1. Always wash your socks at 30°. Injinji toe socks (like most other hiking socks) are best washed at 30° maximum. This is also true for the NüWool (merino wool) Injinji socks, although you can also wash them on an appropriate wool program. Do you wash your toe socks together with garments that have a zipper or velcro? If so, be sure that all zippers are closed and velcros are also taped shut. The soft fibers of your socks are not good friends with sticky velcros and hard zippers! If you are washing your Injinji socks with such garments, you may want to put your socks in a separate laundry bag as well.
2. Do not use a tumble dryer to dry your socks. Will your socks shrink in the dryer? No, in principle this will not happen, although you should be extra careful with wool products! But your socks will wear out faster if you put them in the dryer. (Although socks wear out the most by wearing them!). So just let your socks dry on the clothesline, a drying rack or just hang them on your backpack while hiking.
3. Buy the right size toe socks This seems like weird advice, but of course it makes sense. With a classic sock you distribute the pressure over 5 toes. With an (Injinji) toe sock, each toe is separately surrounded by fibers. If you buy the socks too small, there will be extra stretch on each toe. (If you buy the socks too big, they will be too loose and that is something you should avoid). Most Injinji toe socks are unisex models and available in Small (37 - 40), Medium (40.5 - 44), Large (44.5 - 47) and some models eXtraLarge (47.5+). In addition, there are also the specific women's models. These are available in XS/S (35 - 40) and M/L (40.5 - 44.5).
4. Avoid sliding in your shoes Besides the size of your Injinji socks, the size of your shoes is also important! After all, if your shoes are too big, you will start sliding in your shoes. This causes friction between the inside of your shoe and your socks. Such friction can not only damage your socks, but also cause blisters! In addition, of course, it is important that there are no pebbles or other dirt in your shoes.
5. Keep your toenails short! I repeat: keep your toenails short! Nowadays, we sell over 3,000 pairs of Injinji toe socks per year. The number of quality complaints about them is less than 0.5%. If there are complaints, they are usually about a hole near the top of the (big) toe. As described above, each toe is completely surrounded by fabric. Therefore, the sock tightens more around the toes than a conventional sock. Therefore, it is extra important to keep your toenails short (with smooth edge!) to prevent damage to your Injinji socks. Since such holes are caused by the user, this is not covered by the warranty! So again: keep your toenails short!
