Wool year-round is great. I don't know how it'd do for miles of hiking in hot weather, but for biking and for general wear with normal amounts of walking it's the best. I'm never going back. Moisture management is wool's core competency. And the most important thing about socks, as far as I'm concerned.
If I were able, I'd have at least two dozen pairs of the 80%-wool RBW Striped Sporty Shorties (I only have a half-dozen). XL. They are the single best sock I've ever had. I wear them always, year-round. I do not look forward to them wearing out. The feel is nigh perfect; not too soft/clingy and not too rough/slidey. Perfect sizing and shape. Seriously, if RBW ever has the makers of those socks do it again, I'd buy 10 pair that day. And save up for another 10 pair the next month. They're that good for me. The 100% wool Striped Sporty Shorties I used to have had the really perfect feel. Unfortunately, I never had a pair last 5 wearings before the heel disappeared. Now, what I should have done was learn to darn, because I really don't think I'd care all that much if the part of the sock directly under my heel was 100% nylon. Alas! Darning is not my core competency. When for whatever reason I fail to have a clean-enough pair of Striped Sporty Shorties available, I use the Kangaroo socks (also have half- dozen pair). Also year-round. They are my second-favorite sock. They are slightly more soft/clingy and a sized slightly smaller than the Striped Sporty Shorties. But they do have the right % of wool; enough wool to manage moisture and enough nylon to last. My third favorite sock are the RBW Thick Bike Socks. IIRC they are 100% wool. The sizing on them is not particuarly stable. I had a couple pairs that were nigh perfect, then a couple pairs that were slightly small. They are so thick they aren't really great year-round. But when I'm riding and it's below zero Fahrenheit, they are a great extra layer. At that point one does mind a little extra "bind", as long as the toes are still attached and sort of pinkish when one arrives at one's destination. SmartWool socks typically don't have enough for me wool and are too small for me. My feet'd get uncomfortably hot really easily. WigWams are better, but a little small. REI's typically didn't last for me (presumably actual construction technique matters, as well as non-wool content). Also, they always seemed to bind in the wrong places. Seriously, RBW has really chosen some good socks to sell. Anybody want to start a Bring Back the "Striped Sporty Shorties" campaign? Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean On Jun 19, 12:04 am, jamison brosseau <jamison.bross...@gmail.com> wrote: > i wear the kangaroos, and wear them for everything in the summer fall > spring. longer ones in the winter. they last longer than the wigwam > or smartwool for me, and are a huge improvement over cotton. > > On Jun 18, 10:25 pm, Bridgestone <alancr...@mac.com> wrote: > > > > > I've finally decided that life is too short to wear crappy socks. I'm > > not just talking about biking, I'm talking about all the time. > > > My feet stink to high hell, but I have been wearing these bargain > > basement cotton jobbers, so that's part of the rub. > > > I love the idea of a 100% wool sock, but I don't know how practical > > that is. Has anyone tried the Kangaroo Socks from Rivendell? Or do you > > have another source for great socks? > > > Plus, if I could get something in white to wear with shorts, my wife > > would be less inclined to make fun of my sartorial choices.- Hide quoted > > text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
