Shirts Of Bamboo Blog

Smartwool vs. Shirts of Bamboo socks
 
Well, to start, the smartwool was at a disadvantage, since I’d already worn it for a day, but I thought I’d give them a fair side by side comparison.  But, since Mark had a odd SoB ankle sock hanging around and I was wearing smartwool ankle socks, I figured I’d give it a try.  One smartwool came off, one bamboo sock went on.  I usually wear Smartwool socks for a couple days running because I only have a couple pairs, they keep my feet warm and hold their shape.  So, I kept both socks going on and off for a couple days and just took them both out of the dryer (might as well run them through the whole cycle).  Here’s the facts:
 
Fit/thickness:  the socks were very comparable on my feet.  I didn’t sense that one was much thicker than the other or much larger.  This helped in the comparison.
 
Smell factor:  I don’t have super sweaty feet, but in the wrong socks, they’ll go to town.  Tie.  Neither sock gave up the ghost on this one.  After two days, neither sock stunk, and my feet weren’t getting sweaty in either one (I didn’t have an impartial judge on this one, so I can’t promise that’s the case!).
 
Warmth:  since they switched feet from time to time, I wasn’t always aware of which was doing which (making it a fair comparison).  both feet seemed equally warm at all times.
 
Comfort:  the SoB socks are softer which is nice, but they are a bit looser and so they squirrel around my feet more (need to be turned back around if I’m just walking in socks).  Smartwool are a little rougher, but still comfortable, and hold their shape much better.
 
Washing:  I think this is where the SoB sock fell down for me.  After running them through the wash with a whole load of things, it was the only sock that wasn’t dry (well, the only thing that wasn’t dry). 

From Jill in Seattle