Believe it or not, wearing the wrong socks can make or break your whole hiking experience. During a hike, you stand and move on your feet for many hours and miles per day, over terrain of varying hardness, textures and angles. You work your feet harder than you would on any other average day, and you need them to carry you all the ay to your destination, because there’s no car around to just pick you up if you can’t walk any further.

For a situation where your feet are this important, you’ve got to pamper them to counter-act all of that work you’re putting them through. Even if you pick the right pair of hiking boots, you might still have to deal with excess moisture, overheating, bad shock absorption and more if you don’t wear the right socks. That’s a tall order, and regular old socks just won’t cut it–you need hiking socks.

Hiking socks are designed to protect and assist the feet during the grueling hours of hiking that you’ll be putting them through. A well-made hiking sock should be much more than just a foot-shaped piece of woven cotton; it should wick moisture away from your feet to the outside of the sock, keep your feet comfortably cool in hot weather but not let them get chilled in ice and snow, and be padded in the right spots to encourage good posture and to distribute pressure so that the impacts of your steps don’t hit your feet as hard.

A hiking sock must not be too loose or tight–it should promote good circulation in your legs, and should support your muscles enough to prevent shear from flexing them in different directions than your skin and causing blisters.

Material is important, too. All-cotton is the most popular variety for moisture wicking–if you’re going somewhere where you’ll be sweating a lot, or if you just sweat more than the average person, cotton is probably for you. If shear and circulation are larger concerns for you, terry weave and combination acrylic fiber hiking socks will serve your needs better.