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I do a fair bit of hiking, but nothing close to the Camino intensity. My trip will take place in mid-June, and I have a trusted pair of hiking shoes.
When I was preparing for my Camino (walked the Camino Frances last September and October 2013), I read the forums for endless advise on socks and eventually saw a reference to 1000 Mile FUSION socks from England. Lots of people jumped on that discussion bandwagon and I decided to try a pair. Then I bought three more pairs. Sent a pair to my daughter on the Patagonia trail, who, after her tried and true sock formula and well-broken in boots, found herself with LOADS of blisters. She wore the 1000 Mile Fusion socks on the Annapurna circuit and proclaimed them a "f*&^ing lifesaver".Hi everyone! I have probably searched and read every thread on here about socks and now feel even more confused ! ))
I have decided against double-layer socks and not so sure about coolmax liner+wool option.
I do a fair bit of hiking, but nothing close to the Camino intensity. My trip will take place in mid-June, and I have a trusted pair of hiking shoes.
Is it ok/how many people wear just one pair of normal hiking socks (light to medium thick, 40-60% wool etc)?
My suggestion is to bring along a liner and see how it goes. Do you hike long distances? Are your shoes well broken in? Only you can say whether or not one or two socks is needed. The most important thing is that your feet stay dry.
Eh?
If you do a fair bit of hiking your normal stuff is likely more then good enough.
I always use two layers and have gotten only one blister from hiking in my entire life, and it was on a 20 mile training hike for the camino and showed up about mile 17. I got none on my Camino.
But I will also say that your feet react differently on the second 15kms of your day than they do on the first 15kms, so if you do not try walking a 20+ km day to see if you get a blister, you may not realize it until you are on the camino.
Rambler
I got not one blister on my Camino, not one. I'll never use another kind of socks again. That's just my experience, and these ARE double layer socks, but I took back all the other socks I had purchased from REI, etc., and thanked Amazon for being the conduit between the UK sock company and my front door (and my feet). I would not have wanted to wear one layer of socks on the camino unless my shoes were sandals.
I have always worn Injinji liners with medium weight wool hiking socks in July and August with never a blister!
I've done both.
A person just has to figure out what's best for them.
It's like the boots/trainers question or the sleeping bag/liner question.
Everyone is different.
Hi everyone! I have probably searched and read every thread on here about socks and now feel even more confused ! ))
I have decided against double-layer socks and not so sure about coolmax liner+wool option.
I do a fair bit of hiking, but nothing close to the Camino intensity. My trip will take place in mid-June, and I have a trusted pair of hiking shoes.
Is it ok/how many people wear just one pair of normal hiking socks (light to medium thick, 40-60% wool etc)?
Now I have an old wives remedy for you - and I am an old wife! 6 years ago I suffered from diagnosed plantar fasciitis and had orthotics made but for 12 months I hobbled everywhere in pain. One day a lady in Rockhampton, Australia, asked me what was wrong. I told her and this was her remedy which worked for me. Every night for 6 months - and I was so desperate I did do it for 2 weeks short of 6 months - you cut an orange in half and juice it. It doesn't matter what you do with the juice. The resultant orange half cup is what you want. That is placed on the heel and secured with bandage - I also put on a plastic bag to save my sheets. Now our son is a scientist and I asked him why it might have worked. His explanation was that it acted as a splint during the night immobilising the heel/ankle area, and he also believed that there was some component in the pith that entered the skin and worked its magic. I started to notice an improvement within 3 months but kept up the routine to make sure. I even did it during an overnight train journey where the man across from me had had quite a few drinks and thought he was seeing things! SriyantraAs we were training in the months before the Camino, I evaluated many combinations of socks and liners. I ended up wearing medium weight merino wool socks (both Smartwool and Powersox brands), plus some ladies ankle-high nylons that for liners. I tried polypropylene and silk liners, but settled on the nylon because the were extremely lightweight, wicked as well as polypro or silk, worked well to isolate friction between my feet and my boots, and they were free -- my wife had a whole box of them in her dresser drawer. However, I should add that my wife wore lightweight, ankle high WigWam synthetic socks without liners. We both applied a liberal coat of Gold Bond "Friction Defense" -- http://goldbond.com/friction-defense.html -- on our feet every morning before we started walking. Neither of us experienced any blisters for our entire 6 weeks on the Camino Francés.
This next bit of advice has nothing to do with socks, but it does pertain to feet, so I feel it's relevant to any discussion of socks, boots, and foot care. It concerns tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. If you have even a hint of these conditions, have your feet evaluated before you leave and get a pair of orthodic inserts to support your arches. This can be done by a professional or by the self-serviced machines that can be found at many stores that sell high-end running and hiking shoes, and even at most Walmarts. Once you start developing symptoms of these conditions, the only real solution is rest: getting off and staying off your feet -- not a practical solution if you're well into the Camino. I started feeling symptoms of plantar fasciitis around Leon, and being too stubborn (or stupid), I failed to address the issue and limped, at times hobbled) the last 300 km into Santiago in level 8 or 9 pain. It still bothers me at times, six months after completing the Camino.
Buen Camino,
Jim
I must admit, I am as confused as before though, as it looks like 1, 2 or 3 layers seem to work great
I will do few 25+ km trips in the next few days to see how my feet will react!
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