Meet the reviewer
Darn Tough Quarter Midweight Hiking Sock with Cushion: first impressions
• List price: $22 (US) / £24 (UK)
• Style and height: Quarter height
• Weight (per pair): 67g / 2.4oz
• Sizes: Men’s: Small / Medium / Large / XL; Women’s: Small / Medium / Large
• Materials: Merino Wool (59%), Nylon (38%) and Lycra Spandex (3%)
• Colors: Men’s: Onyx Black / Chestnut / Dark teal / Taupe; Women’s: Sage / Berry / Dusk Denim
• Best for: Summer hiking, trekking, day walking, backpacking
The starting point for any successful walking escapade is solid footwear, and that obviously doesn’t just begin and end with choosing a good pair of hiking boots. The socks you decide to pair with your boots will make a massive difference to how comfortable you are out on the trails, and therefore to your enjoyment of the entire experience.
We have tested several pairs of Darn Tough products in the past, including the Hiker Boot Midweight socks, and found them to be among the very best hiking socks on the market. For summer treks, however, I have been looking for a slightly shorter sock to go with a decent pair of hiking shoes, and Darn Tough’s cushioned version of their Quarter Midweight Hiking Sock looked just the ticket.
There’s never an excuse for skimping on the quality of your walking socks – it’s a massive example of false economy that will cost you dearly in other ways. While 20 bucks or more might seem like a premium price to pay for socks, it’s an investment well worth making if you value your time on the trails. If you’re forking out for gear, however, you need to be confident that it will perform when duty calls.
Darn Tough guarantee they will replace or refund any sock purchases that do not live up to their promises, either because they fail and fray, or because they’re not as comfortable or functional as sold. As generous and confident-sounding as that is, no one really wants to go through the hassle of returning products, so to save you the trouble I have been out testing DT’s Quarter Midweight Hiking Sock to find out if they walk the walk as well as they talk the talk.
Darn Tough Quarter Midweight Hiking Sock with Cushion: design and materials
Perfect for pairing with walking shoes (or hiking sandals if that’s your vibe) these socks are Quarter length. This means they measure 14cm from heel to cuff, comfortably covering your ankle, with about 8cm of sock showing above an average hiking shoe (sometimes referred to as a low boot).
Darn Tough produce one thing – socks for active pursuits – and therefore can concentrate completely on making them very good. The material mix in these socks is a clever cocktail of merino wool, nylon and Lycra Spandex, each of which brings their own valuable properties to the party. The merino is comfortable next to your skin, breathes well, wicks moisture away, offers excellent thermal properties (even in changeable conditions) and contains bacteria-bashing enzymes that stop socks smelling. The nylon adds strength, so the socks don’t develop holes or fall apart, and the Lycra Spandex helps preserve the garment’s shape, ensuring it supplies support to the parts of your feet that need it most, as it’s designed to.
The cushioning comes into play around your ankle, Achilles and underfoot (all common problem areas) where soft terry loops provide targeted protection.
Like all Darn Tough’s socks, these are made (not just designed) in Vermont, and they’re unconditionally guaranteed for life. My only real criticism – and it’s quite a big one – doesn’t relate to the performance of the socks, but to the sourcing of the materials, because there doesn’t appear to be any recycled content used at all.
On the trails
I have been wearing the Quarter Midweight Hiking Sock while walking and hiking around technical coastal and countryside trails in Southwest England, during several urban ambles and on some challenging hill hikes in a massive mixture of weather conditions.
As you might expect from a majority merino-made sock, the comfort levels are exceptionally good. This isn’t just down to the materials, though – the strategically placed seams and use of cushioning makes a really noticeable difference, and the performance fit means the socks don’t move or slip around within your shoe. This is a massive positive, especially in damp conditions and when you start ramping up the mileage, preventing blisters and horrible hotspots from developing.
For testing purposes, I have used the same pair for multiple consecutive days, and not only do they keep performing (even after getting drenched), they stubbornly refuse to start stinking (which is quite something). Together with the hardiness of the product (it’s early days, but I can certainly detect no signs of wear and tear yet), this is a major bonus of these socks, making them ideal for multiday adventures, whether you’re backpacking, fastpacking, thru-hiking or even bikepacking.
