My experience with wool socks has been that the cheaper ones work fine. I've got three pairs of Walmart Merino socks that I have worn through this winter. I believe that they are sold under the Realtree brand. When I wash them, I chuck them in the washing machines with the rest of the dirty clothes and detergent with color safe bleach. They go in the dryer on permanent press and back into the rotation. They don't feel any different now than they did at the beginning of winter. I've got higher quality, more expensive socks, but these are the ones that I wear. I think that the price runs between $6 and $9.00 per pair.