The search and rescue team expected to find corpses by the time it located Tony Feeney and his cousin, miraculously alive, thousands of feet up in the Sierra Nevada. A late-summer storm had struck, and the thick clouds, coupled with pelting snow and close-range lightning, left the two hikers disoriented in unfamiliar territory. They spent four days lost, freezing and starving.

Feeney later recounted that harrowing 2003 climb in a letter to Dahlgren Footwear Inc. He said he was wearing a pair of the company’s wool socks throughout his ordeal, while his companion’s feet were covered in basic cotton. In the bitter mountain temperatures, the cousin’s toes turned black from frostbite. “But aside from being incredibly hungry,” Feeney wrote, “I was completely fine.”

Dahlgren Footwear is one of several companies touting newfangled designs in an industry long dominated by simple white cotton. Their products are expensive, with some some costing roughly 20 times that of an ordinary pair. But that heightened price tag comes

Injinji's glove-like, five-toed sock claims to provide a variety of benefits for the performance-minded athlete. (Photo courtesy of Injinji)

with the promise of superior performance. For years, heavy-duty runners, hikers, and other athletes have known just how powerful that piece of footwear can be. Now podiatrists say these athletes are onto something. Super socks may be the secret to happy feet.

“Socks are always the afterthought,” said Dr. Rob Conenello, a sports podiatrist in Orangeburg, N.Y. However, he added, “it’s the most important part … even more so than the shoe.”

Bad socks can lead to bad injuries; Conenello has seen it happen. While serving on the medical team that supports a 150-mile foot race across the Sahara in Egypt, he watched athletes suffer debilitating foot injuries because they weren’t wearing appropriate socks. In some cases, patients developed open sores so deep their tendons were exposed.

The issue, Conenello said, is moisture. When the body exerts itself, it sweats. That sweat creates dampness around the foot, which can cause blisters, ulcers, fungi and plantar warts. While Conenello was in medical school, the medical establishment deemed cotton the gold standard in socks for its ability to absorb that moisture. But, Conenello explained, the material is not so great at releasing it.

Kris Dahlgren, vice president of the Oregon-based sock company that kept Tony Feeney’s feet frostbite-free, likens a cotton sock to a towel, which, she said, is great for drying off post-shower. “But you don’t pin it to you and walk out the door,” she added. In lieu of cotton, the company’s designers stick to a wool base, which maintains warmth and absorbs moisture. They then incorporate patches of synthetic fibers, like recycled polyester, that wick moisture away from the foot. The resulting socks, which cost about $12 to $20 a pair, are tweaked to suit specific activities such as running, hiking and skiing.

Injinji, a San Diego-based manufacturer, conducted roughly five years of research and development before releasing its patented product, which resembles gloves for feet. Individual compartments for each little piggy, made from a moisture-wicking fiber, eliminate irritating toe-on-toe contact, said Jan Kimbrell, general manager and vice president of sales at Injinji.

The company’s Web site advertises some bold claims: Calf-high compression socks, at $38, promise to boost circulation and inhibit the onset of muscle soreness. Its yoga sock, at $16, promises to promote “optimal alignment.” And the silver fiber woven into some products can prevent bacteria and foot odor.

Dan St. Louis, the director of the Hosiery Technology Center in North Carolina, agreed that some sock brands are making good on lofty promises. And he said innovations keep rolling in. The center, which tests socks for more than 250 manufacturers around the world, creates prototypes for entrepreneurs who claim they’ve concocted the industry’s next big idea.

St. Louis receives one or two calls every week from entrepreneurs with yet another new idea. “We’ve done some strange things,” St. Louis recalled with a chuckle. The center has put foam in socks. It has knit socks out of corn fiber. It has attached socks to the feet of tights. Although relatively few concepts evolve from inquiring phone call to marketplace success, St. Louis said he understands the drive to find the perfect sock. “It’s amazing how many people will spend $200 on a pair of shoes and then put on a $1 pair of socks,” he said. “When you put on a decent pair, it changes your whole outlook.”

Despite the growing popularity of tech-savvy varieties, cotton maintains a firm grip on the market. Last year, Hanesbrands Inc., the leading sock brand in the country, sold half a billion pairs of socks, said Tammy Nooner, the company’s director of socks design. And most of those socks were made of cotton, she added.

As a 10-pair pack can cost just $16, cotton is likely to maintain that foothold, said Sally Kay, president and CEO of the Hosiery Association. But performance-minded customers are not likely to revert any time soon. The performance sock consumer “is far more educated, far more savvy,” said Kay. “People that are really passionate about their sports are willing to pay more if that product is going to deliver and deliver consistently.”