Alpaca Wool Survival Socks

List Price: $24.95

Your Price: $19.95

(you save 20%)

Alpaca Wool Survival Socks are popular among fish and game employees, hunters, and anyone who spends time outdoors.

The color of these warm, soft, dry, and light weight boot socks comes from the actual color of the alpaca, not from fabric dyes. In the United States, the darker colors are rarer. Each year the color and the supply available changes. The socks are 98% alpaca wool and 2% Lycra for elasticity and shape retention. They include a reinforced foot arch band, as well as a ribbed ankle support to ensure proper fit.

Hypo-allergenic
Un-dyed
Odor resistant
Warm and dry, but not heavy and bulky like sheep's wool
Great for cold toes in casual shoes too

While supplies last, choose from 4 colors: Light Gray Heather, Brown Heather, Charcoal, and Chocolate Brown.

The wool comes from alpacas raised by Spring Pond Farm in Greenfield, NH. From there, the alpaca fleece is spun into yarn and knitted into socks in Fall River, MA.

Care instructions: Machine wash on gentle cycle, dry on low.

Alpaca Wool Socks

by Jim Therriault

December 3, 2011

Prior to starting New England Everyday Goods, my wife and I owned and operated a small shoe store that specialized in comfort footwear for the whole family. We learned a lot about feet and footwear, including the importance of really good socks. Nothing makes your feet happier than a pair of soft comfy socks, and no socks can compare to ones made from alpaca fleece.

If you’re not familiar with alpacas, here’s a little background on these adorable creatures (which are members of the camelid family, making them cousins to llamas)…

Native to the Andes Mountains of South America, alpacas have been domesticated for nearly 5,000 years. As little beasts of burden, they played a vital role in the daily life of the Incans. These precious animals were nearly annihilated by the invasion of the Spaniards; luckily a few herds survived.

Importation of alpacas into the United States began in 1984 and ended in 1998 when American alpaca breeders voted to close the registry. Today there are currently 60,000 (and rising) registered alpacas in the United States.

There are two types of alpacas: Huacayas and Suris. Huacayas have a crimped (wavy) fleece that grows straight out from their bodies giving them a teddy bear appearance. Suri alpacas have a locking fleece that hangs down from their skin making them look like they have dread-locks all over their bodies.

Alpacas produce approximately five to ten pounds of fleece per year and are shorn once annually, usually in the spring. The shaft of the fiber is hollow, making the fleece very light, yet warmer and stronger than wool and softer than cashmere.

Alpaca fiber comes in 22 natural colors and contains no lanolin, which makes sheep wool greasy. Therefore it does not have to be washed in harsh chemicals before it is made into yarn. For this reason, alpaca fiber is thought to be extremely hypoallergenic.

Thanks to the folks at Spring Pond Farm and their herd of prize-winning alpacas, you can enjoy pure comfort right down to your toes.