Smartwool makes the best socks.  Ever.  I wear these at home in the States under normal conditions or hiking, etc.  I also wear them at my job in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan and wouldn't wear anything else.  The merino wool pulls sweat away from my feet, preventing all kinds of ailments.  I haven't had even a bit of athletes foot since I began wearing only Smartwool socks back in 2007, even though I wear combat boots 12+ hours a day.  I'm only not giving the fifth star because Smartwool seems to have discontinued plain black medium weight socks.