If you are serious about hiking and expect to put some hard, off-road miles on your body, you need to be super serious about the socks you put on your feet.
Sure, the boots you choose (and the rest of your clothes, for that matter) will have a huge impact on how comfortable you are while hiking. But your socks play a critical – and often criminally overlooked – role in protecting your feet and keeping you comfortable, too.
Below we dig a little bit deeper into (almost) everything you need to know about how and why to wear compression socks while hiking, how to choose the best hiking compression socks on the market today, and more.
By the time you're done with the inside info in this detailed guide you'll know the difference between synthetic sock options, wool and hybrid sock options, picking between low cut and knee high socks, and so much more.
You'll be able to reach for the perfect pair of socks to protect your feet and your tired legs every time you get ready for an off road adventure on foot.
Let's get right into it!
What Makes Compression Socks Great for Hiking?
Choosing the right compression socks is the difference between a fun, adventurous, and comfortable hike ahead of you and an absolute uncomfortable nightmare that you want to cut short as quickly as humanly possible.
But unless you know why it's so important to wear compression socks when you are going to be hiking, you'll never know how to find the perfect socks for your needs in the first place.
For starters, the best compression sleeves and hiking socks are going to help improve your circulation far more than traditional socks ever could.
Compression socks (the best compression socks, anyway) are specifically designed to gently apply pressure to your feet and your legs – not so much that it becomes uncomfortable, but certainly enough to improve your blood flow and circulation, especially in your lower extremities.
That's critical!
By preventing blood from pulling up in your feet and your legs you not only avoid issues like deep vein thrombosis but you also avoid blood clots, cramping, leg pain and leg fatigue, and so much more.
Quality compression socks designed with hiking in mind significantly reduce feelings of fatigue, muscle soreness, prevent blisters from building up, and generally just boost your athletic performance, too.
You'll enjoy improved oxygenation, helping you more efficiently pump blood to your lower extremities, won't have to worry about your legs and feet swelling up, and shouldn't have to worry about things like calf cramps or shin splints, either.
On top of all of that, quality hiking socks (made from natural or synthetic materials) will provide you great protection from the elements, add a little bit of extra support to your feet and your ankles, and will cushion your footfalls off-road – all while keeping your feet dry and warm, too.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits most socks designed for hiking with even a mild compression level built-in offer!
How Do Compression Socks Work, Anyway?
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of what specifically to look for in hiking compression socks (and then get into our favorite hiking compression socks on the market today), it's important to share with you how these socks work in the first place.
By understanding how these compression socks work you'll have a much better idea of why you want to wear them every time you go out for a hike.
A lot of people are under the impression that compression socks are designed with materials that sort of squeeze your feet, delivering the benefits that we highlighted above.
And while that's definitely a piece of the puzzle (compression socks will definitely squeeze your feet), the way these socks work is a little more complex than that.
You see, these socks aren't going to squeeze your feet universally and they aren't going to apply the same amount of pressure across the entirety of your feet and your legs.
Instead, compression socks work to apply graduated pressure across your feet and into your legs to better encourage blood flow, circulation, and to push back against fatigue and protect against injury.
The amount of compression you feel is going to be concentrated in the ankle of just the socks. More moderate compression will be delivered outward from the ankle position, until you get to the tip of your toes and higher up your leg where the compression is going to be almost 0.
All of this helps to improve blood flow and blood circulation. The improved circulation boosts your athletic performance, your endurance, and fights significantly against fatigue.
You'll be able to hike further and for longer stretches of time between rest stops than you would have been able to without a lightweight sock delivering real compression (and hiking boots designed for this kind of off-road activity, for course).
These socks (especially compared to other socks that do not have compression capabilities) are all about working to improve blood circulation so that you get the performance-enhancing benefits greater blood flow delivers - especially when you're working your lower body as hard as you will be while hiking.
What to Look for in the Best Compression Socks
Now that we have all of that out-of-the-way, let's dig a little bit deeper into what specifically you should be looking for when getting ready to buy compression socks for hiking.
Though there are a lot of different qualities that the best hiking compression socks have in common, these key features really helped to separate top-tier compression socks from the rest of the pack:
- Intentionally graduated compression – As we touched on earlier, the whole reason to wear compression socks In the first place is to take advantage of graduated compression capabilities that improve blood flow. Your high quality hiking compression socks need to have this literally built right in to the form factor of the hiking socks themselves.
- Compression level – Different brands and manufacturers of compression socks for hiking will offer different compression rating or compression levels, and finding the right one for your needs is going to involve a little bit of trial and error. You should always trend towards "too much" compression whenever possible, though. That'll help improve blood circulation a whole lot more than too little compression.
- Material choice – Today's high quality compression socks come in a whole bunch of different material options, from "old-school" wool socks (look for merino wool when you can) to very modern technical fabrics and even hybrids between the two. Pick compression socks for hiking that feel good on your feet!
- Fit – Regardless of whether or not you go with a natural fabric or a synthetic fabric, the socks you pick should fit your feet like a second skin. You're looking for something that can help offer extra protection, improve muscle recovery, help with temperature regulation, and improve performance while applying the right amount of compression. A loose or sloppy fit won't be able to do any of that.
- Durability – The whole point of finding the best socks for hiking is finding socks that you can rely on hike after hike (hopefully for years to come) without them falling apart or breaking down on you. A great pair of compression socks for hiking should last you a decade or longer – provided you're not spending 99% of your time out in the woods, course. Durable socks with a reinforced heel, reinforced toe box, and smart material choice should be able to withstand multiple washes a week without coming apart at the seams (figuratively and literally).
- Length – This is a personal choice for every hiker, and it's generally a good idea to have a couple of different length compression socks in your "arsenal", but most hikers like a compression sock that is a little bit on the longer side of things. You don't have to go with full-blown knee high compression socks for hiking. But calf length options that support your lower legs a little bit (and help relax and protect your calf muscles) are a great way to go.
Keep these things in mind when hunting for moisture wicking, comfortable, and extra cushioning compression socks and you'll be good to go!
What to Avoid When Buying Compression Socks
In just a moment we will share with you our favorite compression socks on the market today, but before we do let's touch on what you should avoid when shopping for these kinds of socks.
- Cheap materials – There's nothing worse than trying to wear compression socks made from cheap materials. They won't fit right, they won't feel right, and they won't be able to provide the kind of compression you need to prevent deep vein thrombosis, blood clots, varicose veins, or even just fight back against normal fatigue.
- Low breathability – Compression socks that haven't been made from materials that "breathe" are a nightmare for hikers, too. The socks will make your feet hot, make your feet sweat, and will inevitably cause blisters to build up faster than you would have thought possible. That'll take you out of your hike pretty quick, too.
- Poor or nonexistent brand reputation – Finally, though you can sometimes find some hidden gems in new or little discussed compression sock brands you are more often than not rolling the dice and doing a bit of gambling. Stick to the better known brands in the business, companies with a reputation for producing great compression socks, and you'll have a whole lot less to worry about.
CopperJoint Copper Compression Socks
For starters, the inclusion of copper infused into these compression socks is not done to generate marketing hype or anything like that.
No, the copper infused into these compression socks is there intentionally. Copper has fantastic anti-inflammatory properties, great insulative properties, and even works to fight against foot odor.
Those are all things you're going to be looking for from socks you're going to wear on a long hike.
On top of that, though, these socks feature graduated compression, have a reputation for durability and longevity (even if you wear them exclusively on long hikes), and are going to keep your feet comfortable in all different kinds of weather conditions.
At the end of the day, you're not going to have a tough time finding these socks with compression capabilities built right in on the market today.
Almost every sock company on the planet offers some kind of compression option.
In fact, one of the hardest challenges you'll have to overcome is whittling down your choices, sifting through the "not so hot" options until you can settle on winners like the ones we highlighted above.
Stick to the tips and tricks we shared above, though, and you'll have a much easier time finding the right socks for your next hiking and outdoor excursion.
Focus on fit and material choices. Choose a pair from a brand with a reputation for durability and longevity. And – above all else – make sure that you are getting socks that offer graduated/progressive compression instead of universal compression.
Zero in on those key criteria (and start your search without cheat sheet of top options highlighted above) and you'll have no trouble whatsoever filling up your sock drawer with quality options you can reach for every time you want to do a little bit of backwards exploring.
If you really want to make sure that all your bases are covered grab a couple of pairs of socks from all the options we reviewed earlier. Find two or three brands that you really like and then stock up!