Are merino hiking socks 100% wool? No: here is what the label says

No. Every merino hiking sock in this guide is a blend: the highest merino share is 91%, and most sit between 40 and 75%. Nylon gives the sock its strength and elastane its stretch, so a hiking sock without them would sag and wear through.

Written by HikingSocks.guide from the makers’ published charts and labels. No pairs tested. How this guide works

Read the percentage beside each fiber

Darn Tough’s Hiker 1466 is 61% merino, 36% nylon and 3% Lycra. Farm to Feet’s Damascus is 51% merino, 46% nylon and 3% Lycra. Both are merino hiking socks; neither is all wool.

Check what the “100%” is about

“100% US-grown merino” tells you where the wool part comes from. The nylon and stretch fibers are still in the sock; read the sentence together with the full label.

More wool is not automatically better

Wool share does not tell you warmth, drying, softness or how long a pair lasts. Padding, knit and fit change all of them.

If you need pure wool

Look for a current model whose full label confirms it. None in this guide does, so for now a high-merino blend is the closest choice; the merino page sorts every sock by merino share.

What this can’t tell you

A label can change between colors or markets. If the label on your pair differs from the maker’s page, the label on the pair is the one to trust.