Is this the third time’s the charm? Not quite.
I’ve written about Hywell merino wool socks twice before, with mixed results.
In my original review, I found the boot socks worked well enough with the shoes I use for trail work. If less so for trail runners.
However, my follow-up review of their shorter socks showed less encouraging results. While comfortable, they wore out prematurely in several areas.
Hywell subsequently sent me two pairs of their merino wool crew socks in brown for further testing.
These socks felt a little thicker than the previous versions and, initially, seemed to hold up better.
In fact, the areas that wore out previously showed no significant signs of premature wear.
The good news? An improvement.
The bad news? A familiar durability issue in a new location.
After about two months, the left sock in the pair I wore more often developed a hole just above the reinforced heel, roughly where the sock meets the shoe. And the right sock also shows wear.
The second pair has not developed a hole, but both pairs show noticeable wear in the same locations.
I genuinely like these socks. They’re comfortable, competitively priced, and the latest version appears more durable in the areas that previously caused problems.
But durability remains a concern for my particular use.
Overall?
Three rounds of testing have left me with a mixed impression of Hywell socks.
The boot socks performed reasonably well, and these newer crew socks represent an improvement over the previous versions.
However, developing a hole after roughly two months of use in the more frequently worn pair, with similar wear appearing in the second pair, makes them difficult to recommend for regular hiking and backpacking.
I appreciate Hywell providing additional socks for testing and the improvements I’ve observed.
Hywell is close to making socks that compete with more established hiking brands. They’re just not quite there yet for the kind of backpacking I do.