sock material and shoe life

Use antiperspirant on your feet to allow for worry free sock selection.

I think we're venturing into obsessive behaviour here...

try Mercerized 100% Cotton Lisle Socks without any synthetic, they are hairless and best for feet health. Needless to say effects of synthetic materials on skin. Better solution is Indantheren dyed socks. Sweat is a strong solvent for dyes in socks. Sweat and dye react together and cause foot odor. Indantherene dyes, which do not disolve in sweat and these socks keep their original color. Also Indantherene dyes are resistant to light, washing, and chloride.

I wear wool almost exclusively. Even when I'm not backpacking, I wear wool. I wear wool boxers, wool shirts, and wool socks almost every single day... Usually, if I'm not wearing wool socks, it means I'm barefoot -- which is ideal. But hiking barefoot isn't the most ideal situation for a lot of the time...

 

http://londonrickshaws.co.uk/wedding-rickshaw/

I wear wool shoes.

Do you live in 17th century Yorkshire?

I have sweaty feet. I tried the anti perspirant (even the stuff that you have to buy from Canada) and they don't really work and they're a huge hassle.

Thin wool socks for me. Not saying they work either, but they're more comfortable. As for your shoes, they aren't supposed to last you a lifetime to begin with. Just replace them when the upper is worn down enough.