merino wool socks at Costco

Laura B,

thanks for the heads up. I will keep an eye out for them.

happy trails.

Just stopped in at Costco today -- women's merino wool long-sleeved t-shirts in stock. Probably a short-time item. Got one, may go back for another color.

I have about 9 or ten pairs of the Costco socks, and I love them as much as my smartwool ones. I wear both all winter long.

Costco? I would not buy merino wool from them. Poor quality.

We have these socks, both women's and men's. My experience is that they actually hold up better than the smartwool brand. The fiber blend is a little softer (maybe they use a different type of nylon?) so the bottoms don't wear out as quickly. Way better price than smartwool-here in MN is is about $12 for 3 pair. I also got merino wool blend long johns for my husband there last fall that he loves.

I've just returned from a trip to Costco - yes we have the same stores here in the UK - and am surprised to see anybody question the quality. I buy all sorts of things there, some with the brand name, many with the Kirkland name, and have never been disappointed with the quality.

Do the US branches have less good products?

Nigel, I haven't found the products at Costco to be inferior to other retail stores. As a matter of fact they sell many 'name brand' products. I've always been satisfied with items under the Kirkland brand too.

You can often find Smartwool socks at deep discount from Sierra Trading Post and REI Outlet.

Have no experience with the British Costco but would doubt if the US branch is selling lesser quality products. In fact in the US, Costco has established a marketing niche for higher customer service and quality over other warehouse/cub merchants such as Sams Club. Our experience supports the idea that their products are good quality. Consumers Report often give high marks to the Kirkland brands when compared to similar products. Don't see that with the Sams Clubs. We have membership in both but only keep the Sams Club because it is free. In our area Costco is outperforming the Sams Clubs.

I guessing the Costco bashing was just that. Do they even sell merino wool socks in Texas?

I speak from experience.

Would rather pay full price for Smartwool socks. They last much longer.

Update -- yesterday at Costco there were 3/4 length packable down coats with their own stuff bag -- $50. And waterproof jackets for about $30. Women's merino socks were not in yet, but they DID have the men's socks in size Medium at 4 pair for $12.99 (had not seen them in anything except Large before -- my feet are happy.)
EDIT - actually, I DID buy the men's M socks. Wearing them as I type.
Also, I picked up another merino wool T shirt in another color.

I was at a Costco in Western Washington yesterday and they had the wool socks. One great thing about Costco is that they will return anything for any reason. So , why not try out the socks. If you don't like them you can always return them. I also saw a great light weight rain coat. I bought one. Great colors, light weight and could easily fold up. I hope to try it out soon. I think it will be a great travel coat. They also had the rain coat for men.

Costco is widely known for their attention to quality, especially for anything they brand with their Kirkland signature. It is definitely not Wal-Mart!

If they sold socks under their own name that were inferior, I would take them back and complain.

Icebreaker also makes good merino wool socks. I buy them from backcountry.com. These are heavier than the Smartwool PhD socks; I isle them for actual hiking.

Smart wool socks are half price at LLBean outlet stores, compared to shoe store. I bought pairs from $7.99-$10.99 for hiking/snow boots/ every day. They have numerous styles and weight to suit different purposes.
I agree with others, Costco has quality over Walmart.

My sister and I just bought 2 packs of the Costco merino wool socks - cute colors and stripes, and very comfy! A bit thicker than my old Smartwool pair, but not too big for my shoes. $11.99 for 4 pairs, which is way better than I have seen on Sierra Trading Post or other outlets for SmartWool. Looking forward to trying them out in France and Scotland next month!

Back from another trip to Costco (gotta get another hobby!) --women's socks on SALE! for $8.99 for four. Also, merino wool blend bottoms for women and men. Bought one of the rain jackets mentioned above.
And the chocolate truffles are in stock! Christmas is on the way!

On the merino blend tops and bottoms - I hope that you noticed that they are 80% polyester.

Thanks Cindy H -- yes, bottoms are 80% polyester but the t-shirts are marked as 100% merino wool. Will give them the wash-and-dry test next week.

I bought 2 packs of the Costco socks last year and love them! Wore them daily all winter long - they are very good quality. Will wear them on trip this winter. Yes Nigel quality of Costco and Kirkland items is very good here in us also!

I live in Texas, and yes they do sell wool socks here. ;) I was just in my local Costco, in Frisco. They have wool socks for both men and women. The women's socks were on sale for something like 8.99. They also had the 100% wool t-shirts, just women's, in black, dark gray, teal, and purple. I purchased both a pack of socks and a t-shirt. Thanks for the information in this post.