I don't really have problems with blisters (as long as I'm not using the crap hot-weather boots, which I opted not to bring), so one pair of socks is the same as any other as far as I'm concerned. The thorlos would probably be great for long night patrols in cold weather (I have pictures of frost from one morning we were out in the wasteland; there was ice forming on the machine gun), so send those; however, cheap throw away socks would be equally useful. What I really need is a huge quantity of socks; laundry is kind of iffy here at the dam, so I need a huge supply that can last a few weeks and then the whole batch can be washed at once. I can wear the same pair of socks multiple days in the row without fear of infection, since my boots stay pretty dry; however, the smell is horrid when I take the boots off at the end of the day, so having a pair of socks for each day or 2 would probably make the room smell less butt-like.
I sent him maybe 30 pairs of cheap socks and a few pairs of the high-dollar Thorlos. When I got them back, he had never worn the good ones :)
{Blissful sigh...} Iraq sock stories.
I could sit around the campfire all night telling those.
Thanks for the story!