Quest for the perfect Sock

Socks are not a subject that most people ever talk about, mainly only when the topic of Christmas presents come up and dad has everything he needs..not many people think about them, or want to pay $20 or more for a single pair of them for that matter.  For years I used Mark’s Work Wearhouse wool socks and nothing else.  I had long given up the cotton tube socks of my youth.  But when I finally bought some good hiking socks many years ago, I was addicted.  Good socks feel so great, form fitting, moisture wicking and cushioning for long treks, not to mention warm in any condition, wet or dry.  In fact now, that’s all I wear are hiking socks everywhere, except for one pair of dress socks I own.  But, there’s so much variety, it is easy to get overwhelmed when you step into the sock section of an outdoor store.  Not only is there many brands of socks, there’s many sock formats  - from ankle socks to full expedition socks and everything in between, not to mention some sock sizes have different cushioning weights

I have tried many brands and materials of socks over the years – Smartwool, Fox River, North Face, Icebreaker, Feetures bamboo socks, Patagonia and Darn Tough socks, to name a few.

If I was to figure out how to judge some socks over another, I would judge them on fit, cushioning, feel, and  wear resistance.  Most of these traits there’s not much difference at all.  Fit and feel, they all feel great, especially when new, although there may be some slight differences between brands/materials when your feet are damp.  Cushioning – well, that’s what you chose in the first place.  It’s the last one that makes quite a difference sock to sock I find.  I’ve found some start turning fuzzy and pill rather quickly (Feetures, and some of the Smartwool ones), while others after a while get a bear patch in some places such as the heel or ball of the foot by the falling apart.  But there really has only been one brand of socks that have stood up through many wears, washes and trips.  That one is the Darn Tough socks I have.  I don’t know how these are made, but they are brilliant.  None of the ones I have worn through, pilled or have gotten bear spots in them.  I also wash and dry them like I would any other piece of clothes. Now these are my go-to brand of socks if I am looking for standard weight hiking socks.

Darn Tough

Arcteryx Beta SL Jacket – Ultralight Waterproof Shell

I am a fan of Arcteryx products.  I admit it, but I am certainly not a blind fanboy, just to be loyal to a brand name.  I am a fan because I love most of their stuff that I own.  Started by climbers, the guys who own the company seek to make form fitting yet flexible clothing, which is a necessity for climbing.  I find their apparel fits my body type more than the standard American sizing of things.  By that I mean I find the chest/torso large compared to the sleeve length.  For work shirts, manyof the ones I have end up being not form fitting/too large in the chest, and the arms slightly too short.

Arcteryx’s Beta SL jacket is an ultralight waterproof shell that runs a bit pricey at $300.  One funny thing about Arteryx is their confusing naming scheme.  I am sure all the greek words and letter suffixes mean something to the designers in the company, but I don’t know what they mean.  The names are easy to mix up and forget what you even own.  But, that’s what this jacket happens to be – an ultralight waterproof shell.

In any case, I have had this jacket for the last couple years and I think it’s great for the most part.  It is meant to be an ultralight packable jacket and it is just that, made of GoreTexpaclite.  It fits great and has kept me dry in many a downpour.  It is very light, but I wouldn’t expect it to stand up to a ton of abuse.  My only issue with it is the hood.  They have designed the hood to be able to fit over a helmet, which I don’t care about really, I don’t climb or mountaineer, and I usually am not biking in the rain, either.  But, due to that the hood is very large.  The two cinching cords on the side and the back are meant to take of the slack if you use it without a helmet, but it only barely allows that.  Even with all the cords cranked down to their tightest, I still find the hood annoyingly falling down over my eyes if I am not wearing a toque at the time.  Although, Arcteryx has said they have slightly redesigned the model recently – hopefully they have fixed this with their latest version.  Other than that, I think this is great jacket to have on hand for traveling and backpacking.

http://arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Mens/Beta-SL-Jacket

Patagonia Advocate Mens Lace Shoes Review

Ultra packabale and light weight shoes, great for use as camp shoes at the end of a long day of backpacking.  They are also ideal when used as slippers for around the house, hostel, for car/base camping, or for use on long flights.  Made of microfibre, they give some warmth and comfort to your feet.  The thin textured sole is effective at giving decent traction on rocks.  For use as slippers there is no need to lace them up.  They would also likely make decent enough shoes for river crossings with the laces if you do the laces up to secure them.

The only downside of these since they are made from microfibre, I found are that they retain water and if the weather isn't hot and sunny, they may be damp for a few days if you get wet from using them as water shoes or from the dew at nightaround camp.

My Size 11s are 329g, if you are an ultralight type of person and take out the footbeds, they are a scant 284g. These are also available as slip-ons if you also want to save a couple more grams.  I got mine at MEC for $55..  a great step up from my super heavy Keene sandals I had previously used as camp shoes for backpacking, although the Keenes made for better water shoes.

Patagonia Advocate Mens Lace Shoes

Real Backcountry Knives

I haven’t been all that obsessed with the knife  I use in the backcountry as some outdoorsmen seem to be.  I generally bring my Leatherman Blast multitool on adventures, which I think has a good balance of weight and actually useful tools and handles almost anything I have ever needed to while I have owned it (other than opening a wine bottle, that is).  

 If I am wanting something a little more lightweight for backpacking, I would bring my Victorinox Spartan swiss Army knife, which is small, lightweight, and a no-frills knife.  Mind you, in general  I am not doing Bushcrafty type of things that are knife intensive/abusive such as skinning deer and making my own shelters with my knife, the majority of time I just use it for cutting my summer sausage, whittling a branch for the fire, or light repairs.   That said, the knifes I have are slightly lacking if it came down to it and had to do something that reuired me putting the knife through it’s paces.  They both have thin blades and  the handles certainly aren’t any good if you are spending any appreciable time with the knife in your hand. 

It would be cool to get a decently robust backcountry knife that would last the rest of my adventure days, but some are quite expensive.  Choosing a knife for what you want is a good challenge, there is an astounding range of sizes and styles of knives available, many of which unfortunately are made to make you want them for their appeal, not for their actual usefulness in the backcountry.  I think there’s a few Macho men out there into knives for the sake of being into knives ‘cause they look cool, and not their actual utility.  To be honest, I don’t know what some people on some knife forums are using their knives so much for, unless they are going out of their way to actually use a knife.

On top of that, many outdoor celebrities endorse products to make a living, and as such some products come into the spotlight because of that, and you have to take the marketing of some with a grain of salt, but on the other hand, some of the knifes are quite good.  I came across a surprisingly good rundown and writeup of celebrity endorsed backcountry knives on shipping.com here:  Outdoor Knives - As Featured In Television Survival Programs

I found it very useful in sorting out the BS when looking for a good backcountry knife.  The Les Stroud knife is intriguing to me, but I think I am leaning towards getting one of the Fallkniven F1 G3 knives

or a Bark River Knives and Tool BRKT Bravo 1 sometime soon.  Although either will lighten my wallet quite a bit, I do spend a good amount of time outdoors to get some use out of them…  hopefully for the rest of my life, so I hope I choose well.