Home Reviews Gear Icebreaker Hiker Lite Crew 
Sock
Icebreaker Hiker Lite Crew 
Sock

I know a bloke who, in 2008, wore a different pair of socks for every day of the year. Seriously. But here’s the moral of the story: he quickly got ‘over’ the act (art?) of wearing a new pair of socks each and every day. I, on the other hand, not being of the “cleanliness is next to…” brigade, constantly seek out garments that I can just keep on wearing, on and on and on. And on. Which is fine for, say, an outer shell jacket, not being in actual close quarters contact the oily, sweaty, moist, bacteria-harbouring machine that is the human body. But socks?

Seven days. That’s my record. That’s how long I went wearing one pair of Icebreaker’s Hiker Lite Crew socks, day in and day out before I had to change them. Whereas my friend went through 365 socks,  and a sock budget the size of Rudd’s travel budget, I’d only go through 52 in a year. And that’s assuming I didn’t wear any one pair again.  Given it doesn’t take a week to wash a pair of socks (unless I actually have to wash them myself), that means I could conceivably get through an entire year on only two pair of socks.

Notably at the end of my experiment there was only an ever so slight waft of my usually putridly productive feet  – it wasn’t a room clearer, which, when borne in some cheap pair of acrylics, my trek worn stumps tend to become. So I could have gone on longer, and, in my mind happily so, only at the experiment-ending discretion of those in the room with me.  Two weeks? Maybe. Three – I’ll do that test in the desert on a solo retreat, shall I?

Suffice to say that the Icebreaker merino socks I wore for that footloose and carefree week impressed me (and amazed my wife). Icebreaker proffers that they are “scientifically proven to resist odour build-up, outperforming socks and other clothing made from polyester or acrylic polypropylene.” This is because as a natural fibre the merino passes moisture (evaporated sweat) through the individual fibres and its knit structure, leaving the foot cool and less encumbered by sweat and gunk, which is what the microbes devour and pump back out as that waft my wife thinks is a dead possum stuck in the walls.

There’s a bunch of other good things to say about Icebreaker socks – which come in various configurations for trekking, running, cycling – anything in the outdoors, really. They are the type of socks you search through your entire collection for in the morning, bypassing all those other Christmas presents from unthinking relatives, unworn since unwrapping, because their sheer comfort makes them your favourites on high rotation, like the new Pearl Jam album. Ever patted a merino sheep in the paddock? Well, that’s not how these feel against your feet…they’re much softer, more like they’ve been woven from fluffy cat fur (put down the phone all you RSPCA watchdogs – they  haven’t).

In terms of function beyond smell-reduction: the Hiker Lite Crew has Achilles and instep support, a reinforced heel and toe for durability and strength, and a special toe seam to prevent blisters.

There’s also the enviro friendly angles on these toe-coddlers: biodegradable, renewable and the old ‘no sheep were harmed in the making of this product' guarantee. They love their sheep in New Zealand.  But there’s one earth friendly aspect they haven’t spruiked on the marketing speel – less washing of said socks means less detergent, less water and less energy. We’re all for that.

Now, if I can just get a second pair of Icebreaker socks, I can clear the sock drawer and I’m good for the year. And better news: Icebreaker does a merino undies range. I’ll let you know how that seven day (plus) test goes.

Icebreaker Hiker Lite Crew 

RRP$29.95
icebreaker.com

Reviewed by: Chris Ord, Editor, Outer Edge

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