Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I live and work in Hawaii where my daily footwear is generally hiking or utility boots. I also travel often to Japan, where summers can be terribly hot and humid and my daily footwear is generally hiking or tactical boots. In these conditions, SOCKS MATTER. Even for someone like myself, who doesn't have much of any body odor and I'm certainly not prone to foot odor, if you play with low-quality poly-cotton blend socks in these kinds of boots, your feet WILL STINK. I know that for most it seems counter-intuitive that these kinds of thick, merino wool socks would be a great fit in humid, tropical environments, but believe me: If you live/work in a humid environment and particularly in a country like Japan (where you're often removing your shoes) then socks like these are the difference between having a great dinner date on tatami mats at a nice restaurant and stinking up the whole booth with your foot odor. Being that this is Amazon and the Amazon standard for merino wool hiking socks seems to be People Socks, that's what I've been using for several years with fabulous results. They're comfortable, keep my feet dry and last forever. However, they can also run almost $10/pair, and for daily work socks that take a beating and often get lost in the haze of international travel, I thought I might experiment with something cheaper. Then I came across these Meriwool socks, at $16.99 for three pairs. I ordered six pairs, received them today, have been toying with them for an hour and these are my initial thoughts. 1) These are serious socks. By that, I mean these things are THICK. If anyone has worn People Socks, Meriwool socks are even thicker. When I roll them into a ball, they're the size of a softball. And being that they're 75% merino (PS are 71%) that's some serious additional material. That speaks volumes as to what you receive for the price, but for those who wear pre-laced zip boots, keep in mind that you may have to loosen your laces a bit. 2) They appear to be very, very well made. If I'm just going by feel, Meriwool seems sturdier than PS. Granted, a lot depends on stitching but from what I can see and feel, there is nothing about Meriwool socks to suggest they'll break down faster than PS. Quite the opposite, to be honest. 3) Here's what a really love. I have quite thick calves, as I'm a weight-lifter, daily runner and weekend sprinter and perhaps just genetically...I have very athletic calves. One of the hardest thing to find is good socks that come up past the top of my calf bulge and can stay up there. My PS actually fall just a couple inches short, and if I'm not wearing my 8-inch tactical boots that hold the socks up, they will roll down within an hour. My Meriwool socks are JUST high, tight and secure enough to stay up on their own. MAJOR POINTS for me. 4) Value. Naturally, I've just begun experimenting with these but if they hold up as my PS have then I would say they are a phenomenal deal for the money. Again, they come out to nearly half the cost of my PS. Obviously, good socks are worth their weight in gold and nobody should be pinching pennies with something so important, but if Meriwool socks last and perform as I expect them to then I can't see any reason NOT to stay with them as a repeat customer. 5) The only downside I can see right now is that they're so thick and large, they actually might take up too much space in my suitcase. I travel light, generally take only four or five pairs of socks on international travel (utilize coin laundry, makes things easy) but packing four or five softballs in your medium suitcase can make a big difference. I'm very, very pleased with these socks and will follow up later on how they're performing. But at this moment, I think People Socks has some very serious competition and I'm glad to see a new company offering a great product at a competitive price. Very happy with this purchase and plan to buy more. EDITED 7/7/2018: I've been wearing these socks for a couple of weeks so I thought I'd add my observations. One, the thickness of these socks feels great. When you walk on hardwood floors you really can tell the difference. They're plush, very comfortable, and even in this 90-degree, humid week we've been having, they don't feel hot at all. INSIDE the shoes, however, I'm noticing that they can get a LITTLE bit hot during the days. I generally wear them about twelve hours per day, and I do notice that by the afternoon, my feet are getting a little damp. Granted, I'm wearing these inside steel-toe utility boots, so you have to factor that in. The major difference between these and my old poly-blend hiking socks is that even if my feet feel a little hot, when I get home they DO NOT STINK like with poly-blend socks. That's good enough for me. I haven't gotten to use them in comparison with my People Socks but being that I have used PS in the ridiculously hot and humid Japanese summers in 8-inch hot-weather tactical boots, I can tell you now that I believe the thinner People Socks are a little cooler. I was stunned by how well they worked during my travels last summer. And I was similarly surprised and very pleased by their performance in the blustery cold late winters of Northern Japan a few months ago. That said, I still have to give Meriwool five stars because their socks are thicker, more comfortable and a major bargain. For the time being, they will remain my daily work sock and I'm very happy. EDITED 6/26/2019 TO ADD: I was going over my reviews and realized it has been EXACTLY a year since I wrote this review, so I felt a follow-up might be in order. For the last year, I have worn these socks (three pairs blue, three pairs brown) five days a week in rotating pairs of hiking boots. There is basically no discernable sign of wear on them. No pilling, no stretching, no holes. My predictions about these very, very thick socks were correct. What also hasn't changed is the level of heat. It's officially summer here in Honolulu, and I'm using them daily with my mid-height Merrell Moab Ventilators, and while my feet don't stink at the end of the day they are definitely damp. Again, I'm not prone to foot odor but those living in hotter climates may want to search for thinner options. These socks are also not "soft" socks, like my People Socks are, and to the touch still feel as prickly as they did when new (like all tough wools) but these are socks, not gloves, and that doesn't bother me. They are still slightly hotter than my People Socks, but at the same time, my People Socks--which I only use when traveling overseas a few times per year--ARE showing a little bit of wear. PS are thinner, more comfortable and my preferred sock, but they're still double the price and won't stand up to as much abuse. These socks would be phenomenal for those in very cold climates who need a very, very tough and thick sock for long winters or hikes. Overall I'm very happy and they were a great value. I'm assuming I'll still be wearing these same six pairs this time next year, but to be honest, if comfort were my only concern and not price, I'd probably use PS on a daily basis. If I ever go looking for new work socks, and who knows when that will be, I'll probably experiment with something a little thinner. Hawaii isn't getting any cooler, that's for sure.