BallstonMedium Weight 86% Merino Wool Socks for Winter & Outdoor Hiking and Trekking - 4 Pairs for Men and Women

I saw the great reviews and decided to try them out around the house. Initially they fit great and were comfortable, but after a month and a half they started developing holes in the heel area. After 2 months every single sock has a large hole in the heel. This is definitely a design flaw and I cannot recommend this brand as they are cheaply made. I have never had socks fall apart like this ever and these were more expensive than many of them.

I bought four pairs of these socks about 2 months ago. At first, I was very pleased. The socks are comfortable and warm. Unfortunately, after only two months, I'm down to one sock of the original eight. The rest all got holes in them. For comparison, when I buy socks from another major brand, I tend to get years out of them.

These socks smell. Usually merino wool socks that I've purchased have a very mild but distinct smell to them that often goes away after one wear or one wash. These have an extremely strong and unpleasant smell to them that did not come out after multiple washes. They transferred the smell to some of the other items I was washing them with and I had similar problems getting the smell out of those as a result. After three separate washes while trying two different detergents I was able to get the smell out by soaking them in vinegar.Aside from this the socks are fine though I've only worn them a couple times, I will update later how they hold up over time. Maybe I got a bad batch but regardless the trouble I went through to remove the smell was ridiculous and Ballston's customer support has been completely unresponsive.

Well made and comfortable to wear. I was hoping they'd be a little warmer for medium weight socks but honestly I don't have anything to compare them with in that regard. I live in FL and a few nights ago it got down into the 30's. I was outside for 5 hours sitting by a fire wearing Colombia Redmond trail shoes and near the end of the 5 hours my feet were starting to get cold. I wasn't active at all, just getting up occasionally to feed the fire and grab another beer and it's not like Floridians acclimate to the cold very well. lol The only other wool socks I have are lightweight ankle high hiking socks and the Ballston's are definitely thicker and warmer than they are. I haven't washed them yet so if I have any issues I'll update my feedback. Overall, I'm happy with them and I paid almost as much for a single pair of my other wool socks than this 4 pack cost, so that's a great deal. If they hold up, I'll be buying Ballston again.

These socks are amazing! I have worked in steel toed boots for the last 30 years, and these are the best socks I have ever owned. I originally bought these as work socks. I have worn wool socks before for hiking, so I figured they would be good for work boots as well. They have far exceeded my expectations.I wear these socks daily now because they are so comfortable. They are extremely long wearing as well. I bought my first 8 pairs two years ago now, and I still do not have any holes in them; and they still stay up too! No quitters! A year later, I bought 8 more pairs and you can only see a small difference between the ones that were a year old and the new ones. They take just a tiny bit of extra care: wash with a regular load of clothes as normal, but skip the dryer and hang them up to dry (hang them over a towel bar or something similar, no need for an outside clothes line).These socks keep your feet warm in the winter (even in steel toes) and wick moisture away in the summer, keeping your feet comfortable.If you are wondering whether the price is with it, wonder no more. Get a pair for yourself. Your feet will thank you!The pictures show how the socks were packeged on receipt, and comparison of new socks received, and 1 year old socks.

From a person that is always annoyed with having cold feet at home....I bought these socks to mainly where around the house. From the moment I put them on, I noticed that they were quite comfortable. So that was a plus. Not really the main reason to purchasing them though. The heel/toe area can be kinda saggy for me personally (I'm size 13).They somewhat do the job, but my feet don't warm up for a while! Not sure if theres a science to it or not, lol. I purchased these because I wanted to give Merino wool a chance!Side note, I took them up north to go sledding. I got snow all around my shoes, and my socks got little damp. Not wet though, which was cool.In the end, they seem to work better in very cold environments vs just having cold feet around the house!Comfort 4/5Efficiency 3/5Value 3/5

I originally purchased 4 pairs of these in 2018 for a hiking trip. They are great for hiking and camping as they do not get wet and stinky like cotton socks, and these are made well. Once the pandemic hit and I was working from home I started wearing them almost on a daily basis. It was only recently that I had my first sock fail. I will say, I don't know the proper washing protocol, and just wash them with my normal clothes and they do get 'fuzzy', so if you want them to look as close to new you might want to wash and dry the recommended way. If you are just wearing them for comfort and not for looks just wash them however you want.

These are really nice socks. Soft, good thickness so that you can also wear them in boots. The pictures make the sock look kind of beige colored, but the ones I got are more blue/gray than anything else. Best percentage of wool that I've found. When it's cold and I wear regular socks to sleep, I usually wake up in the middle of the night because they get too hot. I did not have that problem with these. They kept my feet warm without overheating. Definitely a good value getting four pairs for this price.