What are the best merino wool hiking socks? And what are the best merino wool liner socks? In this article I will answer both questions. I will provide a list with the best merino wool hiking socks for every type of hiker. As some of you might know, merino wool is considered the best material for hiking socks, as you can read in this article: What is the best material for hiking socks?. Still, there is a big difference between different brands/types of merino wool socks. If you are looking for the best merino wool socks that are optimized for hiking, this article should provide all the information you need.
Best merino wool hiking socks
For regular hiking socks I will always recommend merino wool over the alternatives and most hikers agree with me. There are just too many advantages. You can’t go wrong with any of the following recommendations.
Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Sock
61% Merino Wool, 36% Nylon, 3% Lycra® Spandex
Let’s start with my all time favorite merino wool hiking socks: Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Socks. These socks simply have it all. They are comfortable because of the cushioning, great at moisture wicking, great against slipping, blisters and they help against smelly feet. However, the most obvious benefit of wearing darn tough hiking socks is that they are darn tough. No surprise right?
Seriously though, the durability of these socks is amazing. You can wear them under any condition, you could wear them in hiking sandals without noticing to much wear. Don’t take my word for it, take Darn Though’s warranty for it. They are so confident in their product that they included a lifetime warranty.
Our unconditional lifetime guarantee is simple and without strings or conditions. If our socks are not the most comfortable, durable and best fitting socks you have ever owned, return them for another pair.
This warranty is still something that blows my mind. I mean, it’s not like these socks are ridiculously expensive.
Sidenote: If you live outside the US, there is a small chance that you are not covered by this warranty. You can double check it here: International Warranty Claims.
In case you are interested, these socks are available on amazon for both men and women.
Men: Darn Tough Men’s Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Sock
Women: Darn Tough Women’s Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Sock
SmartWool PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks
63% Merino Wool, 34% Nylon, 3% Elastane
Another pair of merino wool hiking socks you can’t go wrong with are the SmartWool PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks. They are very similar to the Darn Tough Micro Crew Cushion Sock and have most of the benefits as well, cushioning, moisture wicking, good against blisters, etc. However, these socks are not as tough as Darn Tough socks.
Don’t get me wrong, these socks are still pretty durable – with their indestructawool technology – and by no means low quality. However, they can’t really compete with Darn Tough. They do have a warranty, but this warranty is not lifetime, it lasts “only” 2 years.
So is Darn Tough always a better choice than SmartWool? Not necessarily, as usual, this comes down to personal preference. There seems to be a conclusion that Darn Tough is more comfortable and better suited for the regular hiker. However, SmartWool is supposed to be a better fit for more extreme hikers with more technical requirements and more need for ankle support. A more in-depth comparison can be found in this article: Darn Tough vs SmartWool.
As I consider myself more as a “regular hiker”, my personal preference remains with Darn Tough, but even for regular hikers, SmartWool is a close second!
These socks are available on amazon for both men and women:
Men: SmartWool Men’s PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks
Women: SmartWool Women’s PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks
Woolpower socks 400
64% Wool, 32% Nylon, 4% Elastane
The next option is lesser known: Woolpower. I recently got these socks as a gift (in combination with Woolpower liner socks) and I must say, I’m pretty happy with them. Woolpower is a Swedish based brand that makes a lot of undergarment and mid layer hiking gear. They are especially known for good merino wool hiking gear.
The 400 stands for the score on their insulation scale. If you are looking for very warm hiking socks, you should probably go for Woolpower socks 800 instead.
I haven’t been using these socks for a very long time yet. So I can’t really make claims about the durability. The only thing I can say is that Woolpower garment is covered by a 1 year warranty and complaints about durability from other hikers are very rare.
All in all, I’m really liking these merino wool socks and I can recommend them to any type of hiker. Note that there are options for warm, but also for very cold weather.
Once again, these socks are available on amazon for both men and women:
Unisex: Woolpower socks 400
SmartWool PhD Outdoor Heavy Crew Sock
74% Merino Wool, 24% Nylon, 2% Elastane
The last pair of merino wool hiking socks are also made by SmartWool, but these are more optimized for colder temperatures. Note that the percentage of merino wool is slightly higher here than in the other alternatives. This is often an indication that these socks are more optimized for cold weather hiking.
The “SmartWool PhD Outdoor Heavy Crew Socks” maintain all the advantages of the “SmartWool PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks”, but they are simply a better choice for colder temperatures.
As usual, these socks are available on amazon for both men and women:
Men: SmartWool Men’s PhD Outdoor Heavy Crew Sock
Women: SmartWool Women’s PhD Outdoor Heavy Crew Sock
Best merino wool liner socks
For regular hiking socks I would always recommend merino wool. For hiking liner socks, you could also consider going with synthetic socks. Both merino wool and synthetic fabrics are good options for liner socks. That said, my preference still goes to merino wool, especially in colder temperatures. Liner socks are recommended for the argument of blister prevention and (sometimes) warmth.
SmartWool Hike Liner Crew Socks
59% Merino Wool, 39% Nylon, 2% Elastane
Once again, SmartWool made it on the list. The SmartWool Hike Liner Crew Socks are one of your best options if you are looking for the best merino wool liner socks.
They are generally very well appreciated by hikers.
A good blend with merino wool as the main ingredient means that you get the moisture wicking benefit. This benefit results in less/no blisters and drier feet.
These socks are available on Amazon: SmartWool Hike Liner Crew Socks
Woolpower Classic Liner Socks
60% Merino Wool, 35% Nylon, 5% Elastane
As I said before, I got these merino wool liner socks as a gift. I hadn’t heard from Woolpower before I received this gift, so I had no idea if it was any good. However, after testing these socks on a couple of hiking trails I can definitely recommend this brand.
I can’t say for sure that these are the best liner socks ever made since I haven’t done an in-depth comparison. However, what I can say is, these socks do what they are supposed to do. They help with preventing blisters and they keep your feet dry because of the moisture wicking features of merino wool.
A solid option for sure!
You can find these socks on amazon: Woolpower Classic Liner Socks.
Conclusion
If someone would ask me “What are the best merino wool hiking socks that I can buy?“, my answer would be simple: Darn Tough. That said, there are still plenty of other good alternatives.
When it comes to hiking socks made from other fabrics, I agree with the majority, merino wool is simply better overall. At least when it comes to regular hiking socks. For liner socks, I still like merino wool, but synthetic socks are definitely also a viable option, especially in warm weather.
In order to really benefit from hiking optimized socks you will also need good hiking shoes. I wrote an article about the best cheap hiking shoes, feel free to check it out if you are still looking for a pair.
What are your favorite merino wool hiking socks? Have you tried any of my recommendations? What were your experiences? Let me know in the comments below!