Ski socks? Cushioned? Light weight? Ultra thin? What's your flavor and why?

[KingGrump]

Currently, 12 pairs of Smartwoll PhD Ultralights. Still all good after 200+ days.
Before that - 5 season on 10 pairs of Lorpen ultralights - dn't know what model. Held up petty well but the socks were getting a bit thin overall (not in spots).
Before the Lorpen, a whole bunch of super thin Euro socks - feels really great on but get an average of 10 days before putting a toe thru them.
.

 

[Lorenzzo]

Seems I'm good with Ultralights the first 100 days in a boot and then gravitate towards the regular light until replacement. I'm in the second buckle in my current boots as they've packed out.

I got a pair of Darn Tough lights off Azon and wore them the last two. We'll see how they stack up.

 

[KingGrump]

Buckles? What are those?

 

[Lorenzzo]

Buckles? What are those?

For me it's within a season of when the bootguy gets paid again.

 

[cantunamunch]

I'm quite happy with the Thorlos, but I'm intrigued by CEP. Does anyone know if they have a model of similar thinness to the Thorlo S1TOU and not made of wool?

The Progressive+ Race is the thinnest. To the hand they don't feel as thin nor as warm as the S1TOUs but, once on, I reckon the compression effect plays a part in boot fit and they don't make the boot tighter.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Ultra-thin is my gig. I have multiple pair of SmartWool PhD ultra-thin race socks, and two pair of Darn Tough ultra-thins. All of them work great.

The big key to warmth is keeping your feet dry. For that, there are many options that work. I tend to go with talcum powder, though spray-on anti-perspirant works well, too.

 

[Josh Matta]

Smart wools do not last for me. Bruce you must be ultra gentle to them

Darn Toughs for me. I own 20 plus pairs between winter and summer. All the ski ones are ultra thin no cushion.

 

[crgildart]

Socks should be thin. The warmth come from the liner so the sock makes little difference. The trick is to start in ultra thin or thin and move to light or medium cushion as the liner packs out.

This has been my experience as well. When my latest boots were new I had to go as thin as possible and they were still very tight. I wear an 8-8.5 men's shoe and the boots are 25.5. I now buckle them on the 2nd tightest buckles when I want performance. I often don't buckle the tops much at all when just casually free skiing though.

Anyway, I've found that adding insoles to soak up volume causes more pain than peace so medium to heavy socks seems like a better low budget solution. Custom footbeds would probably be a nice win at some point. But for now thicker socks are the solution. Honestly, growing up as a kid through high school I skied in boots that were WAY too big because I was so small decent performance boots at an affordable price wasn't within reach. So, rocking two pairs of socks is how I rolled up til I finally filled out midway through college.
Evolving out to thicker socks as the boots pack out isn't that outrageous from my perspective. The packing out seems worse in warm temps than really cold temps due to the shells being softer. For warm weather I go with poly or cotton poly blend. For cold I go with wool or wool poly/cotton blends.

 

[Tricia]

Smartwool PhD Ski Ultralight

That's what he was in before I switched him to the Salomon socks, which are thinner yet

 

[UGASkiDawg]

Whatever's thin and cheap

 

[Scruffy]

Socks should be like condoms, the thinner the better

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

@pete just be careful with the Sierra Trading posts (STP's, for those who dont' know) they are often seconds that don't hold up as well and there is no warranty. I stopped buying them on STP as they were not holding up as well.

Contrary to how many wear their boots, I Don't ski with my boots all that tight, my boots are fit in a way that hugs my feet and provides support rather than depending on tight buckles so I don't care about super thin socks. Those Point 6's are a great blend of thinness and slight padding. What makes them unique in my experience is the overall anatomical fit; no sagging, no bunching, they don't pill-out in 20 days.

Second Ron's comment on STP carrying seconds... Last month I bought two pairs of ultra-light Point6 socks from them, one sock had a hole by the toe.

Am trying out Darn Tough UL Socks. A staff at Teton Mountaineering said SmartWool has done a fantastic job marketing; people asking for them by name, but SmartWools really don't last. For whatever it's worth, he favored Darn Tough and Bridgedale.

 

[Monique]

Haven't had a Smartwool or Point6 ski sock wear out on me yet ...

 

[cantunamunch]

Whatever's thin and cheap

Try Dr. Scholl's compression socks - $2.99 on closeout at CVS, thinner than Smartwool, stronger compression than CEP, slippery getting in almost like Snow Whispers, wick nicely.

Down side? The threads pull. Not a sock for cat people.

 

[Choucas]

Point6 ultra thin were my go to socks until I picked up some Falke SK4's in Europe. Here's a Brit video about them, . Fit thin, ski thin, but don't feel thin against your skin (if that makes sense). L &R makes a difference if you've got a tight fitting boot. My feet are warmer when I wear these vs. Point6 or Smartwool.

 

[Dave Petersen]

Just arrived today from REI - half price.

 

[crgildart]

You got me Dave. Went to REI to check my dividend and spent it on clearance socks hahahaha..

 

[tromano]

Has anyone tried skiing without socks? How did it work out?

 

[James]

Has anyone tried skiing without socks? How did it work out?

Not barefoot but with panty hose feet. Needed the room and it made a difference. Worked fine but there were bigger issues and I got rid of the boots.

 

[crgildart]

Not barefoot but with panty hose feet. Needed the room and it made a difference. Worked fine but there were bigger issues and I got rid of the boots.

How did skiing barefoot work out?