Darn Tough Vermont Socks Review

Darn Tough Vermont Socks, they make a bold claim— “If you can put a hole in our socks, send them back to us personally and we’ll replace them free of charge.”

Their unconditional lifetime guarantee— “simply 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, or your money back. No strings. No conditions. For life.”

I’ll get back to this…

Overall, I enjoyed wearing and testing these socks. I put both the Men’s Hike/Trek Micro Crew Light Cushion and the Men’s Run/Bike No Show Ultra Light Non-Cushion through their individual paces. I wore them for many miles on the trail running, hiking and cycling. I even put them through the odor test “antimicrobial.” Yep, didn’t wash them for a few days. Without getting into unpleasant details they also did well in this department, too.

Both socks are near 50% merino wool. For those of us that are sensitive to wool, they hold true to the non-itching properties of merino wool. One of the big points of the sock is the “True Seamless Construction.” Their knitting technique produces a form fitting sock and seals one end up. The seam is a very smooth Terry Loop stitch that pulls up over top of the toes rather than in front of them. This made the seam almost nonexistent to me. They also make the toe box in a way to eliminate the extra material on the sides of the toes. This eliminates material that would otherwise tend to bunch up. The over all construction makes for one of the best fitting socks I have worn.

A note on the initial fit; at first they felt as though they were slipping down. They were not. They have a slick feel to them. I suspect this is due to a few factors. The tight knitting process, the high-ish nylon content, the long fiber merino wool and the foot shape they are knitted into. Once I got used to them, they became my favorite sock to wear. I also found that, after many miles on the trail, I didn’t have to take off my shoes to pull my socks back in place. Again, for the first week it was a different experience from my other socks. They are indeed a different sock.

That slick feeling I mentioned also seems to allow for the sock to articulate in the shoe, but stay put on the foot to minimize hot spots. I am not overly prone to foot blisters, but I do have a spot on my heel that can get warm and blister. These socks seemed to help some with that problem.

About that claim of theirs: a lifetime guarantee. I tried everything one might do to socks short of taking a sharp implement to them and no holes manifested. Consequently, I couldn’t truly test their warranty process, but all the research I have done indicates that Darn Tough Vermont Socks hold up to their claims and stand by their product.

One point to note on the fit of the No Show Ultra Light Non-Cushion sock is that they are an ankle height sock with cutouts below the ankle bones (lateral malleolus and medial malleolus). I found that I like this style of cut.

Pros

• Form fitting comfort
• Seamless construction
• Lifetime guarantee
• Breathe and wick well

Cons

• Expensive
• A bit on the warm side

My conclusion is that I’m going to purchase a few more pairs to replace my aging outdoor activity socks. I give Darn Tough an A+ rating. I encourage you to take them for a test run or hike of your own.

http://darntough.com/