7. Quechua SH500

Price: £15 (x2 pairs)
Weight: Mid to heavyweight
Cushioning: 4/5
Warmth: 4/5
Best for: Three-season hiking
This is a good pair of socks from Decathlon’s own brand, Quechua. They’re warm and very supportive and the technical construction brings zoned ventilation and padding in all of the right places. For instance, you’ve got terry looping on the toes, heel and shin and then air channels up the ankle to allow moisture vapour to escape.
The bulk of the materials are synthetics, with Polyamide and Polyester bringing durability, insulation, a fast drying time and wicking qualities to the table. 28% wool content is quite low and that could be the reason why these come at a fairly modest price. If your feet tend to get quite smelly, you might want to look for socks with a higher wool content as wool has excellent odour-fighting qualities and the same can definitely not be said for synthetics, unless they come treated with a silver-ion treatment such as Polygiene.
Still, these are good value socks for people who want a pair that offer warmth and durability.
Full Specifications
Fabric blend: 40% Polyamide, 28% Wool, 23% Polyester, 6% Silk, 3% Elastane
8. 1000 Mile Fusion Walk Sock

Price: £18
Weight: Mid to heavyweight
Cushioning: 4/5
Warmth: 4/5
Best for: trekking and hiking in spring, autumn and milder winter conditions
1000 Mile’s walking socks feature a unique double-layer design that’s intended to offer superior blister prevention and enhanced comfort for prolonged walks and hikes. We’ve tested these Merino-based socks extensively and can attest to their performance. Do they prevent blisters? Our crew haven’t had any problems. That being said, our feet are used to high mileage and we can’t say whether newbies would be immune to any problems.
The other thing that’s interesting about these socks is that they have a lining made from a fabric called Tactel. This is a nylon microfiber that we found to be very comfortable against the skin and also excellent at wicking away moisture, keeping your feet feeling fresh over the course of a hike.
Using these socks during a trip to the snowy mountains of the Cairngorms, they performed exactly how we wanted them to and they were perfect for the cold conditions we had. On hot days, they’re a little on the warm side, however. They’re generally quite bulky and heavy socks, so bear in mind that a couple of pairs will take up a fair bit of space in your hiking backpack or travel luggage.
Full Specifications
Fabric blend: 30% Merino wool, 46% nylon, 23% cotton, 1% elastane.
9. Smartwool Hike Full Cushion

Price: £27
Weight: Midweight
Cushioning: 4/5
Warmth: 4/5
Best for: Three-season hiking
Smartwool’s popular Hike collection has socks of various different thicknesses. These are the thickest and most cushioned. From our experience using them over the last few months, we’ve found these to be excellent for hikes in cooler weather, particularly in spring and autumn and on bad weather days in summer. On hot summer days, they can get a bit warm due to their thickness, while they’re also not quite thick enough for full blown winter conditions either (you’d want the Mountaineer Max for that kind of stuff). Having tested these, we’d say they’d be an ideal companion on an alpine trek where you’ll want warmth and moisture wicking performance but also good cushioning and padding.
Said cushioning and padding is excellent. In our tests, these were very comfortable to wear and made hikes over hard and rocky terrain just that bit easier. There’s terry looping throughout most of the sock which creates a very cosy feel. It’s only absent on the top of the foot where ventilation is, quite rightly, prioritised over padding.
The Merino content is high at 63% meaning that you get a silky soft feel when you pull these on – plus all the other benefits of Merino. We’ve used a number of Merino socks and baselayers from Smartwool and we’re always left impressed by the material quality.
Full Specifications
Fabric blend: 63% Merino, 7% Nylon, 28% recycled Nylon, 2% elastane.
10. Bridgedale Midweight Merino Endurance

Price: £23
Weight: Midweight
Cushioning: 4/5
Warmth: 4/5
Best for: Three-season hiking, backpacking
Bridgedale are out and out sock specialists. In fact, they’ve been making socks from their factory in Northern Ireland since the First World War. This pair from them, the Merino Endurance (formerly known as the Trekker) stands as one of their best sellers. Here at Outdoors Magic, we’ve become well acquainted with them and have many years of use in them. Our verdict? They’re good, reliable hiking socks that hold their shape and padding over time extremely well. The Merino content in them isn’t as high as some of the other socks in this round up, but they do still feel comfortable. One of our testers hiked the Beacons Way switching between two pairs of these socks and he reported that no blisters were had. They did, however, get a little bit smelly after being worn while wet – as most socks will.
Although Bridgedale describe these as “all-season” we’d say they’re not quite warm enough for winter mountain use. We’ve found they’re warm enough for low level hiking in winter but you’ll want something burlier if you’re heading high up onto frozen mountains.
Full Specifications
Fabric blend: 26% wool , 18% Merino Wool , 38% Nylon polyamide, 17% polypropylene , 1% Lycra.
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