Review: Follow Hollow Alpaca Socks
Originally posted on October 22, 2019 at 12:38 pmWe don’t usually review Kickstarter products, but the Follow Hollow Alpaca Socks are a well-deserved exception. Brian Davis, the founder behind Fix It Sticks (reviewed here), is back at it with his newest creation, socks.
INFO
Follow Hollow socks are constructed from 80% baby Alpaca fiber, 15% nylon, and 5% spandex. The Alpaca fiber is sourced from Peru, but the socks themselves are manufactured in North Carolina. What’s unique about Alpaca fibers is due to the hollow nature of the fibers, it does a fantastic job at moisture wicking. Other benefits to Alpaca fibers are that it’s hypo-allergenic, and it’s naturally non-itchy.
Sizing seems pretty straight forward. The size medium (which I wore for my size ten shoe) is expected to fit 7-10 women’s shoes and 8-10 men’s shoes. The size large fits 10.5-12 women’s shoes and 10.5-13 men’s shoes.
Similar to wool products, it is suggested to machine wash cold and hang dry.
TESTING
Brian was kind enough to send me a sample of the Follow Hollow Alpaca socks in September, and to be honest; I didn’t think much of them. After trying all sorts of wool blended socks, I’ve found that some work better than others, but I learned to accept that I am plagued with sweaty feet, and that’s just that way it is.
First, I wore the socks during a typical workday. The little buggers are softer than Merino and super comfy. My feet didn’t sweat, but all in all nothing overly thrilling to report. Always looking for an excuse to be a bum (and fold less laundry), I decided I would see how many consecutive days I could wear the socks before they became unacceptable.
The first week went by without a hitch, standard daily wear and 11.5 hours of mountain biking. Follow Hollow Alpaca socks remained odor-free and except for a few bits of crusted mud, looked and felt as fresh as they did at the start of the week. Week two, again, worn as daily office socks with 8.5 hours of mountain biking. Still, the socks displayed no signs of being compromised. There is most certainly some voodoo magic happening in these hollow fibers because I have never been able to get more than two days of use out of a standard wool sock. It wasn’t until mid-way through the third week that I decided to wash the socks for no other reason than to see how well they dried. Dry time may be the only downside to the Alpaca socks. After hanging dry over-night, the socks were still somewhat damp by morning.
HOW TO GET A PAIR
Follow Hollow – Performance Alpaca Socks Kickstarter launched October 10. As of this writing, the project has received just under $15,000 of the $25,000 funding goal that is aiming to reach by November 12, 2019, 4:00 PM EST.
