Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Sock

Buy it here for $25

A good hardware store needn't have a dazzling hosiery selection, but it should offer a fine sock because your feet are a pretty important tool and a little love goes a long way.

The case for offering just a single pair of socks becomes all the more interesting when you consider they might be the only pair of socks you will ever need to buy. And that is no figure of speech. Darn Tough knits their entire lineup of socks in Vermont and backs each pair with a lifetime warranty.

Darn Tough is well known at this point, but in their infant stages, they famously won over the hearts of long-distance through-hikers who'd walk holes in their socks crossing the Appalachian or Pacific Crest trails and exchange them for freshies when their trip was finished.

Their most versatile sock is the Micro Crew Midweight. It has a generous amount of cushioning on the bottom, but the rest of the sock is thin and breathable, suitable for snugger-fitting shoes. I own a few pairs of Micro Crew socks, and two pairs are knocking on at least four years of service, and both are still far from yawing open a hole.

Beyond offering a point of view on the specificity of my favorite model, it warrants saying that for any of you who have not experienced the life-changing properties of owning Merino/nylon socks, you are about to have the most life-changing experience that twenty-five dollars can buy you. And unlike most pleasures, it's guaranteed for life!