Athletes foot effects 1 in every 4 of us at any given time and can spread further, wreaking havoc on your feet. Your socks can make or break your treatment of athletes foot and choosing the right ones is essential.

What are the main features to look for in a sock?

With the goal of creating a dry, low friction environment, here's what you need to look for:

Breathability

Airflow ensures a dry, low humidity environment that fungus hates!

Lightweight

Thin socks for the win as increasing sock thickness reduces your skins ability to regulate temperature and can increase moisture

Merino Blend

A blend of natural merino wool and synthetic yarn creates the perfect fabric to wick away moisture and keep yoru skin feeling dry.

Wide toe box or separate toe sleeves

Keeping your toes compressed together creates a warm, moist area with constant skin on skin contact between your toes. sort this out by choosing toe socks to wrap each toe in a moisture wicking sleeve. You can also look for socks with a wide toe portion to wear by themselves or over the top of toe socks.

For a more in depth look at why these features are important and how the help with athletes foot, see our previous article: The Best Socks for Athletes Foot

With the knowledge at hand that the best socks for athletes foot should be light, breathable, ideally foot-shaped and have a combination of wool and synthetic fibers, here's out top recommendations 👇

1. Creepers Merino Toe Socks

Our number one sock for foot health that ticks all the boxes to keep your feet dry and healthy and thanks to the super soft merino, it barely feels like you're wearing them

Pros

• Merino Blend (50% merino)
• Separate, toe sleeves
• Seamless construction
• Lightweight
• Breathable mesh upper
• High ratings

Cons

• Only available online
• Small range to choose from

Buy the top rated toe socks here

2. Drymax

Touted as the number one sock for keeping you dry, it's our 2nd favorite sock for athletes foot.

Pros

• Drymax material
• Tried and tested favorite of many runners & hikers
• Lightweight
• Duel-layer

Cons

• No Merino wool
• High (11%) elastane content, likely to increase the toe-squish
• Toes aren't separate

3. Smartwool

Smartwool use a combination of fibers and technology to create great socks that help you go far and feel good.

Pros

• Merino blend (around 50% merino wool)
• Snug fit
• Seamless toe box
• Only 3% elastane

Cons

• Toes aren't separate
• Premium price point
• Variable reviews count

4. Injinji

The most well know/oldest athletic toe sock brand that's tried and tested. They have a wide range of models available with some models. 

Pros

• Merino wool blend in some models (32-44%)
• Wide range 
• Seperate toe sleeves
• Seamless construction

Cons

• Lower Merino percentage than others
• Longevity can be an issue

5. Darn Tough

A merino blend sock that's well known for it's resilience and longevity.

Pros

• Lifetime Guarantee
• Merino Blend (40-50%)
• High review counts

Cons

• Can we thick. Even the lightweight versions have thicker padding through the sole and toes

Finals tips

• Regularly clean your feet and dry well afterward
• Change your socks!
• Wear lightweight, breathable merino socks, ideally with separate toes
• Breathable shoes with a natural shaped toe box helps

 

Bonus: For first time customers, you can use the code "HAPPYFEET" to get 10% off your first order of Creepers merino toe socks

 

Disclaimer: Socks along are not guaranteed to get rid of athletes foot but are an important aspect of it's treatment and management. This article and any information on this site is not medical advice and, if needed, consult and doctor or dermotologist.

Find out what the five best socks are for athletes foot as well as the key sock features, materials and extra tips for success in battling the dreaded foot fungus. Athletes foot sucks, but luckily there’s a lot you can do to treat and prevent athletes foot.

Tired of blisters making runs and hikes painful? For days after a big run or hike you put up with blisters, redness or pissed off skin. The unwanted hangover after a big session! Rather than choosing socks purely as a separating layer between your shoe and sock, why not choose socks for optimizing foot function and health? Are toe socks the answer to prevent blisters?

I used to get blisters on my second toe on most trail runs over 20km and often that turned into another blister on top of that if I didn’t rest up enough! But hey, there’s a solution. It’s a simple one too. It’s a matter of knowing why most blisters happen and then solving that problem. Let's dig into it, bit by bit.

Before we get to that, I'll point out the obvious that yes, we may seem a bit biased being a toe socks company that makes awesome merino toe socks, but all we are going to do is lay out the information for you.

The blister problem

We all love to get out for a good long run to clear the head or a multi-day hike to get in touch with nature, or even nab a Instagram worthy shot. But sore, bruised and blistered toes often seem like a forgone conclusion for some.

Blisters are just inevitable when your on your feet, pounding the pavement or tackling the trails for so long. Right?

That’s the thing, blisters aren’t inevitable and a lot of them can be prevented with well fitting shoes (we’ll cover this in another post) and the right socks.

What causes blisters on your toes?

Let’s get straight to it. Tim Finn said it best “There’s a fraction, too much friction”

That’s it, that’s what causes so many blisters. Not just on your toes either but your arch and heel. Out toes often get the worst of it though because in most socks, even the specialized, high performance hiking and running socks, your toes are still wrapped up together.

So why is that bad? Isn’t that how most socks are?

Well, let me tell you. Just because that’s how it’s always been done, does that make it the best way?

All performance socks, heck, almost all socks for that matter, contain 2-5% elastic fibers and because the standard sock shape is a tube, they act to pull your toes together. Think of it a bit like a light rubber band around your toes. It’s not strong but just enough to keep your toes in contact with each other more often than not.

Take that skin-on-skin contact and add in a whole lot of repetitive pounding.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how blisters are made... amongst other things.

It’s a lot like how many runners get chafe on their inners thighs. Just like your thighs can, your toes rub and rub and rub. First they are a bit red and unhappy and this can even be just from long days on your feet at work. But with thousands or steps and just as much rubbing, hot spots and blisters are sure to form.

 

Are toe socks the solution to your blister?

The short answer: Yes.

The long answer?

Toe socks form seamless little sleeping bags for each toe, wrapping each toe with moisture wicking, low friction fabric to give you two awesome benefits to battle the blister.

Firstly, they immediately stop the skin on skin rubbing while also helping draw moisture away from the skin when standard shaped socks simply cannot.

Secondly, though, they allow your toes to spread, grip and creep naturally, just how they should. As long as your shoes aren’t too narrow then your toes can splay with movement and minimize the pressure, improve aeration, and as a bonus improve toe alignment and feel.

TLDR

Toe socks do prevent blisters and are one of the best ways to reduce the rubbing to stop hot spots and blisters from forming by separating your toes and letting them move naturally. If you haven’t tried them, you’ll be amazed how how surprisingly comfortable they are, let alone how many foot problems they can help with.

So, get your feeters in some Creepers Toe Socks. Our toe socks here at Creepers socks aren’t just designed for seamless comfort but are 50% ultra-fine merino wool, which has a lower friction coefficient than coolmax and other synthetic fibers, giving you the most comfortable sock you might ever wear. Check them out HERE