we specialise in ensuring your walking comfort is catered for from head to toe....literally.
For socks, you can't do much better than Smartwool and Bridgedale who make some of the best walking and hiking socks around using totally Organic manufacturing processes and adopting truly ethical sourcing making them one of the greenest sock manufacturers around.
You won't get a Merino Wool sock that is 100% wool. Wool needs some help and when it comes to socks, the best percentage of wool is probably unlikely to exceed 75% and in most cases probably more like 40 to 60% with the remaining fabric being made up of Nylon™ for durability and Lycra™ or other similar elasticated product for shape and fit. The rule of thumb is usually the thicker they are, the more wool content there's likely to be. This is called the "Volume".
The Bridgedale® Liner Socks and the Smartwool Liner Socks are a very sensible option to consider and again their Twin Pack Liner Sock is excellent value and highly practical in that you can also use them as conventional socks every day.
Another liner sock option is a good pair of mid-weight or lightweight Toe Socks. Injinji make excellent toe socks which are designed to separate the toes and, importantly, can offer huge benefits in preventing blisters when individual toes rub together. Injinji also do a Merino Wool Toe Sock or the impressive that is super soft and comfortable too and is as much at home as your primary sock as it is as a heavier liner sock. If you use toe socks in this way there is one critical thing to consider.....THEY MUST BE SEAM FREE! Seams will cause rubbing so ensure you have no seams inside or out on your liner socks in particular.
So we've ensured there's no rubbing and we've reduced any risk of hot spots occurring we need to make sure you are kitted out with a good pair of heavier weight socks from our Hiking Socks and Walking Socks range or the super heavy dense Expedition Weight socks both of which are also seam free in construction and very hard wearing. Bridgedale, Icebreaker and Smartwool all offer some superb heavier weight walking/hiking socks but other options are available from our Heavyweight Hiking Socks collection.
For that shorter walk or leisurely stroll along the costal path to the next village for a swift pint, there is little better than a lightweight day sock. Stylish and practical with a good wool content but with some very attractive styles to choose from and a good day walk footbed thickness. If you need a touch more cushioning, then by far the most popular socks for a day's walk are the Midweight Hiking Socks collection.
Now you have the perfect formula for a long comfortable problem free walk.
At Baselayer™ we offer a range of sports underwear and base layers all designed to help you perform better and make your walking passion all the more enjoyable.
We're always here to help so if you have any questions relating to ideal walking gear, just give us a call +44 (0)1689 603675 or enquiries@baselayer.co.uk