Very thin toe sock liners?

[Stumphges]

Injinji make nice liner socks, but they are pretty thick. I’m looking for 5-toe socks that are very thin – single layer nylon would be OK.

Anyone know a company/source?

[Mark Verber]

I haven’t found anything better than the injinji coolmax toe socks.

There was a company (don’t remember which) that made some merino toe socks that were a bit lighter than injinji but they lasted less than a week before holes started to appear.

[David P]

Stumpghes- when I read the title of your post I clicked in the tell u about the same injijis you find too thick! I wear the same ones underneath Darn tough thin quarter socks. After a little search I came up with these… never tried them… they look suuuuuper thin though

[David P]

Ps could you please spell out how to pronounce your name phonetically? That way I know how to pronounce it in my head when I read posts from you!

[Stephen Seeber]

Try these: http://www.xoskin.us/Mens-Socks/50-XOTOES-Toe-Sock-Anklet/

They are pretty thin and the PTFE fibers will provide real protection against blisters.

[Stumphges]

Steven, thank you.

David, Stumf-gees (a little rapid near the Mississippi headwaters). I saw those delicate little beauties. I would definitely try them if I can find men’s 9-10 sizing; the ones I’ve seen are petite little pairs (as I suppose they should be.)

 

[Gerry B.]

David,

Can you please provide a link to these?

Thanks.

[David P]

https://www.aweeklydeal.com/products/hot-fashion-funny-five-finger-toe-sock-women-slippers-invisibility-socks-low-cut-solid-socks-breathable-socks

[David P]

Here you go Gerry! let me know if it doesn’t wrk for some reason

[Gerry B.]

David,

Thanks!  The link worked.  What I noticed however, is that they don’t mention any size information, only that they are for women.  I suspect they probably won’t fit my size 10 mail foot but for the price they are worth trying.

Gerry

[Link .]

.  ElsaYX Women’s Nylon Sheer Five Toes Ankle High Short Socks lots of different brands and lengths on amazon

[John S.]

Smartwool used to make some that were a bit thinner than injinji.

[Alan W]

42 grams for my new pair of Xotoes Light Weight, Unisex 5.0, Quarter Crew, Size #3 (12.5″ – 14″ foot) bought from garagegrowngear.com.

I’ve no backcountry trail testing yet, but they seem good after 10+ miles on town trails in 90F heat.

Lighter than Injinji poly type, and seem like even less moisture retention and faster drying.

[Paul S]

The injinji synthetic liners are thinner than their wool liners, but smell much worse after a few days out!

 

[Tom K]

As mentioned indirectly above, Injinji does make thin synthetic liners, which I’ve been using for years for warmer weather hiking.  They wear much better than the thicker versions.  I haven’t come across anything better.  As for the smell, I’ve yet to find sock that doesn’t stink after a few days, sometimes just a day, on the trail. Just rinse them out and let them dry overnight, or attached to the back/side of your pack.  This does require 2 pairs, but the weight penalty is minimal.

 

[Mark Verber]

A week ago I gave a pair of  http://www.xoskin.us/Mens-Socks/50-XOTOES-Toe-Sock-Anklet/ that Stephen mentioned a try. They are a bit thicker than some some liners, but are pretty thin, I think they would work as a liner.

They now have more than 100 miles on them as a primary sock which was a mix of running and hiking in luna trail running sandals and vivobarefioot shoes. No obvious signs of wear, no blisters, and no stink. They have already lasted longer than the light weight merino socks by Injinji which would hole due to toenails within 90 miles. If they keep going strong they will become my default sock as my darn tough ultralight socks wear out.

[Steve Thompson]

Surpised you got 90miles on the injinji wool liners, or injinji wool anything.  For me they don’t last a day.  On the other hand I’ve got several pair of their coolmax original weight socks that seem to last forever.

I used these original weight “doubled up” one atop the other for nearly a decade (before they stopped making them in XL).  The doubling eliminated all problems with blisters.  This year I went with a single layer of their thick “trail” weight sock.  Worked just as well…it was nice in my 53rd year of backpacking to finally ditch liner socks.

[Ethan A.]

The Xoskins look interesting. The only thing that gave me pause was the care instructions: “For longer product life, maximum protection and comfort, wash and dry using liquid fabric softener after each use (to lubricate the fibers for longer life). For optimal benefits, liquid fabric softeners are always recommended.” Seems like a lot of trouble. Mark and Stephen did you bother with anything other than sport wash or detergent? Everyone I know who wore Injinji toe socks were going through them like facial tissues.

[Mark Verber]

I am washing them like the rest of my clothing which is either tide free in a machine (delicate) and the drier extra low heat or in soak/agitate in a sink or dry bag with some all purpose soap and hang dry.

First pair has far around 350 miles of use and still looks fine.

[Ethan A.]

Thanks Mark, that’s good to hear, both about the regular wash and impressive mileage. Looking forward to trying them out soon.

[Mark Verber]

I hadn’t been logging mileage of my darn tough ultralight socks, but have only worn holes in 2 pairs in the last 10 years.  I can estimate those socks likely had > 5k miles on them, so the xoskin has a long way to go before I consider their milage impressive… but I am rooting for them. Of course if I think about this from a $/mile they are less of an expence than my altras or inov-8 trail runners, and are approaching the cost / mile of my luna sandals.  Still zero blisters!!

[Ethan A.]

I meant that’s impressive mileage for toe socks, as friends always complained about Injinjis not lasting. I’ve only worn Vermont Darn Tough for many years and they’ve lasted very well but eventually after much use develop wear areas which can become holes. They’ve lasted much longer than any other sock brand I’ve tried. Nowadays there are several new sock companies that may make equal quality socks.

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