Hi,

I got into a rather unnecessary discussion with a friend on this
scenario.
Suppose you have two pairs of socks. One is cotton, the other is a
synthetic athletic wear sock. They both fit rather snugly on the foot,
and the activity is hiking. Which sock should go on first to prevent
blisters? The cotton or the synthetic one?
thanks,

-alex-

One is cotton, the other is a
synthetic athletic wear sock.

grayaii wrote:
One is cotton, the other is a
synthetic athletic wear sock.

Of course, you will get people telling you that even to be in the same
room with cotton, even a sock, is to dice with death. If it snows
anywhere
in the same hemisphere you will freeze to death. If it's more than 13C
anywhere in the same hemisphere you will burn to death. Possibly at
the same time.

Sigh.

Footwear is particular to you, your feet, your walking style, your
boots.
To find the right combo of socks, boots, etc., for each activity, you
need to try a few.

Generally speaking, for hot summer hiking I prefer a cotton "gym sock"
sort of thing . Those are the kind that have just a bit of "loft"
to them. Not ribs, but some thickness. They absorb the sweat off my
feet fairly effectively, and provide some padding in the boot.
Comfy for me and my hiking style. When I stop for the night I
can wash them in a tiny amount of water, then hang them off
the tent straps and they will be comfy and dry again in the AM.

For winter hiking, I put in three layers. A thin synthetic, then the
same
cotton sock, then a thick wool "work sock" kind of thing which comes
more than halfway up my leg to my knee. The long johns go inside this
long sock, then the various winter pants over top of that. This tends
to
help keep snow from going into my boots. The layers and materials
work fairly well to keep my feet warm even should I get a wet foot.

You should try different types of sock and different combinations in
different conditions. Different people like different combos. Try a
combo on a short hike, under an hour, then see how your feet do.
Look for blisters, find out if its comfy. Find the pattern right for
you.
There's no "one way fits all" about hiking footwear.
Socks

Wheter it is hot or cold.

A thin syntetic sock to transport humidity away from the foot and into the
next layer of wool.

Wool will keep you warm when cold, and cold when warm.

The inner, thin sock is not a nescesity. The important is wool.

The wool will to a certain degree transport himidity out of the boot, but a
golden rule at summer is to take the boots of whenever you are having a
pause.

Hi,

I got into a rather unnecessary discussion with a friend on this
scenario.
Suppose you have two pairs of socks. One is cotton, the other is a
synthetic athletic wear sock. They both fit rather snugly on the foot,
and the activity is hiking. Which sock should go on first to prevent
blisters? The cotton or the synthetic one?
thanks,

-alex-

Everybody has there particular likes and comfort, but in my experience, if
you need two pairs of socks to prevent blisters then you either need to
break in your boots or get a pair that fit better. Bottom line.
snip
I would disagree with you on this statement, some people just have weird

Rob wrote:
Everybody has there particular likes and comfort, but in my experience,
if you need two pairs of socks to prevent blisters then you either need
to break in your boots or get a pair that fit better. Bottom line.
snip
I would disagree with you on this statement, some people just have weird
feet that no amount of time or selection will completely cure blisters. I
am one of those people, I have a high instep (ie high volume foot) yet my
heels are narrow with that large bump at the bottom of the achiles(sp)
tendon, and then my ankle bones stick out. So I fight blisters all the
time, Ive gotten pretty good at it and don't get many. my last boots were
vasque sundowners and I just bought a new pair of vasque wasatch gtx Ive
been wearing them to work for the last 2 weeks and they feel great. The
truth will be in the puddling this weekend on a 3 1/2 day backpack. Ill
let you know how they fair. but if the two sock work for you then do it.
If cotton works do it, just carry several extra pairs to keep them dry.
wet feet are more susceptible to blisters.
--
Trials Make Us Stronger

Until the next great backpack,
Happy Trails
PackMule64