So after ten to twenty five years of use it seems that most of my pairs of Holeproof Explorers are giving up on me. They’re wearing out in such a manner that darning the spots isn’t going to cut it anymore. I hear rumours that the company has changed hands and the modern versions just aren’t the same quality.
So I’m up for 5-10 pairs of new socks. I hear good things about wool / merino, but buying anything online I’m sceptical of the actual quality once it gets to me. Even temu makes their products look appealing all the way until you open the package.
Given this group is still small and off the marketing radar, anyone got any brand name suggestions, or even stores I should visit, maybe I should be buying wool and a sock knitting machine.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Maybe for an American, the replacement guarantee won’t be worth the postage for people in Australia. I can get locally made merino socks for $20AUD, Darn Tough are ~$50 a pair on Amazon.com.au.
Oooh, I was about to recommend Darn Tough- but what’s these local merino ones you mention?
You can sometimes find Darn Tough or Smartwool on sale at outdoor shops, I’ve always found them both to be quite good.
Bruce Goose, they’ve got a stall at the Queen Vic Markets.
Can’t beat locally made, I know it’s not popular now with some of my fellow Americans screwing up as much as they can but Darn Tough are really great socks and are made by a small company in Vermont. I can sympathize with not wanting to spend 50 bucks a pair, 20 bucks is hard to swallow even but I’m wearing a pair right now that are at least 8 years old and am confident they will honor their warranty.
Not American, I’m in the UK, the fulfilment on warranty is from the Netherlands I think. They are about the same price as other technical wool socks £20 or so. It’s the warranty that did it for me, I started with 2 pairs, then every Xmas/birthday asked for a pair