Feetures Merino Socks: Quick Review

Feetures Merino Socks: Quick Review – Guitar Ted

Socks are important. While some may consider cycling without them, I’d wager most of us wouldn’t do that. Therefore; socks are important. Just as important as shoes, or a saddle, or bar tape and grips can be. Of course, socks are part of the “touch points” of a bicycle for the rider. Get bad ones, or even so-so ones, well then, your ride will suffer.

I was contacted recently by a representative of Feetures socks. “Feetures?“, I thought to myself, as I looked at the e-mail. They are the #1 sock for runners, or so the website claims. Huh….. Never heard of them. Shows you how much I run. Okay, so why get a hold of a cycling centered website? Well, they are a multi-use sock and they wanted to get the word out to, you know…..people like me that have never heard of them. Touche’! Okay then, let’s take a closer look.

What It Is: Feetures sent me three pairs of socks from the Men’s Active sock line. One pair of Mini Crew from their “Elite” line and a pair each of the Mini-Crew and the No Show Tab socks which come from the sub-category called Merino10. Here’s what Feetures says about these socks:

“Game changing Merino.

You’ve never felt a merino sock like this before. The secret to Feetures’ all-new Merino 10 is a uniquely spun blend of merino wool with TENCEL fibers. With a rarefied 200-needle thread count, the merino sock is comfier, stretchier, drier, and more durable than ever before.

Available Cushion Levels: ULTRA LIGHT & CUSHION

Elite: Enhanced fit and feel.

If you’re looking for the best performance sock on the planet, our Elite socks have it all. They feature Targeted Compression, zone specific compression where you need it most for superior comfort and support. As a result they have an anatomical design, meaning they conform to the left and right structure of the foot.

Available Cushion Levels: ULTRA LIGHT, LIGHT CUSHION & MAX CUSHION “

These socks come in four heights- No Show Tab, an super short, under-ankle length, a more typical, over the ankle length called “Quarter”, a longer length most often liked by mountain bikers and anyone that likes longer socks called “Mini-Crew”, and one longer than that called “Crew”. I got the super-short, no-show, the Quarter, and the next longer Mini-Crew size length. The super-short pair were the “Ultra-light Cushion” comfort level, the other two were designated “CUSHION”.

The Merino10 socks range from $15.99 to $21.99. The socks in the Men’s category are available in Medium, Large, and Extra-Large. Socks from Feetures are available direct from their site. Feetures socks also have a limited lifetime guarantee.

Ride Performance: The socks I wore most often were the Mini-Crew ones as that’s the length I most prefer for cycling. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the No Show Tab size, as that size shows nothing above the shoe line and rocks, dust, and debris are easily allowed entry into the socks. I can see this size being attractive for those who wear sandal type cycling footwear, or for casual wear, but they are not for me. That said, the other pairs were, in a word, wonderful. There are a lot of sock companies out there making great footwear, but I’d rank these up there as some of the most comfortable socks I’ve tried.

Cycling with the Feetures socks was great, wearing them as everyday socks worked well, and they have held up through several wash cycles. So I can say with some confidence that these socks should give their wearers not only a comfortable sock, but a sock that holds up to week in, week out usage. The left/right thing? I guess it works. I never purposefully tried the wrong way around. Actually, without even thinking, I’ve always managed to get the left on the left foot and vice versa.

I’m not sure what, if anything, Feetures has planned different for their cycling line, but if they are on par with these offerings that I have tried they will be a great sock for cycling. (Editor’s note- Feetures isn’t going to do anything cycling specific. Apparently I got the notion from….somewhere….that they were. No such thing should be expected. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.) To learn more and to keep up with the latest, see the Feetures website here: https://feetures.com/

Note: Feetures sent over the three pair of socks for test and review to Riding Gravel at no charge. We were not paid, nor bribed for this review and we always try to give our honest thoughts and views throughout.