Behind The Pines Socks

Socks are one of those products you hardly think about when they work properly.

When they don't, you notice them all day.

Too much fabric inside your shoe, a heel that starts sliding down, wet cotton against your foot or a snowboard sock so thick that the boot you spent an hour fitting suddenly does not fit anymore.

That is why we started making our own.

The socks in our Behind The Pines collection range from simple everyday pairs to technical merino socks for hiking and snowboarding. They do different jobs, but the starting point is the same: comfortable fit, sensible materials and no unnecessary stuff.

Everyday socks should stay simple

For daily wear, we are not trying to reinvent the sock.

It should fit properly, stay up, work with sneakers and survive being worn and washed over and over again.

That is about it.

We like enough structure around the foot to stop the sock moving around, but not so much compression that you feel like you are wearing technical equipment on a normal Tuesday.

Our everyday socks are the pairs you wear with jeans, shorts or sneakers and then throw straight back into rotation after washing.

You can find them alongside other brands in our complete Socks collection.

Hiking socks are a different thing

Once you start walking for hours, the sock becomes part of the footwear setup.

Moisture, friction and pressure build up over distance. A normal cotton sock that feels perfectly fine around town can become much less pleasant after fifteen kilometres.

That is why our Performance Merino Hikers use a merino blend together with reinforced high-wear areas and support through the foot. They are made for long days rather than just looking outdoorsy.

We like merino here because it handles changing temperatures well and stays comfortable when the day gets longer.

The synthetic fibres in the blend have a job too: they help with durability, stretch and keeping the sock in shape.

Pure merino sounds nice on a label, but a hiking sock also has to survive inside a shoe.

Explore our Hiking Socks if that is what you are looking for.

The sock changes how your hiking shoe fits

This is easy to underestimate.

Put a thick cushioned sock into a closely fitted hiking shoe and suddenly you have less room around the toes.

Switch to a very thin sock in a higher-volume boot and your foot may start moving.

We would choose the shoe and sock together rather than treating them as two unrelated products.

For warmer weather and lighter footwear, less cushioning can feel better.

For colder days and stiffer boots, a little more material underfoot can be comfortable.

There is no universally correct thickness.

If you are buying new footwear as well, have a look at our Hiking Shoes.

Snowboard socks should not be huge

This is one we feel quite strongly about.

A thick snowboard sock does not automatically make your feet warmer.

Your snowboard boot already contains insulation. If you fill the remaining space with a massive sock, you can make the boot tighter, reduce circulation and ruin an otherwise good fit.

We generally prefer a proper technical snowboard sock that sits close to the foot, stays up and adds cushioning where it is useful without filling the whole boot.

That is why we also make both regular and lightweight versions of our Performance Merino Snow Socks. Our current snowboard setup includes both weights rather than assuming everybody needs the same thing.

See the full Snowboard Socks collection.

One pair of socks

Also: wear one pair.

We still occasionally see people wearing two pairs of socks because their feet get cold.

It usually makes things worse.

Two socks create more bulk and can move against each other. More importantly, they take up space inside the boot that your foot and circulation actually need.

One well-fitting technical sock inside a properly fitted Snowboard Boot is the better system.

If your feet are still cold, we would look at boot fit and circulation before adding another sock.

Merino where it makes sense

We use merino a lot in our technical products, but not because everything needs to be made from wool.

For hiking and snowboarding it makes sense.

Those are long days with changing temperatures, periods of high activity and often several days of use in a row.

Merino deals with that really well.

For an everyday sports sock with sneakers, the priorities can be different. Shape, durability and comfort may matter more than temperature management.

We choose the material for the job rather than trying to make every sock the same.

It is the same thinking behind our other technical pieces in the Behind The Pines collection.

Blisters are usually not solved by more cushioning

A cushioned sock can help, but blisters are mostly about movement and friction.

If your foot is sliding around inside the shoe, making the sock thicker is not necessarily the solution.

The sock should sit smoothly without folds and the footwear itself should hold your heel properly.

This is another reason we like technical socks to fit fairly close.

The less unnecessary movement there is between skin, sock and shoe, the better.

Take care of merino, but don't be precious about it

Technical socks are made to be used.

Wear them, air them out and wash them when they need it.

With merino, cooler washing and avoiding unnecessary heat will generally keep the fibres in better shape for longer.

Check the care label, especially because different socks use different blends.

You do not need to hand-wash them in a mountain stream.

Just don't cook them.

Behind The Pines Socks

We make socks for the same reason we make the rest of the Behind The Pines collection.

We use this stuff ourselves and eventually develop fairly strong opinions about how we want it to work.

Sometimes that results in a heavy T-shirt.

Sometimes it is a merino hiking sock.

And sometimes it is just a pair of socks you put on in the morning and forget about for the rest of the day.

Which is probably the best compliment a sock can get.

Shop Behind The Pines socks online or visit us in Amsterdam.