I have recently started trying Injinji toe socks to try to avoid blisters between my toes. I'm a little concerned about the last two toes, however--there's a lot of extra toe in the sock compared to my short little piggies. Has anyone had any issues with extra toe material causing rubs?

Also, I just read an old thread on these socks, and many people said the wool ones seemed to wear out faster. Is that still a problem for folks, or should I try the Coolmax ones?

I have very small little toes and the extra material in the toes has been fine so far. I have the coolmax injinji socks and some smartwool merino wool toe socks and haven't noticed much of a diferance in the way they are wearing out. Hope that helps.
Dustin

My problem with Injini revolves around the poorly documented ability of my laundry facility to transport my right socks to another dimension.

Cameron, I hadn't thought of that--that puts a whole new spin on the lost-sock-in-the-laundry conundrum!

Perhaps the BPL community can help---is there anyone who has only right socks, and needs leftys? Maybe you can get together, and form a sock support group!

I have logged at least 8,000 miles in my Injinji socks over the last 4 years. They are the only sock I wear for both fastpacking and ultra running.
For the extra fabric you mention on your "little toes" , sometimes you just need to take the time to seat the toes of the socks fully onto your toes. Just pull them down tightly between your toes so there is no extra fabric at the ends of your toes.
I have never had a problem with the concern you raised.
They work very well to help prevent blisters.
I wear the Coolmax, but only because I prefer the Minicrew size, and that size only seems to come in Coolmax.
The Coolmax fabric is great, but I feel it wears a bit faster than wool might.
One major problem with Toe Socks is they are not interchangeable from left to right feet. I always seem to wear a hole in my right sock long before the left one.

p.s.
just saw Cameron's photo ... we seem to all have a problem with the right sock :-)

Edited by asandh on 05/09/2011 17:00:41 MDT.

I have two pairs of injinji coolmax socks currently, and as others have said, they've become my default running/hiking socks. They just keep my feet really comfy regardless of shoe choice. They seem to dry quickly after creek crossings, make the toebox of any pair of shoes feel more roomy, they just work. I never seem to get blisters.
The coolmax ones don't seem particularly fragile or durable, pretty average.

We went ton hike the rubicon trail this weekend and the fist nightnout I discover I had brought two lefts. I wore my wet socks to bed as result. Had to laugh when I read your post

"We went ton hike the rubicon trail this weekend and the fist nightnout I discover I had brought two lefts. I wore my wet socks to bed as result."

You could have just turned one of them inside out, it would have made it fit for the other foot......

It's a double rainbow man, what does it mean?


Heehee!

Anyhow, I prefer the Coolmax versions, they do seem to last longer. All I wear is Injini and usually have around 2 dozen pairs at a time. Do they last? Yes and no, but frankly I'll take wear, tear and toss over toe blisters that used to plague me!!

"You could have just turned one of them inside out, it would have made it fit for the other foot....."

Holy crap man, you just blew my mind.

How many times have I sat there and said, "Doh" two lefts. That really is novel. Funny how dumb I really am. Where were you on my last trip? Seriously though, my black wool injinji's wore out SO fast. One little pebble under the foot and it rubs through super fast. Maybe cause I hit the desert too much but didn't like their durability. I'm sure it's operator error. Danggit. Inside em out. GENIUS.

+1 for Douglas!
I instantly have several new (sort of) pairs of Injinjis.

Thin marino wool Injini inner sock and cheap thin nylon outer dress sock.
Far less wear on your feet and the inner sock.

Been trying Injinji since beginning of April with fivefinger treks. I really like them.

Got one pair of original weight performance mini crew and then got three pairs of the featherweight coolmax liner micro crew socks. Fantastic so far. the micros are very thin so I wonder how long they will last, but they are great with the vff.

I also got one pair of Smartwool toe socks--these seem to be new. After wearing them a couple of times without washing, they seem like they are stretching out and becoming more baggy--might be a problem on the trail.

I paid attention to how I was putting them on, and no, there is just too much material on the last 2 toes--my toes are way shorter than the sock material. Either I let some hang out past the tip of my toe, or I scrunch extra material between my toes, which sounds like a recipe for blisters to me. I've got the Cool-max ones on today, and they feel a little thinner than the wool ones, but still too much material.

Diane,
Are your little toes way smaller than your other toes? I ask becuase my husband's are like that. So far after a 2 year period or so he hasn't had any issues and his little toes fill maybe 1/2 the toe length in the sock!

Yep, that's exactly it. My second toe is the same length as my big toe, then the last 2 are just short, and tend to curl against each other. Hence, the blister producing potential. It doesn't happen all the time, or every trip, but when it happens there's no good way to really tape up around it.

I've also got some Hydropel on order, so between the two maybe I'll have less blister problems on my longer trips this year.

My little toes are very small and curled, and the socks work like a charm for me.

I used coolmax, underneath a light hiking smartwool sock. They do wear out quickly, but worth it to not have any blisters at all.

Love them.

i have a few pairs of wool, even some purple ones i found on closeout, don't tell anyone ;), and i have found that the wool ones wear out quickly. i also have a few pairs of coolmax (regular thickness) and have not noticed any wearing, but the white ones get stained from dirty easily. i also have one pair of the black compression socks. i really like these ALOT. they are a pain to get on, but they feel great when im active and i use them for cool weather running when i can get away with running in some mesh pants.

Toe socks cured my blister problem on my smallest toes from those toes curling under when walking down steep grades. I put my heavier wool Inijis on and leave them on until the trip is over. I'm willing to pay up for blister-free hiking.

If you just want to try toe socks or as a liner sock, go to a women's clothing store and get the one size fits all, no name, polyester ones for under five dollars. They have toes but no sewn heels so I turn mine both ways, Doug Ides style.