I love Darn Tough socks. Simple as that.
I first used them on my section hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2019 (400 miles). Then my coast to coast hike across Ireland (400 miles) and most recently my thru-hike of the Colorado Trail (500 miles).
As well as a bunch of day hikes and everyday use in between.
So it’s fair to say I’ve tested Darn Tough socks to their limits.
Besides being just super-comfy they are, as the name would suggest, super long lasting.
What’s more they even come with a life-time guarantee!
This is a great little perk but many never actually need to use it because they never wear through their socks.
But I consider it a mark of pride to say I’ve hiked a hole in my Darn Tough socks.
Process In The USA
If you live in the US the process of replacing your socks seems to be much easier.
Essentially pretty much any REI will take your old socks and give you a new pair.
REI will then handle the returns for you.
This is great and makes sense since Darn Tough are a US company and I’m sure more popular there than in other countries.
Process Outside The USA
Darn Tough use different suppliers to cover their returns for internationals.
You can see the full list of countries and contact info here.
If your country isn’t listed, I’d suggest just emailing : support@darntough.com
Sometimes a neighbouring country will handle your returns.
For example, I am currently based in the Republic of Ireland but my returns are handled by a UK supplier.
There are local shops in Ireland I could physically return my socks to but after checking with them they only accept them if I bought them there.
This might be different where you live so make sure and check with the Darn Tough supplier to see if there are any local shops you could return to. Then just message them.
If you can’t return to any local shop, then the official process is:
- Fill out the returns form- the supplier will give you the correct form
- Post your damaged socks (a pair) to the supplies with the form
- Wait impatiently
- Receive a new pair of socks
- Go Hike
However, for me the process was different. And this may be because my international supplier was in a different country so postage and customs etc. would be more hassle then they’re worth.
All I had to do was fill out an online form, take photos of the socks (the hole-y photo above) and email that to the supplier.
A few days later I received my new socks:
Does Darn Tough Life Time Guarantee Actually Work?
Well for me it did!
It was a pretty seamless and easy process and made me love my Darn Tough socks even more.
The only downside is you can only return a pair at a time, not a single sock. They don’t both need to be ‘damaged’ to return the pair though.
Your mileage may vary, maybe some suppliers are more strict than others, but I can say in general the life-time guarantee seems to be in good faith and when tested worked well for me.
Even without the guarantee I would recommend Darn Tough socks but the guarantee makes them an even better deal and something you’ll get use out of for years.
Pick some up here.