More Merino, Yum...

Meet our new best friends - they're Vara merino wool socks from New Zealand and they're be appearing in the UK for the first time courtesy of Chocolate Fish, one of OM's shopping partners.

Merino, if you've been asleep for the past couple of years, is a super fine wool from - doh - merino sheep. The fineness of the fibres means that there's no itching problems, as with coarser wool, and a whole lot of other pluses.

We've found merino very comfortable in both sock and baselayer form, warm when it's cool but still comfortably cool when it's hot, which is an impressive trick if you can manage it. The other huge plus with merino, is that its naturally odour resistant, so you can wear your merino socks without ponging out the hut or tent in the evening.

We have a few pairs of the Vara socks to try here and so far we're very impressed. In the mode of modern walking socks, a lot of thought has gone into the design and construciton as well as the choice of materials. That means the sole, toe and heel area get thicker, looped cushioned areas for comfort, while an elasticated arch support gives a secure fit across the forefoot.

The 'walker' and 'hiker' ranges are probably most interesting for hill and mountain walkers with the hikers being the more padded and cushioned sock. One thing we really like is that the walkers come in an ultra-low trainer liner type cut as well as an ankle-version - both are ideal for anyone who's converted to approach shoes for non-winter walking and can't locate a decent, low-cut technical sock to suit.

The low-ankle version is particularly neat and sports a cushioned tab behind the achilles, which both protects the back of the ankle from the shoe's 'achilles protector' tab and also seems to prevent the sock from slipping down, the bane of many lower cut socks. Some of that is undoubtedly down to the overall cut of the sock as well. Great for low-cut cycling shoes as well.

Definitely an option worth considering if you're in the sock market. Chocolate Fish is also selling a full range of Supreme merino baselayers and underwear, more about that soon.