Hiking Socks

What's you favorite hiking socks and why? I've never been happy with any socks I've tried but, maybe it's more a symptom of poorer quality boots. I've finally invested in some good boots and need good socks to go with them. Thoughts?

Thorlo experia

Farm to Feet's Ballston Spa. Previously, I primarily wore Smartwool, but the heels seemed to wear out quickly.

So far so good with the Ballston Spa. I particularly like the cushioning.

Kinda agree with erial on Smartwools, but I still like them. Recently (past year) have been giving the Darn Tough's out of Vermont a test and I'm really, really liking 'em'! They seem to be holding up very well.

Cool. Thanks for the responses! Maybe I'll order a pair of each and report back.

My all time favorites:

http://www.sweatersintl.com/product62.html

+ comfy, warm in winter, not too warm in summer. very durable (i.e. no holes or thin spots after ~ 500 - 750 miles of use)

- may be too thick for some tastes or footwear, leg can sag when soaking wet (traditional wool construction not super stretchy)

re: Smartwool

They used to make a sock out of undyed wool. I still have one pair that has outlasted every other Smartwool model I've owned. Pity they stopped production on that one...

I have a few different brands, not sure what they are, but the key ingredient seems to be a good blend of Merino wool for me. I've purchased several pair at Rec Outlet for not too much $$, and been very happy. I suppose, though, since I've never dropped $30 on a name brand pair, I can't compare.

Good boots are key, too. I'm a big fan of Vasque hiking boots.

Yeah, I just bought a pair of Vasque Taku GTX's. I know they're probably not as good as when they were actually made in Italy (and before Red Wing bought them out) but, the reviews have still been decent. I do a bunch of volunteer trailwork for the Forest Service so I needed something that can take a beating. The Merrell Moab's I've been using the past few years just aren't rugged enough and they allow too much silt to filter through the sidewall.
I'll have to check out Rec Outlet and look at their Merino wool socks.

Lorpen merino wool socks. You can get them off CamoFire for like $10 a piece. I've worn them non-stop for a week at a time and they never get stinky or nasty. Super comfortable, I got turned onto them from the backcountry hunting crowd.

Lorpen Merino Medium Hiker Sock are great socks. I got them at Backcountry.com for around $10, but they are currently sold out.