DeFeet Socks : Levi-T-Ator, Blaze, Woolie Boolie

I've just returned from a six-week winter road trip across America, during which I slept either in my truck or a tent and spent my days biking, running, and hiking. The weather ranged from lows in the single digits to highs in the 70’s, and included more than my fair share of precipitation--in all forms. All of this, to me, is bliss. The three pairs of DeFeet socks(the Levi-T-Ator, the Blaze, and the Woolie Boolie) that I took along and attempted to wear into the ground were simply icing on the cake.

Defeet's catalog describes not only the beauty to be found in the DeFeet sock universe (and they are gorgeous socks, sometimes even works of art), but also speaks at length about the various technologies DeFeet socks employ. It struck me that DeFeet socks thought a little too much of themselves. It was up to me to put them in their place.

Three pairs I’d received covered the gamut of climates and activities I anticipated for my trip--the Levi-T-Ator is lightweight and exercise specific, the Blaze (mine were made with CoolMax) is a heavier weight suitable for a running shoe or hiking boot, and the Woolie Boolie is a well-insulated wool answer for cold weather sports--I decided to take these three pairs of socks and only these three pairs so that I could truly put them to the test. To say they passed my test sorely understates their flying colors.

First, let me try to put words to what it’s like to pull on a DeFeet sock for the first time. It is not unlike what those kids in the old Keds’ commercials experienced--footwear that gives you the sense that you can jump logs with ease, glide through the forest like a deer. Okay, so I overstate a bit. But when I put on a DeFeet sock it was obvious to me that this was no ordinary sock. It seemed made precisely for my foot. This was particularly notable given that my foot size, 9.5, is at the bottom of DeFeet’s 9.5-11.5 “large” size range. There was none of the extra heel fabric bunching out the back of my shoe, which so often happens with “fitted” sports socks, especially of the heavier variety, none of the blister-manufacturing extra material painfully overlapping in your toe box. This exact fit, for all three pairs, has endured.

But what makes DeFeet socks great transcends fit. They provide your foot a remarkable amount of support. This is the first sock that I’ve continued to be aware of, in a positive way, once I put my shoes on. A DeFeet sock is more than just something between you and your shoe--it has an elaborate architecture all its own. I know, I know, I was the one who scoffed at DeFeet’s use of “technology” and “sock” in the same sentence, and yet here I am throwing out “architecture.” What can I say, I’m a convert. Maybe a junkie even.

Keep in mind that I abused these socks. I wore them 24 hours a day and rarely washed them. To my amazement, and my wife’s gratitude, they literally never smelled. I guess I attribute this weird imperviousness to odor to the fact that they kept my feet extremely dry. And the way they move moisture so effectively must have something to do with the fact that, while the Blaze or Woolie Boolie kept my feet warm in single digits, I’d also find myself wearing them comfortably once the mercury topped 70 degrees.

Bottom LIne: I‘m at the point where I’d simply like to continue wearing DeFeet socks. I’m home now and I’m still acting like there are only three pairs of socks in my drawer. Time to order more DeFeet socks.

Price: $13

Manufacturer's Site: www.defeet.com

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