Show me your seamless, soft socks

April 1, 2021 8:33 AM

My high-volume feet are increasingly sensitive to rough textures, seams and binding at the sock top, especially at night. I'm looking to replace most of my socks with durable seamless, soft, non-binding socks.

I've been looking for things like "softest socks" and "diabetic socks," but I'm looking for personal recommendations for all the lengths like no-show, crew, etc. They don't need to be super warm, but they do need to keep feet dry and happy during the day and at night. I'm not actually diabetic, but I've been blessed with Fred Flintstone feet who are getting fussier as they age. Anyone have any platonic ideal socks they'd like to recommend?

posted by answergrape to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (13 answers total)

Do you have any interest in (or aptitude for) knitting? Because in my opinion the absolute Best Socks Ever are the several dozen pairs that I have knitted for myself and my spouse over the past 10+ years.

Other than that I would suggest Smartwool hiking socks or REI's merino hiking socks.
posted by heatherlogan at 8:44 AM on April 1, 2021 [2 favorites]

Bombas, in my experience order one size down if you're sensitive to bulges at the heel
posted by SinAesthetic at 8:47 AM on April 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I've been happy with my Bombas socks. I wear the no-show or ankle styles. One thing to keep in mind with the no-shows is that they have little silicone grippy things at the heel-- that's how they stay up-- and I find I can't wear them 24/7 because the heel starts to bother me after several hours. I've only tried their cotton socks but Mr. Tuesday has the merino crew style and loves them. They are very soft.

Like SinAesthetic I have found their sizing is generous. I usually get the medium size and I wear a women's size 9 shoe.
posted by tuesdayschild at 9:37 AM on April 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I have very fussy feet and ankles that will stand for no binding, pinching, grabbing, or rubbing. All I wear are chenille socks. I started with holiday novelty socks from the drugstore (they wear out very fast, usually blowing out at the ball of your foot), and will note that you can often find a better class of chenille socks there but they have grippies on the bottom and no, those are dog-hair-collectors and they are vile.

My favorites actually come from Aldi's occasional seasonal offerings, but those are only available briefly. Most of my supply now is from Amazon: this 12-pack (and you've lucked out, because when I ordered they only came in Christmas or Fugly Teal, so I have 12 pair of awful blue socks), these, and I was wary that these might bind but they do not, though they are the sock-iest of the bunch. I've re-ordered those twice.

All of them do have a very faint toe seam - I had to look through them (I keep my mumblety-dozen socks in a storage bin under my desk, for convenience) to confirm, I'd never noticed before - but it's over your toenails rather than at the tip of your toes.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:09 AM on April 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I'm interested in Bombas, but frustrated with their multi-packs being multi-color, which I'm sure is a sales tactic because I always will lose one of every color. Is there something like Bombas but with a single, solid color, like gray? Also....I hate those grippy things with a passion.
posted by answergrape at 10:28 AM on April 1, 2021

Best answer: I have fussy sensitive feet and I used to get into wars with my socks a lot. The last few years I basically only wear Darn Tough hiking socks and I love them. They never bother me; in fact they feel good to have on. I wear a few different styles but I think the comfiest is the 1/4 height midweight hiking sock, which is part wool, part synthetics. Darn Tough has a lifetime guarantee and will replace damaged socks for free.
posted by grobstein at 10:41 AM on April 1, 2021

You can definitely get multi packs of Bombas that are all white, all grey, or all black, if that helps. They tend to display the more colorful ones as the default pic, but you can select other options.
posted by ktkt at 12:44 PM on April 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

I swear by All Day Socks which are great. My only complaint with them is that as my feet become increasingly hot with age, the cushion foot variety can be too warm. Thus I have two types: uncushioned dress socks for warmer weather and the cushion foot ones for winter.

I hadn't realised till looking them up that they are Australian, but they do ship internationally. They also last forever, I think I've only chucked ones that I've outgrown or I've lost one half.
posted by Athanassiel at 1:33 PM on April 1, 2021

I am a huge fan of Injinji toes socks. They are the only socks I wear. They come in a variety of weights, heights, styles and sizes.
posted by SageTrail at 2:06 PM on April 1, 2021

No specific recommendations (knee height) but would recommend considering bamboo fiber as a material.

I find them typically softer than cotton and a little more "slick" but not slippery. Very breathable.
posted by porpoise at 2:44 PM on April 1, 2021

Bombas has multi-packs of socks in the same color.
posted by Lycaste at 6:15 PM on April 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

I've been happy with socks from Muji and from Plus Ultra
posted by Mallenroh at 7:22 PM on April 1, 2021

One more vote for Bombas here. I first bought them last year, and compared to the Hanes socks I’d been wearing, they (a) fit better (b) were more comfortable (c) didn’t make my feet sweat and get clammy (d) didn’t leave much of an impression on my skin at the sock top after a full day. (Though this could be related to not having to walk around in shoes much over the last year.) I got the regular length rather than ankle-length or no-shows so there are no silicone grippers. Strangely enough, most of the time that I’m aware of feeling them, it’s because I’m aware of how comfortable they are. And as a couple of people have already mentioned, I got them in packs of uniform colors (shades of dark gray).
posted by ejs at 11:26 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]