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Merino wool hiking, trekking, cycling and skiing socks.

 

UK price: £14.99

Pros: Great toe and heel pockets, supportive sides and luxuriously smooth inside

Cons: pricey and dull colours

Verdict: inspiringly good socks

 

Rating: 

 

Available from: point6.com

 

What are the best socks in the world? It seems like a mad question shouted out in Harrods by a shopping crazed billionaire tying to buy socks to match their million-pound suits. But, in fact, it is the new marketing slogan for some travel socks.

 

No sooner had I praised the Corrymore socks I reviewed here as the Kitmaster, saying they were the best socks I’d ever worn, here come the Point6 Superior Merino Wool Socks – supposedly “the best wool socks ever”.

They’re on my desk now. In a patterned grey design, looking quite ordinary so far.

 

By the way, you’ll notice that on these pages more and more of Kitmaster’s assistants have been posting product reviews. That’s fine, they’re helping me out. But there is only one true Kitmaster - the only travel product reviewer who would be able to handle a review of such major gravitas as this.

 

We must now, this very day, decide which is the world’s best sock. I’ve decided to have a face-to-face footwear confrontation. A world cheesy championship. The ultimate showdown - sock against sock. The homely Corrymores from a farm in Devon versus this exciting new brash kid – the multinational Point6 sock.

 

The Point6 is made from Merino wool and promises to be longer lasting, have an ‘engineered fit’ and be more comfortable. The features are explained in an accompanying glossy booklet: evidently they have exceptional cross stretch capabilities to provide a fit that is snug without impairing circulation and sport-specific cushioning to protect from impact and pressure points. There’s a microscopic photo to show that ‘compact spun’ wool is better than ‘loose spun’ because wayward fibres create durability issues. Imagine having to sit down and write this booklet and keep a straight face.

 

Anyway. Let the teams take the field and the match begin. I have a soft blue Corrymore on my right foot. I am now pulling the grey Point 6 Hiking Tech Medium Crew Large sock on to my left foot….

 

Blimey! It is comfy. And very snug fitting. I might even say it really does have an engineered fit. It seems to support all the different parts and angles of my foot and ankle. There’s a deep firm heel and very smooth toe pocket with no irritating seams. There are padded panels and ventilation panels. Very impressive.

 

Ok, let’s have another look at the booklet. The Hiking Tech is one of dozens of socks that Point 6 produce, for all sorts of active uses like hiking, cycling, skiing and running. They’re not short of superlatives. These hiking socks are “the most technical performance outdoor socks on the market”. They are designed for trekking, expeditions and mountaineering. They come in six colours and four sizes.

 

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But there's some small print here in the product details. The Point6 socks are some sort of American corporate thing, the socks themselves are made in China, and are 31% nylon and 3% Spandex. But when I check the Corrymores I found they are a third nylon too. So the main differences are: the Corrymores are fluffier mohair, the Point6 are finer merino. The Corrymores are made on a farm in the Blackdown Hills, the Point6s in some sweat shop in Shanghai.

 

So in the final crunch, with the crowd on the edge of their seats, what is the Kitmaster verdict? The Point6 are definitely snugger and probably more durable. They feel as if they are inspiring me to go outside immediately and march for a few hours. The Corrymore sock however is the warmer and more comforting. My right foot feels marginally happier of the two.

 

So when the sock draw is open. Both pairs of socks are sitting there expectantly. Which shall I choose? I suspect the Corrymores would normally edge it for sheer luxurious woolly foot cuddling ability but if I was tackling Scafell Pike today I’d probably go for Point6.

 

Although there is a reality check here - like most hikers I know, in brutal hardcore adventures I’d wear two pairs. Maybe that’s the answer then. Expensive and luxurious it may be, but perhaps the world’s best sock is a pair of Corrymore and Point6 worn together…

 

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