Socks – mini-crew or 3/4 crew?

I wear smartwool adrenaline minicrews with La Sportiva Venture mid boots without any rubbing or discomfort.

The sock comes right up to the top of the boot, and no further.

There are two varieties of the 'shortie socks' near as I can tell- micro crew and mini crew. Micro crew socks don't cover the ankle but had my ankles scratched enough that I found them best left for the gym. I've been using mini crew (I've also seen them advertised as quarter crew) socks that just cover my ankles. They have worked excellently year-round in my area. I find that less material means drier feet. I also hike pretty much exclusively in long pants so I don't see much point in having much of my lower leg covered. Even in shorts, the quarter crew socks protect well enough.

In your case, I'd say that the mini crews will cover enough of your ankle that they won't expose your skin to your boots. The micro variety would be too short.

I also use the Smartwool Adrenaline and, most recently their PhD running socks. The PhD socks are thinner, so for most spring-summer-fall hikes I usually choose these now; they dry quicker than the thicker Adrenaline socks. Merino is more fragile than synthetics so they do get holes in various places. Thorlo synthetics last longer. I have yet to use Darn Tough but lots of BPL'ers rave about the durability.

BTW, how do you like those Roclites? There is a distinct lack of 100% synthetic mid-cut boots on the market and I've been looking at these now and again for my wife, who has a propensity to turn her ankles. Do they provide any support to your ankles? How have they held up? I tried some Inov8 Flyrocs and wasn't exactly thrilled with their durability.

and, to complicate it further, Injinji makes a "Quarter" Crew, which I just got, and it's easily 3-4" higher than necessary.

Thanks for the input; I'll try some of the mini-crews & see if they'll sneak just high enough to serve my purposes…

Too few miles on either yet to render a final verdict, but I only put about 10 miles on the Roclite 370s before trying the Montrail Namche, which I've now put about 50 miles on. No comparison for me; the Namche is infinitely more comfy, holds my foot in place far better, and gives the [undoubtedly mistaken] impression that I still have all the bottom-of-the-feet support & protection of my Asolo leather boots. No need to look down when hiking in the Namches.

The Roclite are lighter, and seem to drain a bit quicker, and dry a bit faster. But you have to watch the exact footfall of every step since there's little or no bottom protection from pointy rocks & gnarly roots. My foot also moves laterally more than I would like. My feet can "deal" with the 370's, but my feet ENJOY being in the Namches…

The 370 is a 12 for me; the Namche required a 13…

I have fairly narrow feet…YMMV.

I wear the Namches with Darn Tough full cushion merino boot socks and liners.

Darn tough merino are the only socks I wear backpacking and I want full cushion. So I have to settle with a boot sock. They only weigh a negligible amount more then a 3/4 or mini crew so I don't care much.

Unless I'm bushwhacking I tend to wear no-show socks. Helps keep my feet cooler and if I want to take an extra pair it weighs quite a bit less. I also prefer really thin socks, don't like cushioning. Too hot!