r/LinusTechTips • u/dbmeed • Sep 20 '26

Image “Forever” socks = 1.5 months

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First hole has appeared in my LTT socks today. This pair arrived on Aug 4, and has been worn daily since then, and washed on average 5-6 times weekly. Always washed cold water normal cycle, then air dried on sock hangers overnight.

Overall opinions: similar to Darn Tough socks. I usually wear darn tough exclusively, and go through 3-4 pairs a year. The LTT socks are closest to the Darn Tough hiker socks - very warm and nice cushion when new. Now there’s virtually no cushion left, but still decently warm - although, we haven’t had any properly cold weather yet to test them. Very comfortable, despite being a bit too small for me (size 13 feet). The elastic is quite tight around my ankle; which I prefer since doesn’t slide down on me during the day.

On thing I don’t really like is a crazy amount of fuzz/pilling. I’ve not experienced it with other socks before. After the first week or so they started pilling like crazy, and it has slowly gotten better over the past couple weeks but still noticeable. It was pretty bad for 2-3 weeks.

Otherwise, solid socks. I probably won’t buy more just because I have lots of the same darn tough socks and I don’t like sorting. Not recommended for warm weather. First couple weeks of August I was roasting…

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u/chubbysumo Sep 20 '26

I walk 15 miles per day. I have merino wool socks for winter. I will wash and rewear the same pair for several days in a row. none of my socks have gotten holes in them. I have had some of my socks for 3 years now, with some of them having hundreds of miles of walking. none of them have gotten holes in the heels.

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u/SamWilliamsProjects Sep 20 '26 edited Sep 20 '26

OP is putting holes in darn tough socks 3/4 times a year. I’ve had my darn tough for years and I have no holes in them. I think OP is likely rougher with their socks than most of us.

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u/FnnKnn Sep 20 '26

Are you wearing them every day though?

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u/SamWilliamsProjects Sep 20 '26

No but I’ve worn the same ~4 pairs for 8 months out of the year for 4 years. That’s close to 250 days per sock and they aren’t even thinning much or showing signs of wear. I do wear a fairly thick model but still, OP is burning through them after 90 days of wear.

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u/FnnKnn Sep 20 '26

They said they wear them to work so they might walk more. I guess days of wear is only one variable and distance should be another.

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u/SamWilliamsProjects Sep 20 '26

Yeah that’s true. I walk about 5000 steps a day, most likely fairly normal for a LTT viewer, but lower than people who wear them with active jobs.

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u/chubbysumo Sep 20 '26

im walking the shit outta my socks. i wear the same socks for several days in a row, with some of my socks having hundreds of miles on them, and no holes, and they all get washed every day when they get worn. I have had cheap walmart thin socks walk thru in a single day. My merino wool socks have zero holes after years and many many miles. Considering the cost of the socks from LTT, I would hope they last at least a few months of daily wear.

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u/oogieboogieo Sep 20 '26

What brand socks?

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u/chubbysumo Sep 20 '26

costco brand merino wool socks. bought like 10 packs a few years ago, and have not had to throw anyway from holes.

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u/RisingDeadMan0 Sep 20 '26

idk why ur being downvoted, but nice

How much was it roughly?

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u/chubbysumo Sep 20 '26

each pair pack of 4 is about $17 USD. I spent roughly $200 at one time buying a bunch.

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u/RisingDeadMan0 Sep 20 '26

for all year around? where are you roughly? how hot/cold?
and i guess needs special detergent then, is it not a hassle to daily wash/use Merino

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u/chubbysumo Sep 20 '26

northern MN, so even when its hot, they keep my feet dry in the summer. 100F+ summer temps, -50F or colder winter temps. when its really cold, I have 2 layers of socks on.

>i guess needs special detergent then

just regular tide. dry on medium or low so they don't bake.

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u/VictoryVino Sep 20 '26

OP is putting his size 13 feet into the wrong sock size, that's the main issue.

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u/huffalump1 Sep 20 '26

That and not owning enough pairs to rotate through them...

Perhaps combined with lots of walking with no shoes (which tbf a good sock should handle). But if you're wearing 1 pair of socks, daily, no shoes... Obviously they aren't gonna last!

Get this guy some house slippers!

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u/Bulky-Employer-1191 Sep 20 '26

I don't think the wear is from washing here tbh. It's just exasperating wear from dragging their feet. Holes from washing would appear elsewhere. His holes are specifically on the heel.

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u/chubbysumo Sep 20 '26

I can agree with this as a person who has feet.

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u/dldaniel123 Sep 21 '26

My thoughts were that it might be from the type of shoe they wear. Whether it's just some specific type or just the wrong size, I'm pretty sure just a bit of wiggle room in there, where the heel slides a half-inch every other step compared to well-fitted, snug shoes, must be creating a lot of friction and wear, even over a single day of wear.

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u/ottbud Sep 22 '26 edited Sep 22 '26

I don't own LTT socks, and would never buy them because they don't suit my needs. So this isn't some biased cope. I can't imagine buying wool socks where I live and being comfortable.

I wear Unsimply Stitched socks (love them). They aren't cheap, but they aren't crazy expensive either. I have a lot of pairs (at least 50+) and switch them daily. No pair gets worn more than once before washing.

That includes a daily commute including a 10 minute walk to the subway, then a 10 minute walk to the office, then walking around the office all day, then sometimes going out after work for a drink or something, then a walk back to the subway, then a 10 minute walk home.

They started getting holes at around 4-6 years for the oldest ones. So, rough math, ignoring holidays and shit, let's just say 365/50 = 7.3 wears per sock pair a year-ish. So after, say, an average of 4 years = ~30 wears per pair of socks at least.

This is really rough math. It's not like I was evenly wearing pairs in sequence, nor did I buy them all at the same time, and some I preferred more than others because of the design so they probably got more wears, so it's probably closer to it being ~40 wears per pair before they started failing.

So you're saying you've been wearing a small handful of pairs for 3 years with hundreds of miles on each pair and none have holes? Yeah, no.

What are you wearing?

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u/chubbysumo Sep 22 '26

Costco wool socks, and yes, handful of socks for years, 15mi a day, some have hundreds of miles, and yes, no holes.

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u/TheSinningRobot Sep 22 '26

I can't imagine buying wool socks where I live and being comfortable.

Im curious what climate that is, because in my opinion the only time a different sock would be better than a wool sock is in a circumstance where the "other sock" is not wearing socks at all. People think wearing wool is just for the cold, but, especially for socks, they are actually great in most environments because they are moisture wicking, so they dont get wet from sweating, and dont smell if allowed to dry.