this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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darn tough all the way, they're pricey but worth it 100%
I have had better luck with SmartWool than with Darn Tough. My Darn Tough socks have developed pills. Both brands have dropped in quality over the past decade.
I've had the opposite experience. My smartwools all fall apart now.
Seconding this anecdote. Bought several pairs of smart wool and darn tough a few years back. Darn tough are still going strong, but my smart wool have significant holes.
I had a bad first experience with smartwool (the pair gifted to me are abysmally thin and I can't stand thin socks lol) I enjoy that darn tough has midweight and heavyweight and wish they made heavier-weighted quarter-length. I got some crew socks recently that the seam rubs my toe a little in my hiking boots but my heavier weighted ones do fine. I've decided that at this point perhaps it's not the sock, but that my pinky toes refuse to conform 😩
I cannot speak to SmartWool but my Darn Tough socks, while still useable, are not the same socks they were even a year ago.
Came here to say this. Beat me to it.
Darn tough Vermont
I switched over almost exclusively to 16 pairs of darn tough women's solid basic crew socks (66% Merino Wool, 32% Nylon, 2% Lycra Spandex) in 2018. That set of socks is still holding up. The backs of the heels are starting to wear thin, but the only actual holes have been due to the dog.
The only reason I recently purchased different socks is that I found I benefit from compression socks, which darn tough does not make anymore. I got sockwell men's elevation socks (31% merino wool, 31% bamboo rayon, 30% stretch nylon, 8% spandex), which offer 20-30mmHg graduated compression. I have not owned them long enough to speak to their durability.