The Textile Trials

Three Socks Enter, Only One Wins!

Creepers vs Darn Tough vs Cotton

Its's all to easy to focus on the "fun" gear like our shoes, a watch to track progress, or the shorts we wear. One big and often overlooked piece of equipment is not only what shoes we put on our feet, but the socks we put our feet in! Overlooking this small thirty-dollar detail could be the difference between a great run, a good run, and a miserable day. In this trip through the sock wasteland, we’ll look at three options and go over a couple of reasons you may want to pick one over the other.

1. Creepers ($16 USD) If you want to run—be it on the road or on the trails—and have a diminished chance of blistering, this is a great option. By encapsulating each toe in its own little blanket, it reduces the friction on our toes drastically. With the added benefit of being made out of Merino Wool, they are sure to pull moisture away from your feet and help keep them a bit drier.

2. Darn Tough ($25 USD) Darn Tough socks have been in the outdoor game for over a decade now, and they know a thing or two about building an excellent sock. They literally have a sock for every occasion and some that blur the lines between use cases. All Darn Tough socks come with a Lifetime Warranty that covers you in the event you manage to walk a hole in them. Most of their socks are Merino Wool, providing excellent moisture control, and they live up to their namesake; they are Darn Tough. I’ve only ever managed to get a hole in one pair of their socks.

3. Cotton… Cotton socks are just that: cotton socks (click here for my favorite). Starting out, this is where most of us go. Why? Because they're readily available, they're already in our sock drawers. This is a runners pitfall, myself included. I’ve run a lot of miles in cotton socks. Not much we can say on cotton socks really, nor is there much to review. Go to your drawer or laundry basket and pick up a sock… voilà, cotton sock reviewed.

 Through testing of each of these, I wore them on both short runs and hikes (two miles or less) and longer efforts (up to twenty miles). While they all have a set of Pros and Cons, some are worse than others. It goes without saying the main "thumbs up" for a sock is that it insulates your foot from your shoe and gives you a small barrier against debris. I suppose if you’re tougher than me and run barefoot, then this article isn’t for you. Aside from the sock being a universal barrier to debris, that’s sort of where the similarities end.

The Creepers sock I chose was the Quarter Crew. Being Merino Wool, these are great at pulling moisture away from the foot and have natural anti-microbial, anti-stink properties. They have a built-in ventilation-style weaving on the top that aids in keeping your foot cooler, but this is a point of ingress for dirt, as it is a larger, more open weave than traditional styles. These are a “toe sock”—each individual toe is wrapped in its own sleeve, which largely reduces the chance of a blister. However, in my testing, I found that while the toe sleeves reduced blistering, the amount of pressure put on the webbing of my toes was almost just as bad. Now, your mileage may vary, but for me, it was enough to drive me back to my cotton socks while looking for a new option. In fact for my feet the were uncomfortable enough that I gave both pairs to my younger brother for extended testing and feedback. For his foot structure the Creepers are a worth while investment and haven't let him down yet.

Returning to everyday cotton felt like a loss. The problem with cotton is that it turns into a giant sponge—not only for moisture, but for germs and smell. If you’re anything like me, your feet start sweating immediately. It was necessary to find something that would pull moisture away, but it had to be more comfortable than my Creepers.

Enter Darn Tough. The sock I chose (they have a lot), was the Darn Tough Coolmax Hiker Boot. I tested this sock not only in hiking and running but also in everyday use, these have a midweight cushioned sole that provides max comfort on the trail or feeding the barn. They turned out to be one of the best pairs of socks I’ve ever put in my drawer. The lifetime warranty eases the $25 MSRP. A lot of Darn Tough socks are made from Merino Wool and have the same moisture wicking, antimicrobial properties as the Creepers, this specific model is made from synthetic material and does an excellent job keeping my feet dry. While they don’t have the same level of blister protection the Creepers offer, I was willing to trade that for the comfort of not constantly feeling like the sock was actively amputating my toes with each step. After having used the socks now for the better part of six months, I can honestly say that they’re here to stay.