I posted about hunting for toe socks recently and decided to update you guys on what I found, just in case it's useful to anyone.
Injinji Midweight Trail Socks:
These socks are awesome. The tall cuff is very secure, and they're about as thick as a traditional hiking sock. The fit in my Vibram EL-X shoes was too tight, but the fit in my Vibram KSO's was perfect and they felt great as hiking socks in my boots, too. Durability after about 50 miles is, so far, just fine. No signs of wear.
Smartwool PHD Toe Socks:
These could not be more lightweight. I can see skin through them all over the place. I am not even going to bother testing durability and risk wasting $20; I will just use these as liner socks instead. I wanted to post this so people knew that the picture Smartwool uses to sell these socks belies just how thin they actually are. Not particularly pleased, but we'll see about the long-term. I am comfortable wearing them under the EL-X's, though, and since there's not a lot of friction in such a tight shoe, durability should be better.
Smartwool Non-PHD Toe Socks:
I have two pairs of these with about ~100 miles apiece on them, including some decent race distances in running shoes. The durability hasn't been great. Both pairs are wearing at the heel, forefoot, and the outside edge near my pinky toe. They're not ribbed like the PhD socks are, so they don't provide any compression. I found them overall useful and a much better price than the PhD socks, but I would consider them liner socks for winter or disposable "race day" socks, if you don't need the compression.
Injinji Liner Socks:
I tested these earlier this year. They wore holes after one use. Don't waste your time unless you're going for disposable.
I am still looking for a 100% wool (or 95%+) sock that has the same thickness and durability of the Injinji Trails. Someone call Darn Tough.
