Smart Wool Socks

Technology has made drastic changes in the equipment that we use, and the materials that it is made of.  Space-age fabrics, futuristic building materials, and other innovations have changed everything.  In all areas of life, from how we build our buildings, to how we communicate, to how we enjoy recreation, the newest materials have made all the difference.  Yet in some areas, the old standbys are the best.  I would never go anywhere without my smart wool socks.

As a professional travel writer and avid hiker, I have tried almost every sock available.  I've tried socks made from materials the names of which you could not even pronounce.  But honestly, a pair of knee high wool socks is better than anything else I have found.  No one who has not hiked for extended periods of time can really understand how much difference socks make, but after a day or two camping in the rain and the snow, almost everyone figures it out. Although smart wool socks are much too hot for the summer, when it is wet and cold, they can make all the difference.

Many people think that just because they are wearying outdoor men's wool socks, they have to have drab and boring footwear. In reality, however, there are plenty of pairs of smart wool socks.  I have some gold toe socks made from some of the smoothest wool that I have ever felt.  The texture is almost as comfortable as cotton, and does much better in the wet and the cold.  And they are such smart wool socks, with the elegant striped pattern and comfortable finish, that I can even wear them to formal events!

Of course, there is a big difference between smartwool socks and coarse wool socks.  Anyone who thinks that there are no such things as smart wool socks probably has grown up wearing the coarse kind.  There is such a craze for handmade wool socks – as there is for everything natural – that many people don't even realize how uncomfortable they are making themselves.  But wearing factory made smart wool socks, which are made from a higher quality wool and are more tightly woven, provides more comfort than even cotton athletic socks can.  Best of all, you will find that a pair of smart wool socks is much cheaper than a comparable pair made out of synthetic materials. Who wants to pay twenty dollars for a pair of socks, after all?