Questions & Answers

In the "Standards" thread here on toesalad.com, there was discussion about what is a minimal shoe. As a means of discussion, someone mentioned how they would classify socks.

This got me thinking about socks as shoes. So, I have been trying it out...LOVE IT! I have been wearing cheap, simple ankle-hig white athletic socks.

1) Cheap. Yes they will wear out quickly, but at 50 cents per pair, who cares. 2) Great fit. 3) Full forefoot freedom. 4) Super-minimal. 5) Keeps all the sand/grit from tearing up my sole-skin...the single biggest problem I have walking barefoot in the Spring here in Boston. 6) Keeps my feet acceptably warm when walking on cold pavement in cold weather. 7) In the summer they will protect me from buring the crap out of my feet. I burned my feet 3 times last summer and got huge blisters.

Goofy looking? Very. Do I care? Not enough to keep me from wearing my socks out in public.

I bought shoe-goo and am going to experiment with rubberizing the bottoms of socks. I am thinking that shoe-goo socks will last longer, and maybe will be wearable in even colder weather or on rougher surfaces.

I just heard that Zensah, maker of compression clothing, is giving away a pair of compression socks on Facebook. If this interests you, check out their Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/zensahsports

Any recommendations for foot-shaped socks?

I tend to not wear socks because I need lots of forefoot and toe room, and most socks are not foot shaped. I try to get socks of very thin material (dress socks usually), but I find that even these socks inhibit toe movement...not a lot, but enough that I avoid wearing them.

Are there any companies that make foot shaped socks?

I like smartwool socks a lot, and would love to see them jump on the foot-shaped sock thing.

One of the reasons that I am raising this question now, I plan to make my own minimal "shoes" with socks and layers of Shoe-Goo. But if I can't find socks that are foot-shaped its probably not worth the effort.

In particular, I would kill for a pair of foot-shaped waterproof/breathable socks. With these I can see a shoe-goo sole working well as raingear for cold days in fall/spring, and with a 4mm rubber sole as a possible solution for minimalist winter use.