What is your sock situation?

[Tyler]

Hi, I'm thinking about getting a pair of Vibram KSOs to wear as my main, everyday shoes. However, with my normal sneakers I usually wear socks and change them every day so they don't get sweaty and smell over time.

I understand that many people wear Injinji socks with their Vibram's to avoid this problem, but Injini's always seem to be very expensive- like it would be $40 to get four pairs. Because of this, I was curious about other people's sock situations. How many pairs of toesocks do you own? How often do you wash them? I would guess most people just have 2 or 3 pairs and wash them every few days.  I am especially curious about people who use their Vibram's as their main, everyday shoes, since you probably wouldn't care much if your running shoes are kind of gross.

Thank you for any information  .

[bigtruckguy3500]

I think you can get a dozen toe socks off ebay for like $20 or something.  They aren't shaped like injinjis, more like tube socks, and the material isn't quite to the same level as injinji but they are cheap toe socks.  I don't have any, but there is a thread about them somewhere on here.  Most people said that they are somewhat thicker than injinji too.

[jcarneytx]

go sockless and wash once/twice/fee tines a week.

[dirkverelst]

most of all of course, wash your feet daily with soap

get several pairs so you can change everyday

I'm getting as sweaty with socks as without, perhaps even more. Classics and Sprints are better

[Jessekuhs]

I don't really get to wear mine daily, but I'll chime in.  

I will likely get a couple pairs of injinjis when the weather gets cooler as I live in New England.  There isn't much insulation to any of the styles, just more or less foot coverage depending on what you get.  It is summer right now, so I'm going sockless.  I have my Classics for just over 2 weeks and I have been wearing them mainly during the weekends.  I haven't had to wash them yet, as I've been pretty good about making sure my feet are clean and all that.  

I'd recommend looking over the thread on the VFF funk and how to rid yourself of it.  I purchased a can of Lysol and use that after I wear them for a day.  Between spraying and not wearing daily, I've managed to keep the funk at bay.

[Tyler]

go sockless and wash once/twice/fee tines a week.

Do you mean wash your feet a few times a week, or the shoes?

And thanks bigtruckguy, I'll see if I can find that thread and figure out what other kinds of toe socks people have been successful with.

[zarzu]

i currently have 8 pairs of toe socks that go up to my ankle and 8 pairs of no-show toe socks. i only have a washing day every 3 weeks in my apartment, so that's how often i wash em (if i am out of socks before that i do a handwash). how often i wash my vffs depends on how often i wore them and whether i had socks on. at the moment i am only wearing my classics because of the weather, leading me to wash them every one to two weeks (i am not waiting until i smell them from 50cm away, i wash early to stop the funk in its roots). where washing means either washing in the machine or soaking in denture cleanser. i only washed my flow treks once because they were dirty not because of smell and i don't have my kso treks long enough to have a need to wash them yet.

and if washing your feet every day works for you to keep them smellfree without the use of socks, then that is great guys. but be aware that your feet are not the feet of other people. it's not as simple as washing your feet in the morning and then not caring any more if you have naturally sweaty feet, it simply doesn't work. i do have sweaty feet and it's why i generally wear socks, even in my classics and sprints (very low-cut). if i don't wear socks, i feel like i am swimming in my classics and i take every possibility to take them off and walk barefoot to air feet and vffs.

[Tyler]

Ah, I think I've found the posts you were talking about bigtruckguy:
http://birthdayshoes.com/forum/feet-and-fivefingers-accessories-and-alternatives/toe-socks-not-injinji's/msg14227/#msg14227
http://birthdayshoes.com/forum/feet-and-fivefingers-accessories-and-alternatives/socks/msg12374/#msg12374

And it also seems that there are some good options if you search Ebay's sock section for "toe": http://clothing.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=toe&_sacat=11511&_dmpt=US_Men_s_Socks&_odkw=&_osacat=11511&bkBtn=&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313

I'll have to look into getting some of these. I don't care about spending money on nice socks like Injinjis, but I'm just afraid that I don't do loads of wash often enough, especially when I'm living at college instead of home, and I would need to get at least 4 or 5 pairs.

zarzu, where did you get your socks? I would like to find some no-show ones.

[zarzu]

if you're living in america, these are the only option i know of. i don't think these really work with classics/sprints, as they aren't that low cut, but they certainly work with anything that is closed.
i own two different types, the first is a ballerina sock which is super super low-cut, but i needed to remove the lace and they're silk, so very thin. the others are the x-toes ghost socks from lizard (practically the european injinjis), i got them from this german shop.

[Mojo]

You could also try Sock Dreams.  They've got a good selection of toe socks (including Injinji micro's and the ToeToe silk ballerina ones mentioned in another post) and free shipping in the US.  I buy 99% of my socks from them and highly recommend them.  Great people to deal with and they ship super fast.  I get an order (shipped from Oregon to Illinois) in about 2-3 days, generally.  

Granted, Sock Dreams tends to sell "good" brands, so the prices are generally comparable to the price of Injinji's, but I tend to find the higher end socks worth it because they fit better (generally they have formed heels, which helps), feel better (they're not rough and scratchy) and last longer (rather than developing holes in the toes and heels quickly).

I have quite a few pairs of toe socks because I've always worn them with my "regular" shoes.  I'd say I have 5 pairs of Injinji micros, 4 pairs of Injinji minis, 2 pairs of Injinji crews, another few pairs of Injinji liners (in various lengths) as well as a lot of ToeToe (great brand; love them) and some Feelmax (another good brand, although I prefer ToeToe).  And a few pairs of no-name brand ones I've had for years (that are ragged beyond belief and no good at all for wearing with VFF's since they've lost most of their toes and heels to wear and tear).  I've yet to have a higher end brand fail on me, though, and I'm not particularly gentle with my socks.

I mainly wear my Injinjis and some ToeToes with my VFF's, but I've been known to wear any of them that'll fit inside.

[itacky]

This may not be as constructive as others posts, but I wear my Treks as my everyday pair, with socks. (I have questionable classics right now, which I don't wear with socks).

I currently own 14 pairs of toe socks. 2 from a friend way back when, and 12 bought while I was in Japan, where they are easier to find. I think the 12 pairs I bought cost me no more than  . . . 2300 yen (+/- 400), which is around $25 USD (+/- 5). Thus with 14 pairs of socks (and boxers and undershirts ) I can last 2 weeks without having to wash. Completely eliminating one-toed socks, except for wearing soccer cleats or other specialty shoes.

[jcarneytx]

go sockless and wash once/twice/fee tines a week.

Do you mean wash your feet a few times a week, or the shoes?

And thanks bigtruckguy, I'll see if I can find that thread and figure out what other kinds of toe socks people have been successful with.

wash the shoes. they will get sweaty and bacteria will start to thrive in there, thus the smell. Wash the shoes several times a week and that likely won't happen. I wash them maybe twice a month, don't wear socks, but switch between 2 different pairs. I wear brown treks to work and bikilas when not at work. They both stink very slightly, but only if you stick your nose into them, as with just about any shoe.

[bigtruckguy3500]

As far as washing the shoes often, I've heard that they won't last as long.  This isn't from personal experience, but others on the forum have said that the pair that they threw in the washing machine more, didn't last as long as the pair that they didn't wash as much.  It may have been a quality disparity, not sure.  But just be careful, or just handwash. 

[funE_man]

I have 4 pairs of toe socks b/c I also wear my VFF daily though I find that wearing the Bikila doesnt require socks for daily wear and also they don't seem to acquire the normal 5 finger stank like my KSOs got after a week of sockless wear.  I posted a link in another thread to a retailer that sells the "ghost" sock out of California and they also sell just about every variety of toe sock you can imagine and run about $13 for 3 to 4 pairs depending on model.

[Anderson]

I think this depends on what "every day use" means for you.  I work in an office and have found that sitting still in VFF's--especially closed ones like the KSO--is better with socks or else they get clammy and irritating over time.  When I am walking around or otherwise active, they feel great and would rather be without the socks.  After getting advice on this site, I tried a pair of Classics for work and they are much better for sitting still, since they are so open and so easy to kick off for a few minutes here and there.  I have 3 pairs of Injinjis that I wear with the KSO's when at the office.  If I worked on my feet, I'd wear the socks less often.  If the KSO's were my only pair of VFF's for my desk job, I'd have to have at least 5 pairs of toe socks.