Men's Boot Socks

A boot sock is knitted thick and tall on purpose, so the sock rather than your shin meets the inside of a boot shaft. Height runs from mid calf to just under the knee. The fabric is heavy enough that a thumb can feel the individual stitches through it.

Coarse knitting on a cylinder of around 100 needles builds that bulk, and a full terry cushion, yarn pulled into loops across the whole inside of the foot and often up the leg, adds 2 to 3 millimeters of loft everywhere. Wool carries most versions, often 40 to 80 percent merino with nylon for abrasion and a few percent elastane for recovery. Loft is what holds warm air against you, and wool goes on holding it after the sock takes on moisture. This is the reason a wool pair beats a thicker synthetic one inside a wet boot.

Crew Socks hit a similar height at a fraction of the thickness and get swallowed by a laced shaft. Overlap with Merino Wool Socks is heavy, since most boot socks are wool, though that same fiber gets spun thin for dress shoes. Athletic Socks are the running equivalent, zoned instead of evenly padded and never this tall.

Work boots, hiking boots, winter boots and any shaft that rubs the calf all call for this. Boots are sized around the sock as well. Fitting boots in a thin pair and then switching to a thick one guarantees a tight instep and a numb toe by the second hour. Volume and heat are the trade. No boot sock fits a running shoe or a dress shoe, and one worn indoors in a heated building sweats your feet, then chills them the moment you step out.

Pull the top band and measure the rib, since two inches or more spreads the pressure while a narrow band cuts a line into the calf. Look for reinforcement at heel and toe, visible from the inside as a denser patch. Squeeze the cushion, where dense loops that spring back keep their loft for seasons and sparse loops flatten by the second winter. Wash cool, dry flat or on a rack, and put them away clean for the summer, because moths are after the skin residue left in worn wool.