CloudLine might be a new name to you; that’s because it’s a young outdoor brand that’s producing kit for the hiking, backpacking and outdoor communities in the USA.
One of the best-loved pair of hiking socks so far are the Switchback Technical Hiker socks made from merino wool.
CloudLine tells me that it imports ultra soft merino wool from Germany and then stitches the socks in Fort Payne, Alabama using the very latest knitting machines.
Fort Payne itself was once considered the sock capital of the world, but it has seen a steep decline in manufacturing jobs as many companies have moved their production overseas. As such, being able to continue manufacturing at Fort Payne gives company co-founder Joe Shaw an enormous sense of pride.
“Being able to produce a premium wool sock in the USA is a source of pride for our brand and the quality is evident in each sock,” says Shaw. “Manufacturing in the states allows CloudLine to innovate and quickly trail test new designs, because the factory can knit a prototype and we can have it out on the trail in a matter of days, instead of the weeks it might take if we were manufacturing overseas.”
The Switchback Technical Hiker socks were designed and trail tested in the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest and are knit with hiking-specific cushion zones and are backed by a CloudLine 100% guarantee for life.
They’re available in eight colours and sizes from S to XL.
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