Do you know what your socks can do for your feet?

Remember when you were a kid and you got that pack or white tube socks? Remember thinking how terrible that gift was? Well, guess what? Socks are high-tech now. It's no longer just plain black and white socks that you pick up at the store. No, nowadays, socks are built for a variety of uses, from everyday casual wear to individual activities such as biking, golfing and hiking, just to name a few. They are packed with materials and features that actually benefit your feet and you might not even be aware of how.

Let’s start with the simple reason you wear socks. The quick and easy, most basic explanation is that they help keep all the bacteria that can develop in your shoe, away from feet, whereas, going sockless creates a higher risk of things like athletes’ foot. Oh, and they help keep your feet warm. However, over the years, we have discovered the benefits of yarns, natural and synthetic, which have created the luxury sock market.

In order to understand your socks, we thought we would put together a breakdown of some of the more popular yarns that you find in socks.

With that in mind, yarns play a factor into the type of socks you need.

Combed Cotton:

Basically, it's a supercharged version of regular cotton. The cotton is picked, then "combed, “to remove any impurities. After the treatment, the cotton is then spun into yarn, resulting in a much more soft, durable cotton that vastly improves on regular, everyday cotton.

Merino Wool:

First and Foremost, Merino Wool is not the itchy, scratchy sweater that your mom used to force you wear when you dressed up as a kid. Toss that out of your head. Merino Wool is super soft, lightweight and sustainable. The biggest myth, "it's hot." The emphatic, simple answer here is, NO! it's not.

Let us explain, Merino wool is temperature regulating, meaning it keeps your feet cool when your body warms and warm when your body temp cools. Merino sheep are magically special, it is crazy, we know.

Yes, it is an all-weather material. It's also antimicrobial, anti-fungal, breathable, quick drying, anti-wrinkle...you know what, check out our merino wool blog, this thing need it is own space.

Acrylic:

Acrylic socks are super soft. Yes, they are sweat wicking, but they hold their color very well, while most colored or dyed yarns fade. Most importantly, they are super durable and comfortable. 

Coolmax:

Coolmax is a polyester based yarn that was developed in 1986 by DuPont Textiles, now known as Invista. Coolmax socks offer light compression, are lightweight, breathable, durable and fast drying. They are built for movement and activity and offer a great performance driven alternative to everyday, casual socks.

Nylon:

Nylon yarns are one of the most durable socks yarns out there. It's incredibly resistant and super stretchy, without losing it shape and it wicks moisture away from the foot.  The only real drawback is that it is hot. However, when blended with other yarns or mixed into socks with other yarns, it can boost the product.

Polyester:

One of the cheaper yarns, but incredibly breathable and amazingly withstands wear and tear. Great as a performance/athletic sock material.

Polypropylene:

The mother of all yarns. This thing is super thick if you buy a sock primarily constructed of polypropylene, but mixing with other yarns, you get a super sock. Polypropylene is super waterproof as is used as a lot as an inner liner. It's also very warm and super-duper durable. 

Cashmere: Yes! It is uber high end. It also gets rid of anything bad for your feet. It wicks moisture. Removes odors and dirt. It does not wrinkle and its extremely durable and hard to rip/tear. If there is a downside at all, it does hold heat, in fact it holds 6x more heat than wool. They are incredibly comfortable, but most are handwash only.

Bamboo: Mostly organic and incredibly soft and durable. Bamboo is sustainable and there are no chemicals in the fibers that make up the yarn. They are softer than cotton and amicrobial. Moisture wicking is 4x the amount of regular cotton socks, which allows them to dry quickly and eliminate odor causing bacteria.  Like Merino Wool, Bamboo is temperature controlled, as they breath in the summer and maintain body heat in the winter.  One of the biggest selling points is that they are non-allergenic, so they will not irritate the skin.

Metallic Yarns (EX. Copper, Silver): Yes, we are literally adding silver and/or copper into socks now. It is adding by treating the yarns or by infusing silver and/or copper into a yarn that is then used to knit a sock. The benefits of adding silver or copper is quite similar. They both are excellent with antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. They both are quick drying and offer high levels of moisture wicking. They also eliminate odor causing bacteria that allow your socks to remain stink free and cut back on the sock laundry.

There are claims of healing properties, such as relieving arthritis pain, skin conditions, and helping to heal infections, we leave those claims to the medical professionals to prove that this is actually the case. There are some arguments that it is placebo, but the other benefits, outside of the medical claims, have been proven.  Paul Bryan Elemax™ Silver Series, uses nano-silver that is being used in the Marines and Navy socks. The test show that each pair maintains the silver for up to 50 washes.

So many yarns, so many types of socks. The biggest question is, can your brain handle that these are not your Grandpa’s socks? If you have a need for a type of material, you can find the right fit and the perfect sock for your sock drawer, with just a little research. We did our best to give you an overview of all these sock yarns in a quick and easy guide.

If you read this whole thing, we will give you the secret to knowing how good your socks are. That secret...weight. The higher the weight, the better the sock.