Sock repair...

[Catrin]

I love my wool socks in the winter - won't wear anything else! I love my THIN Smartwool socks in the summer - though I will wear other types when the weather is warm.

My problem with this lovely warm, and expensive, Smartwool socks is that I destroy them in a couple of wearings. I keep my nails clipped but, regardless how careful I am. my toes are peeking through after no more than 4-6 wearings. It gets expensive to replace them all the time...and nothing else keeps my feet warm. They work very well with my PI Barrier shoe covers - and my Mavic shoes fit snugly enough that I must have thin socks. It is possible that I've been purchasing too small a size, though they never feel that way.

Has anyone tried to repair them and if so, how well did it work out? My only concern is that the place where it is repaired may rub & cause a blister, and feet take longer to heal than other parts of the body. I am going to attempt it, my most recent pair only lasted 3 wearings....arghhhhhhhh!

[OakLeaf]

At the risk of asking the obvious ... are they big enough for you?

I would also hesitate to darn socks that I intended to put any significant mileage on afterward. Never done it, but I would be afraid of chafing/blisters too. But all my SW socks have been plenty durable - though I don't have the lightest weight ones, the elastic has been wearing out long before the wool fiber.

You might darn them and use them for daily wear/sleeping, anyway...

[indysteel]

Why style of Smartwool sock are you wearing? I have numerous pairs of Run and Outdoor Ultra Light Minis and have never had them wear that quickly.

[laura*]

At the risk of asking the obvious ... are they big enough for you?

Let me expand OakLeaf's question: Are your shoes big enough for you?

[Catrin]

It is possible that they have been too small, but they never seemed to feel that way Oakleaf. That being said, I KNOW my Mavic shoes are just a little snug, and I suppose it is possible that they are just small enough to put pressure on that area and make my socks more likely to wear. Most of my Smartwool socks have been either the Smartwool or Sugoui brand.

Indy, thanks for the brand suggestions, it seems that it is time for me to try something else.

I know my Mavic shoes are a bit too tight - I can only barely close the straps to avoid numb feet when I ride. I've adjusted to them, but am considering starting to save for a new pair of shoes next year. I love the shoes, outside of the white color, I just need a size larger.

[pll]

I find my smartwool socks suffer from the same problem, but I use them for walking quite a bit. The Defeet Woolie Boolies do not have that issue and neither does a pair of wool Castelli (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCI_11543.html)socks I bought last year. I never put them in the drier, just hang to dry. The Defeet ones I use for running and cycling; the Castelli only for cycling.

[indysteel]

Indy, thanks for the brand suggestions, it seems that it is time for me to try something else.

Those weren't different brands of wool socks. They're styles within Smartwool's line of products. I was curious as to which style of Smartwool sock you're wearing, as mine (various types of Ultra Lites) have never worn prematurely.

But if you want to try different brands, I'd suggest Swiftwick and Darn Tough as alternatives to Smartwool.

[Catrin]

Let me expand OakLeaf's question: Are your shoes big enough for you?

We were posting at about the same time - and the answer to your question is no...not really. I am so accustomed to making them work that I never really think of them as being too small though. This was my second full year for them. I need to start saving so I can have a pair that actually fits by spring.


I find my smartwool socks suffer from the same problem, but I use them for walking quite a bit. The Defeet Woolie Boolies do not have that issue and neither does a pair of wool Castelli (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCI_11543.html)socks I bought last year. I never put them in the drier, just hang to dry. The Defeet ones I use for running and cycling; the Castelli only for cycling.

Pll - thanks for this, it is good to know that I am not the only one with this problem. I've seen the Defeet socks and they are too thick for my current shoes...though these may be different from the other Defeet socks I've seen. My LBS is a Castelli dealer so I will see if they have this - I do like to get my hands on cycling socks before buying them. I never dry my wool socks either, and they get washed on cold with all of my other cycling and fitness wear.

[Catrin]

Those weren't different brands of wool socks. They're styles within Smartwool's line of products. I was curious as to which style of Smartwool sock you're wearing, as mine (various types of Ultra Lites) have never worn prematurely.

But if you want to try different brands, I'd suggest Swiftwick and Darn Tough as alternatives to Smartwool.

Silly me, I didn't realize that, thanks for the clarification! I've looked them up now and those are not what I have. I have the PhD Smartwool socks. It does help to know the specific line, especially where wool socks are concerned. I think I will try and darn the ones I have for around the house use, but will likely be asking for trouble if I try to wear darned socks with my current shoes.

[indysteel]

Silly me, I didn't realize that, thanks for the clarification! I've looked them up now and those are not what I have. I have the PhD Smartwool socks. It does help to know the specific line, especially where wool socks are concerned. I think I will try and darn the ones I have for around the house use, but will likely be asking for trouble if I try to wear darned socks with my current shoes.

Not to beat a dead horse, but all of the socks I mentioned are within the PhD line. Mine are PhDs with Ultra Lite cushion. I assume that's what you use, too, since they are their thinnest socks. Mine are good for at least a year or more of heavy use; I can't imagine getting holes in them after only a handful of uses. So, I have to wonder if if you're wearing the wrong size of your shoe is too tight. What size is your foot and what size are you using?

[ny biker]

Woolie Boolies are thick but DeFeet's Wooleator socks are thinner -- they're a wool version of the Aireators. I have several pairs and have never had a problem with them.

For everyday I wear Smartwool's cable socks, and I've worn them a few times on the bike too when I needed something tall enough to cover my ankles up to the bottom of my leg warmers. They are also thin.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_SW711.html

...and while I was looking up the link to those socks I decided to take advantage of the sale and buy some new pairs. Navy, wine, chestnut and crimson. ;)

[jessmarimba]

I've worn through a couple pairs of Smartwool (the compression ones! :( ) and Teko socks lately. The next size up is definitely too big, though I'm on the large end of the spectrum for the mediums. It's aggravating. For now, I'm just wearing them so the hole is on the other foot (not on my big toe anymore) and no longer running in them but I'm pretty exasperated with the Smartwool compression socks. Wore those on one run and ripped through the left big toe in the first six miles (and my left foot is my smaller foot, for pete's sake). I can still wear them for recovery but wanted them for running, and the next size up isn't compressive enough. Grr. Those cost way too much to wear through like that.

[SFLiz]

If you're going to try other socks, I really like my swiftwicks, in all varying styles. They have been durable and comfy.

[Crankin]

I would try the thinnest Tekos. I wear them for running/gym, and they are awesome.
Also, no cushioning. Ever. My feet are exquisitely sensitive to padding and so are my hands. I have ultra thin wool, thin wool, medium wool, and my thickest are Woolie Bullies. I also can barely close the velcro on my shoes, or my feet swell. I leave the ratchet pretty loose, too. The shoes fit, the next size is definitely too big. My feet do much better with the wool; Saturday I wore regular socks as it was warm and they were burning after 30 minutes.

[pll]

Just a clarification on my earlier post: my smartwools wear down in the heels.

[malkin]

I'd mend them with some fine wool & nylon blend from the yarn store, and try a bigger size next time.

[Catrin]

I'd mend them with some fine wool & nylon blend from the yarn store, and try a bigger size next time.

The thing is, the larger sizes are just so big in my heels...

[OakLeaf]

Even the women's specific SW socks? They don't do that to me, even with my men's EEEE forefeet and women's B heels...

You might give the wool Injinjis a try too. They're a little bit too thin for me, but if you prefer a thinner sock anyway, they could work. I'm very unimpressed with the SW toe socks.

[jessmarimba]

Just wanted to throw out there - I have pointier feet than most socks are made and I do better with foot-specific socks. Have a few pair of Keens that are wool blend and are designated left/right and those don't seem to wear through on the toes as quickly. Maybe that would help?

[Catrin]

I was a little bored last night, so I started looking at all of my sports-related socks. The only socks that I have this problem with are the wool socks, which are for the most part all PHD socks. I do wear cotton socks during the summer for riding as well as very thin wool socks. My thick smartwool tall socks have never had this problem - but they are too thick to wear with my bike shoes. I noted today when I was putting my shoes on for riding that there is very, very little room between my toes and the front of my shoe. If the shoes aren't too small then they are right at the border. Most of my cotton riding socks are right/left specific - and I've had no problem with those outside of one pair I've had for a couple of years...

Food for thought, and I appreciate the ideas! I can't swing another pair of bike shoes right now, but I will seek out some right/left specific socks in the next larger size and see how that goes. I do not think any of my wool socks have been that way.

[OakLeaf]

Not really relevant, but I just had to mention that today I'm wearing for my run, my very first pair of SW socks, the ones I got in my goody bag when I did a retreat in April, 2006 - the retreat that got me back on a road bike after 12 years.

Granted I don't think SW's quality control is what it used to be ... they may all have been USA made at that time, also ... but there are a lot of miles on those 6-1/2 year old socks, they are actually a size too small for me, and they're not so much as getting thin in the toes!

[malkin]

Agree about the QC, especially for the lighter weight ones.


The thing is, the larger sizes are just so big in my heels...

They might not stay big if you wash 'em and wear 'em a few times. I sometimes get brewer's hand-me-downs when they don't fit him anymore. You could start out wearing them for slippers or something. For me, I'd want bigger shoes, especially if the shoes are not leather, with its friendly give and take.

[EMoonTX]

Catrin, when socks wear out that fast usually two things are involved. 1) the socks are too small, and thus stretched too snugly. This exposes individual strands of yarn to abrasion. What protects knitwear from abrasion is sharing the abrasion between yarn strands, if the strands are separated (as they are when knits are stretched over a larger surface) individual strands are at risk. Particularly with wool, which reacts to abrasion by fraying when unprotected. 2) the shoes don't fit in some way. Because you're having holes in the toes, it's likely that either the shoes are too short (forcing the toe ends to contact the shoe) or the toe box isn't tall enough for your toes. My toes turn up and I always used to get holes in the toes of my socks (any socks--or pantyhose back when I wore those.) So in a "flat" toed shoe, the cut end of my toenail would contact the shoe's toe box, and any sock or stocking in between was going to be rubbed into oblivion. It doesn't matter how short you cut your toenail, because the top of the toenail will press on the inside of the shoe if the toe box isn't big enough.

When you have both snugly stretched socks AND a toe-box that ensures rubbing, socks are doomed quickly. Modern commercial socks are made with quite a bit of elastic, so that sock makers don't have to make socks for every shoe size--and that means that if you have feet at the high end of a sock range (medium, say) the knitting is stretched more than if you wear a larger sock. Ideally, you want a lot of sock-fabric between your foot and the shoe--both for comfort and for resistance to abrasion. Even so, if the toe-box doesn't fit your foot, socks will fail at the toe. I had to change the kinds of shoes I bought, and make it clear to shoe salespersons that it's not all about length. (I also have permanent nerve damage in one big toe from wearing too-flat-toebox dress shoes too often, finally on a several mile trek on pavement and cobbles one night...so it's not just a sock issue.)

For maximum sock wear, you need a toe box that allows your toes space in all 3 dimensions, and then socks that are not stretched tight at the toes. I have large feet, for a woman, and with deconditioning over a period of years and weight gain, also developed swollen ankles. The elastic in commercial socks--and the tight top row--cut into my leg painfully and unhealthily. If you have such problems--or just can't find socks that fit you without being too stretched out to be durable--there's another way. Knitting.

I now knit my own socks (just learned this year.) The difference in how my feet feel is amazing. Those of you who have knit only "flat things" before (like me--scarf after scarf after scarf) would find sock-knitting much easier than you thought. Those who don't knit might have a friend who could be persuaded to knit a pair or two for you so you could see if they worked for you. These socks fit my feet without stretching--the natural stretchiness of knitted fabrics mean they stretch enough to go on and off easily, but otherwise they just rest on the skin, so the full thickness of the fabric can resist abrasion (and I thicken around the back of the heel, because I have narrow heels and most shoes slip up and down...no slippage, much less abrasion.) Combined with shoes with an adequately tall toe-box, I'm getting no signs of wear on the toes, even on the first pair I finished (back in March, and worn at least once--often twice or three times a week since then.) I wear trail shoes most of the time, and walk out on the land where I ride (and wear them riding as well), and on a trip to NYC walked miles every day in them. If I could buy comfortable wool socks that fit me, I probably would--but since I can't, I am very glad that knitting them turned out to be feasible. (And I can have any color the yarn manufacturer makes! So far I have bright red, bright green, deep teal, medium-denim blue, a different green, and turquoise. Purple is coming up.) Most current sock-knitters use thinner yarn than I do because they like thinner socks--but I want cushioning (and also--I can't see the stitches in fine yarn--can't use the tiny skinny needles.)