Best Socks for Rucking/Hiking/Work

[DontTouchMyHoHos]

Ive done an ass load of rucking being in the military, smart wool socks are my favorite. Hate fox river and anything remotely close to those types of socks. Smart wool socks are by far the best socks I have worn, they are amazing in all weather, wet, cold, and hot if you pick up the light weight socks. A lot of it to has to deal with the boot itself, if you dont have a good form fitting boot, the sock wont do much to help. Garmots are my favorite boots so far and they have taken me to the top of mountains and back.

 

[Wolfy]

As for boots, I’ve had magnums (wear out WAY too fast), converse tactical (don’t remember the actual name, side zip 9inch) the zipper broke before I wanted to retire them, lightweight with composite toe, arch and shank. Now I’m wearing some bastardized coyote brown issued side zip boot (royer), they don’t fit right, have too much padding (makes them super comfortable but impossible to get tight), broke the zipper on one pair, both other pairs I have now are starting to come apart at the seams and not even 2 years old yet.

If I recall, our regulations don't allow for zippered boots due to issues with them fitting loosely and breaking. I would recommend looking into lace-up boots as they tend to be much more comfortable.

 

[Metal-Muffin]

As for boots, I’ve had magnums (wear out WAY too fast), converse tactical (don’t remember the actual name, side zip 9inch) the zipper broke before I wanted to retire them, lightweight with composite toe, arch and shank. Now I’m wearing some bastardized coyote brown issued side zip boot (royer), they don’t fit right, have too much padding (makes them super comfortable but impossible to get tight), broke the zipper on one pair, both other pairs I have now are starting to come apart at the seams and not even 2 years old yet.

What commie-ass military issues zippered boots? I’ve tried everything from Converse to Rockey and the fucking Danners are my favorite. I either destroy boots or they destroy my feet- and I’ve never had an issue with the Danners.

 

[Metal-Muffin]

Everybody I'm still in touch with that're still in my old unit consistently state that at least 80% of everybody across the battalions wear Salomon GTX for road marches, in the field, and anywhere else the CoC will allow.

One must always obey the CoC.

These? https://www.salomon.com/us/product/eskape.html?article=398325

 

[Greengiant506]

If I recall, our regulations don't allow for zippered boots due to issues with them fitting loosely and breaking. I would recommend looking into lace-up boots as they tend to be much more comfortable.

Army has begun issuing new Royer temperate combat boots, side zip (zipper had to change as previous model did blow out frequently).
They are comfortable and supportive if you can get them tight enough, unfortunately the way they are designed to avoid the zipper blowing out, once tied up its a struggle to get them on and off making the zipper useless. We (army only) have a choice now between two different styles, I chose these because they offer more ankle support than the others which are quite a bit shorter.

 

[Greengiant506]

As for previously issued boots, the Mark 3's were my fav (as they were everyone's) though the sole was harsh on concrete, the GP's for my size seemed to be stretched too tight, causing the toe of the boot (in any size) to rip off my toenails which eventually wore holes in the TOP of the toe on the boot, the brown GP's were just garbage, bricks held together with t-shirts with no ankle support despite the size. Goretex wet weather... widowmakers, not particularly good at anything. The new solution was an attempt to stop people buying their own boots, but it has definitely failed, you have a choice between the royer side zip that doesn't do anything particularly well, or the Kodiak boots that are way too short and don't fit most people right, also designed more like running shoes which is great in the city, but on rough terrain leaves you prone to f-ing up your ankle.
Ill be looking into buying a new pair come summer, perhaps they will get with the times and offer an allowance.

 

[Wolfy]

Army has begun issuing new Royer temperate combat boots, side zip (zipper had to change as previous model did blow out frequently).
They are comfortable and supportive if you can get them tight enough, unfortunately the way they are designed to avoid the zipper blowing out, once tied up its a struggle to get them on and off making the zipper useless. We (army only) have a choice now between two different styles, I chose these because they offer more ankle support than the others which are quite a bit shorter.

AR 710-1 Doesn't allow zippered boots. They have to be laced so it's out of the question for the U.S. Army, unless you feel like having command bitch at you.

 

[Greengiant506]

Canadian Army here, the only pers allowed to wear them up until recently were the firefighters, though they have their benefits (quicker to get boots on without worrying about flinging them off while running, or in a shop environment constantly switching to steel toes) they aren't worth it.

 

[Deroth]

One must always obey the CoC.

These? https://www.salomon.com/us/product/eskape.html?article=398325

I was referring to the shoes/boots from Salomon, along the same lines as @DontTouchMyHoHos mentioned, socks will only get you so far without good boots/shoes.

The kicker about Salomon's is that they're more of sneakers on steroids than boots.

As a civilian I've been wearing Danner's for a few years now for work and hiking, a bit heavier and bulkier than I'd like for warm days but still very comfortable and look only a couple months old.

 

[Devil Dog Hog]

So recently I fucked up my feet rucking far to long with far too much weight with shitty socks. Decided to invest in some that did not come from a lowball goverment contract so I picked up some Fox River Stryker socks. https://www.foxsox.com/collections/military/products/stryker?variant=21285583553

Pretty damn good so far, I can already feel a big difference just standing around wearing them. Anyone else have experience in this department and have a particular brand of socks they like?

I was a fan of the smartwool, but the fox river are good too. I always carried a spare to change out after humping around awhile (get yer minds outa the gutter, it means hiking). Though nothing beats a good combination of well worn boots that had ankle support, high performance insoles, with the right treads for the enviorment and proper socks for the temp/boot size. I.E. I had a pair of cold weather hunting boots with 2000 grams of thinsulate, thick treads for snow/mud with a high rubber edge and toebox and full ankle that was one size too large so I could wear a tube sock with thick smartwool. Comfey for the long walk to the blind but warm enough once I was done moving so my feet didn't freeze, and oversized so the thick wool sock I wore didn't get squished around my foot and cause circulation issues making my feet colder.
Compare that to the desert boots that were light weight leather suede with a fabric ankle and rain ports on the side, I would wear a good pair of inserts and thin boot socks to keep my feet from over heating and sweating bullets.
Right now my day to day boots are steel toes that I've had for years and have broken in nice and comfey, but wear a medium weight smartwool with. Put it on when I go to work, but kick-em off soon as I'm done and switch to sandels. I guess it all depends on the environment, time worn, activity, and stress your going to put on your feet.

 

[Triebwerk]