When you’re going camping, everything needs to be perfect, and by perfect, I don’t mean that there’s a set standard that you need to follow. The factor of comfort works in different ways for everyone. The thing that can make you comfortable can spook someone else up!
When we’re talking about camping, choosing the right socks seem to be a minute detail that you don’t need to look after that much. However, once someone goes camping does, he realizes how bad camping socks can ruin your experience.
To prevent that from happening, we have our today’s article in which we will talk about camping socks. To get started, we’ll talk about the different fabrics that are used for making camping socks and sock types to help you pick the best one for your camping trip.
How to pick the correct camping sock fabric?
Usually, camping socks aren’t made from a single fabric. These are usually made out of different fabrics. Here, we’ll talk about the most commonly used ones only. They are:
Nylon
Nylon is a synthetic fabric, and many times, it’s used as the primary material. Nylon makes durable socks. Not only that, nylon socks usually dry up faster, making these the perfect socks if you’re camping in the rainy season.
Cotton
Cotton is a lightweight fabric, and it can be cleaned easily as well. Moreover, cotton is breathable and very durable as well. These attributes make cotton a favorable fabric for socks. As cotton is an amazing absorbent, it’s combined with nylon to make moisture-wicking, durable socks.
Silk
Silks are natural fabrics, and they act as great insulators. Silk is not only comfortable, but they are pretty lightweight as well. However, usually, silk isn’t used as the primary fabric as it’s not as durable as the other fabrics. It’s mostly used in the linings of the socks as it can wick moisture faster and with great efficiency.
Spandex
Most hiking socks come with a bit of spandex. Due to the elasticity of Spandex, these socks can retain their shape, and there’s minimum wrinkling.
Polyester
If you’re looking for a synthetic fabric that’s moisture-wicking, dries very fast, and insulates at the same time, then Polyester is the fabric you need in your socks. Polyester is often blended with other fabrics for providing more comfort, durability, warmth, and drying off faster.
Wool
Wool socks are one of the most popular types of camping socks, and that’s why we saved it for the last. 90% of experts will recommend you use wool socks over any other type of socks if you’re going camping. These socks are very comfortable as they can regulate the temperature of your feet, keeping them cooler and prevents them from getting sweaty.
Moreover, wool socks stink a lot less than any other type of socks. And when you go camping, dirt and water will get into your boots, plus your legs will sweat a lot. So, a pair of wool socks will serve you great in these situations.
Other than these, some significant attributes of wool socks are that they provide cushioning, which provides more comfortable footsteps.
Merino Wool
Nowadays, a compound fabric composed mostly of wool, called merino wool, is being used widely. This compound wool provides every attribute of normal wool socks, but these are more durable, and they dry much faster than regular wool socks.
Smart Wool
Smartwool is a company that produces special wool socks. These socks are far more comfortable than normal wool socks.
What do different levels of cushioning provide?
The level of cushioning determines how thick the socks will be, and whether they’ll be warm or not. Every camping trip you go on may require different types of cushioning. If you’re going to camp in a relatively warmer region, you need no to low cushioning. However, if you’re going to do a lot of activities there, considering a bit of cushioning is wise, as it will keep your feet safe.
On the other hand, if you’ll be camping in a comparatively colder region, you need a medium to be high cushioning, depending on the temperature of that place. Here is a more detailed discussion on the cushioning:
Heavy Cushioning
These are the thickest socks you can get your hands on, and undoubtedly, they’ll be the warmest as well. If you’re going to hike on tough terrain, or if you’re traveling to a place that’s freezing, you should travel with these socks. As they are heavy, they’ll provide a great amount of comfort to you. However, if you’ll be traveling to a warm place, taking these will be the worst decision you can make.
Light Cushioning
The socks that come with minimum cushioning on average, but offer a bit of cushioning on the sensitive parts for providing an added comfort, are known as lightly cushioned socks. These are great for warm weather and hiking.
No Cushioning
As you can guess, these are meant for warm weather only. These socks are ultralight, as they come with no cushioning at all. They are completely breathable, which allows them to cool off your feet with extreme efficiency, and they offer only a bit of padding for comfort.
Sometimes, these are worn under socks with heavy cushioning as well, and this is done solely because these socks can wick the moisture off your feet very easily.
What Should be the Height of Your Camping Socks?
Knee-High
Usually, mountaineering socks are knee-high; other than that, you won’t find many socks that come at this height. These socks are perfect for keeping you safe from the abrasion of the high boots, but if these are used in other cases, they will surely tire your feet out and get them sweating profusely.
Crew
Crew socks are the most widely available socks out there, even when you’re talking about camping. Usually, people wear shoes with high cuffs when they go camping, and these socks can protect against the high cuffs. Crew socks land just a few inches above the ankle line. Although you can wear these socks with regular boots and sneakers, the socks will keep the extra covered part of your feet warm, which could be a potential problem if you’re in a warm climate.
Ankle
These socks are lined exactly at the ankle bone of a person. These are great choices if you aren’t using boots with high cuffs. If you’re doing with a regular boot, these socks will make sure that your feet are protected from the abrasion of your boot, but it won’t make you sweat.
No Show
No show socks are pretty famous when it comes to regular dress up, but they aren’t great when it comes to camping. They can’t protect you from abrasion, so you’ll end up with lots of bruises once you wear them for a long day.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are different types of camping socks you can choose from. There are wool socks, merino wool socks, polyester socks, and a lot of other varieties. No matter how much we try to, we can’t tell you which one is perfect for you.
We told you all we can tell you, and that is, we told you how each fabric, each length, and each style of socks functions. Hopefully, you’ll invest some time into cross-checking the functionalities with your requirements and get the perfect socks for you.
Remember, if you don’t get a pair of socks suitable for your camping journey, you won’t be able to get the best experience! So, get started now!