I grabbed my first pair of Swiftwick socks from Embrocation Cycling Journal, which is my go-to timetowastesomepaypalfunds shop, and was instantly in love. Every other sock I owned joined the general population and I will only wear these for riding now. It’s hard to explain exactly why, especially since most people say, “oh it’s just socks,” but they’re just better. Try them. But first, check out my thoughts on the wool version after the jump…
After much whining, begging and pleading, I convinced our shop to carry them and to welcome us to the family, they sent over a few pairs for the employees. That included a pair of the 4″ Merinos, which promptly were tossed into the winter drawer. I’ve got other wool socks, and they are always too warm for most of the year in Southern California, so I reserve them for cold and/or wet. However, while speaking to Melissa at Swiftwick, she convinced me to give them a try, no matter the weather. According to her, the folks down there wear them into the 90’s.
So I took her advice, and was not disappointed.
They are thicker than the Olefins, which was a little off-putting, but they end up being extremely comfortable. Like their other socks, they have a strange balance of cushion without feeling cushioned. They wick the moisture away quickly, so I never felt the ever-hated Sweaty Foot Syndrome. Almost every time I wear my other wool socks, I find myself at some point during the ride wondering why I wore them, but not this time. Sure, I still reach for my Olefins more often, but that’s a mental hangup. They have one MAJOR advantage over the Olefins; they don’t stink up nearly as quickly or much. I can honestly wear them for two days, but that’s nasty so I try not to.
Sidenote: my wife and I recently took a weekend trip to Washington, DC and I took nothing but Swiftwicks. If you’ve been there, you can appreciate the copious amounts of walking required to see all the monuments and such. Not once did my feet bother me, and it was 85°F with what felt like 100% humidity (it was probably only 80%, but here in SoCal, we call that “raining”).
EDIT: one of my co-contributors here at Bike Rumor, Marc Basiliere, sent over this photo of him wearing these socks too. His comment was, “those socks are the bomb.”
