Smartwool PhD Socks – Run Smarter

If you are like me, you probably have a draw full of socks – not just casual/dress – I mean specialty running socks. At last count I had over 20 pairs collected over the past five years of running – and they all seem to have a specific purpose. A few for cold weather running, a handful for my various road shoes and the other handful for my various trail shoes as not all shoes fit the same and you need a good mix of ultra thin/thin/thick socks to make them all work. But in the end, out of all of them, there are a few pair of go to socks. New this year is a couple of pair of Smartwool Phd Run socks – Light Elite and Ultra Light Cushion. This was not my first foray into wool socks as my cold weather ones are a wool blend – so I know they can be good socks – but they were my first pairs for the warmer weather. Unlike the other socks that I own, which all feel good or they would have been pitched long ago, the PhD Wool socks have a silky/sleek (almost slippery) feeling about them. I am a mens medium ( size 8 in the 6-8.5 range) and they fit near perfect. The blend of wool/nylon with a bit of Elastane give them a good bit of stretch yet maintain a nice snug fit. I have worn these socks a couple of dozen times over the course of this past season and have found them to be very enjoyable. I use them in some of my snugger shoes, where a thinner sock is required. I’m not sure if it just me, but I almost found them to be too slippery and needed to make sure that my foot was well snugged down into the shoe – this worked well with the snugger shoes. Smartwool PhD claims “Extraordinary Comfort” and ‘Exceptional Fit”, both of which I agree with. Slipperiness aside, the socks felt great and wore very well and I can see them going strong for a good wile as the craftman/workmanship appears to be very good. The third item they claim is “No-stink”. I smelled my socks after my various runs and I think they smelled better than some of my other socks after a run. I don’t do long runs – training or racing – so I can;t say I fully tested this aspect of the socks. I had thought of not washing one pair for three or four runs – but kept forgetting to NOT put them in the wash (age – it does that to you – don’t laugh, you’ll be there one day). Overall, I found the socks to be a solid addition to my collection. My only hesitation is on the cost side – they are on the more expensive side of socks that are out there. They are a solid quality sock, and at $20-25 bucks a pair, although you might wince a bit, they won’t break the  bank. Like a good pair of properly fitted shoes is important, so is a good pair of socks. Christmas is just around the corner, splurge for yourself and at least add one pair to your collection, or nudge nudge, wink wink, hint hint to whomever you need to and make sure you get a pair as a stocking stuffer – you won’t be disappointed.