Injinji Socks

They completely stopped my blisters, and returned me to pain-free hiking! I can't say enough about them!

They are awesome. Trail running at 20+ miles, 30K race, 50K race and I will be wearing them at the JFK 50-miler this year. Two HUGE thumbs up for Injinji.

I have also been super happy with injinji socks… but they took some getting used to. They have been my goto socks for the last year or two. They have been worn multiple 15-20 miles days in a row without a break. No blisters.

I tried them around 6 years ago on several trips but couldn’t get used to the material between my toes. After a lot of positive reports I tried them again around 2 years ago. It took several trips to get used to them. Actually, I still think they feel weird, but their performance speaks for themselves.

I have never gotten a blister between my toes which I almost always would before using injinji. I have only gotten one blister… on my heel because the inner liner worn through my trail runners on a second day of a 4 day trip and put more friction on my heel than normal. I currently consider Injinji to be are perfect socks for me.

I'm also converted. Any non-cotton 5 toe sock works well for me. Ive tried synthetic, silk, and wool. Synthetic lasts the longest; the others only a few days.

One thing to be aware of with the toe socks is the fabric between the toes jamming into the toe web space while doing downhill and causing sore spots or worse. Every now and then I have to stop and pull the fabric away from the web space before going downhill again.

> fabric between the toes jamming into the toe web space while
> doing downhill and causing sore spots or worse

I have not had that experience. My trips in the sierras regularly drop 2-3k in a day, with several trips where I dropped 5K feet in a day. So far I haven't had this problem. Of course, people's experiences vary.

–mark

I use these socks for running fairly frequently but have had the "between the toes" fabric jamming problem while backpacking on downhills. They are very thin so if you rely on your socks for cushioning you'll need to layer.

They take maybe 30 minutes to get used to them. On hot days they keep my feet from getting overly sweaty. Anything to prevent blisters that works is good for me!

I'll add another positive review of injinji socks: quick drying, quite comfortable after you get used to them, and durability seems pretty good so far. I sometimes get blisters between my toes, and managed to avoid this problem entirely during a recent trip to Utah between the injinji socks and a pair of golite sun dragons with a very generous toe box (if your shoes are already on the tight side, these might not work too well due to the extra fabric between each toe).

I did not use them continuously, but rather switched them out with some thicker darn tough merino socks. I really liked the option of giving my feet two very different "looks" switching back and forth through the day. One piece of advice is to try these out on a long run or day hike before committing to them on an extended trip- I can see some people just not getting used to them.

James

Many, many, long runs and hikes later, they're still my favorites!!!!

I love my toe socks, but they had one unforeseen problem. They added just enough width to my toes fromt he fabric between them that I can wear them with my boots. Causes my pinky and big toe to run against the wallof the boot. So I cant wear em when using my boots, which I only use during the winter so thats not a huge issue.

BC

I converted to Injinji socks around two years ago and haven't looked back. 90% of my hiking and backpacking is in a pair of Teva sandals and I love the combination. No blisters between my toes and I can wiggle my toes all day long. When I'm going to be out in really cold weather, I add a smartwool hiking sock over the Injinjis to keep my tootsies warm.

I am also a convert of the socks – on long trips (several days), I will suffer from little toe rubbing – even though I have wide shoes.

After switching to the Injinji the problem went away.

I have noticed durability issues with the socks however – I used the hiker version (thicker) and they appear to develop holes between and around the toes (yes I trim my toenails) after about 7 days of wear. Thus on my TRT last year I went thru 2 pairs in 2 weeks (kind of expensive).

Has others seen durability issues with the socks?

Yes I believe they are good socks also but I think they wear-out to easy, I buy 8 – 10 pair a year, they get holes in them up by the toes & also the balls of the feet, i've ran 100 mile trail runs in them but when i'm done they are thinned in the areas i've explained, but they are priceless for the blister prevention.
Stephen Sherwood

I, too, have experienced durability issues with the Injinji's, but I have found that wearing a pair of CoolMax liner socks over the Injinji's greatly extends their durability, at least for me. Mine were wearing out on the top of the second toe because I have Morton's toe, but using the liners has practically elminated the problem.

Look at it this way:

Yes, the socks are not cheap at $14 to 18 a pair. But…..

Compared to the old days of using $2 a day in special blister bandaids….and spending a week or two in healing time on long trips afterward, the cost is little. ;-)

It is something I have no issue justifying! The concept of being blister free is priceless!

I own the coolmax and other makes of the injinji socks. I had a pair of the wool ones, and they wore out incredibly fast. I took those back to REI and got a different pair.

I've had no real problems with the coolmax ones; 3 years and counting.