Darn Tough Scout

Backpackers know: Trail conditions can swing from sleet and snow to desert-like heat over the course of a single day. The Scout kept us comfortable through it all, though, marrying great temp control to one of the softest fabrics we tested. “My feet stayed dry and happy in temps ranging from the 30s to 80°F while I hiked in Hawaii’s Haleakalā National Park,” one tester says. What accounts for such versatility? Designers start with a base of merino (65 percent) for temperature regulation. Instead of knitting the sock together using a single strand, Darn Tough first twists two strands together to create a yarn with midweight thickness, and then reinforces the merino with interwoven nylon (33 percent) for durability. A high level of cushion increases comfort as well, as we discovered on a rocky, three-day trip in Wyoming’s Wind River Range.

m’s M-XL, w’s S-L