The 7 Best Hiking Socks of 2025

Socks may be inexpensive, but there are many options to choose from—so deciding which socks to buy can be overwhelming. We narrowed our list down from 80 sock models to the 20 we’d eventually test, looking for the following characteristics (which we then kept in mind while testing):

Sport-specific materials: We avoided cotton because it soaks up water and doesn’t dry well, creating a chill.

Merino wool is a good option for hiking socks because it’s soft and unlikely to irritate skin, and it’s naturally able to respond to your body temperature, cooling and warming as needed. It’s also odor-resistant, so it’ll help keep your feet stink-free if they sweat. For anyone looking to avoid wool, we included a few merino-free synthetic models in our lineup.

Beth Henkes said, “[Wool] does take a little bit longer to dry than synthetic, actually. But with synthetic you have to start sweating before the sock wicks your moisture out. With wool, the heat comes out before you start sweating.”

Wickability and breathability: A good hiking sock should regulate your foot temperature and keep your feet dry on hot days by drawing the moisture out of the foot through the sock and releasing it into the air. Wirecutter’s Liz Thomas said, “Better breathing reduces moisture on your feet, which can contribute to blisters.”

Durability: A good hiking sock should hold up over time, despite many, many miles of hiking. There’s no set mileage for how long your socks should last, since that depends on how often you wear them outside of hiking, how you walk, the terrain, and the overall weight of the socks. Still, a durable hiking sock should withstand a lot of washing and drying with minimal pilling or loose threads. Even the thinnest socks we tested, which were running socks, usually lasted for 250 miles of hiking with a backpacking pack.

Drying time: A hiking sock should dry quickly, whether it’s full of sweat or creek water. Wearing wet socks for a prolonged period encourages skin irritation.

Odor control: A good hiking sock controls odor. As Liz said, “None of these are going to smell like roses, but some will fare far worse than others.” Every sock we tested promised to have some kind of odor-removing technology.

Price: Most good hiking socks cost anywhere from $20 and $25. We tested a few that were less expensive and a few that were more expensive, hoping to see if price made a difference in performance. Ultimately, we found that $25 will buy you a great pair of socks backed by an even better warranty—there’s no need to pay more than that. Most socks under $20 didn’t fit right and didn’t have warranties.

Warranty: Many of these socks come with guarantees. Some brands even offer a lifetime warranty. We tested a few socks without great warranties, but most of the socks on our list could be easily replaced at little to no cost to us when they get worn out or damaged.

We hiked 225 miles in these 20 pairs of socks, for a total of over 110 hours during some of the warmest months of the year, and we experimented with different types of footwear. This process allowed us to see how each sock responded to different boots and shoes. We made sure to test multiple pairs of socks on each trail, too.

When testing these socks during the midsummer months, when temperatures were at their highest, we wore only the lightweight models on the trails. However, we also had medium-weight versions of the socks for comparison in the spring and fall.

We wandered trails close to Vancouver, BC, during the peak of summer and in California’s Eastern Sierra mountains during spring, late summer, and early fall. We wore the socks day to day, too, using them as anyone normally would wear socks, to see which models could stand up to everything we put them through.

As we hiked these trails, we rated the socks on several criteria, including:

• comfort
• fit
• breathability
• durability
• odor control

We took notes on every hike, to document each pair’s performance. If we found something we liked, we wrote it down. If something annoyed us or left us feeling uncomfortable, we wrote that down, too. After wearing each pair a few times to test for odor control, we washed them together to test durability.