Vanguard Explorer 250 Outdoor Socks

VANGUARD EXPLORER 250 - The sock made of Mongolian camel hair

When your march is 30 kilometres or longer, when the nights drop below zero, when the boot stays on your foot for three days, the material decides more than anything else. The Explorer 250 is made for exactly those days: for escape and evasion exercises, selection courses, hunting, mountains and trekking.

The story behind it. Anyone who knows wool socks knows merino. Merino is the standard, and a good one. Mongolian camel hair is the level above. In Mongolia everybody knows that, outside almost nobody. While the rest of the world upgraded to merino, nomads in the Gobi have worn camel hair clothing for generations. The fibre grows on camels that have to survive +40 °C in summer and −40 °C in winter.

What that means for your foot. The fibre is hollow. It insulates more per gram than merino and releases warmth more evenly, so you stay warm without overheating. It absorbs up to a third of its own weight in moisture and moves it outwards before your skin feels wet. A dry foot means: no blisters. It resists odour better than conventional merino wool, even after several days in the boot. And it is finer than common sheep’s wool, it doesn’t itch and stays soft after washing.

All of that comes from the fibre itself. The Explorer 250 consists of 70% Mongolian camel hair and 15% Mongolian sheep’s wool, untreated, with no chemical treatment and no coating.

Heel and toe are reinforced with Mongolian sheep’s wool. The terry knit under the sole cushions every step, on impact and on roll-off. A knitted-in ventilation system runs along the instep: finer knitted zones let warmth and moisture escape before they build up in the boot. A fixing zone at the midfoot keeps the sock where it belongs.

No Central European outdoor brand works with camel hair, let alone sources it directly from where it comes from. Vanguard does, and you only get the sock from us. With it you invest in what carries you on every march: your feet.

At Predator Customs we care a lot about good packaging. Your socks arrive properly packed. That also makes them a strong gift for anyone who marches a lot, hunts or heads into the mountains.

The best sock you’ve ever had in your boot.