Swiftwick Pursuit Hike

Our take Our sweatiest testers (no shame) reached for this mid-calf sock. Swiftwick intertwines naturally moisture-wicking merino throughout the upper with olefin, an engineered carpet fiber, in the footbed. Turns out that the attributes that make olefin great in your floor carpeting—wicking and quick-drying to prevent mildew—make it great in a sock. Our feet stayed relatively dry on 80°F sweat-fests and dried fast after splashing through creeks. While the Pursuit Hike is available in two different cushioning weights, our testers liked the heavier (“medium”) weight better, noting that the light one was so thin it affected shoe fit.

Trail cred “It’s amazing how much more breathable my ‘breathable’ boots were when I wore these socks,” one tester says. “I always wet out my socks—seriously, you can wring them out—but not with these.”