I honestly never considered fancy socks, high-end socks, or socks with a mission attached to them, but I for the 2021 holiday season I purchased a bunch of Bombas socks. Here is my 2024 review of my experience with Bombas, after me and my family have used a few dozen of their socks for nearly three years.
What Are Bombas Socks?
Bombas — bombas.com — is a US-based socks and underwear brand that was founded 2013 with the mission of giving away a pair of socks for every pair they well. That was news to me in 2021, but they were highly recommended from a friend and we needed some holiday stocking stuffers for the family, so we splurged on a bunch of these socks.
As a consumer, “socks with a mission” might have some appeal to you, but it’s also worth knowing Bombas makes and sells very high quality socks! These socks tend to be expensive, but they have very good fit, nicer materials than the average Nike or Hanes you are accustomed to, and above average styling.
Now, in 2024, Bombas still sells relatively expensive (but not unapproachable or luxury) socks, underwear, and slippers for babies, toddlers, big kids, men, and women. It’s becoming quite a well-known brand and I’ve seen that more than a few people I know have bought or have considered Bombas for themselves, though these tend to be people who do a lot of direct-to-consumer shopping and are familiar with Instagram-type brands.
Bombas Merino Wool Calf Socks
The socks I’ve used most extensively from Bombas are the men’s Merino Wool Calf Socks. These are a mid-calf men’s sock sold in small, medium, and large sizes.
These calves have a form fitting design that isn’t quite tight, but they are definitely snug, particularly around the mid-foot. They use elastic in the calf area so that they don’t slide down through the course of the day. as well as a special elastic section that surrounds the middle of the foot sort of like a rubber band.
There is a honeycomb design in this mid-foot section as well as a tighter-than-usual fit. It’s not uncomfortable, and it does keep the sock in place, but it’s a bit odd at first.
The socks have no branding or logo on the calf area — just plain black on mine — but they do prominently say “BOMBAS” on your toes, facing you. So every time you look down you can see a big “BOMBAS” sign looking back at you (it’s facing you, not other people).
Bombas’ merino socks are of a moderate thickness and warmth. They are a good three-season sock, so perhaps a bit heavy heavy for the summer but great the rest of the year. I’ve worn them working out, running, skiing, and doing all sort of other activities and they are a very good all-round choice which will serve you well through an entire day. I’ve also, of course, worn them for general office work and living my life, where they do fine, but so do cheaper socks in all honesty.
The merino wool is as soft as you’d expect, and they can be warm without being super thick. The merino breathes very well so my feet never felt too warm in them. If anything they were a bit less warm then you’d expect from a wool sock — but this is because these are everyday socks made of wool, not heavy woolen socks.
At $19/pair the socks aren’t cheap — they are about twice the price of the excellent and popular Nike Dri-Fit cushion crew socks, which of course aren’t merino. My main concern with the socks are that the soft merino won’t hold up well over time, but after a number of wears they haven’t started to deteriorate or to pill, so I have high hopes for these socks.
After nearly three years of wearing these socks I’d note that there has been some pilling and wear, as well as some color loss, but overall they look to be 8/10, which its pretty great in my book as I’ve worn them extensively. None of my Bombas merino socks have ripped and none of them have gotten holes in the toes or heels, so I’d say they have held up exceptionally well.
Bomba’s Toddler Socks
When doing my Bombas orders I also bought some kids and toddler socks as gifts. These included the Toddler Disney Princess 6-Pack and the Toddler Holiday Gripper Calf Sock 4-Pack, as well as the taller Youth Calf Socks, which have become a real winner in the colder months.
My experience — albeit indirect as I’m not the one wearing them — with these has been very positive. The price of $6-7 per pair is rather high for kids socks (it’s less bad with frequent 20% off coupons), but once you get over that there are good things to be found.
First of all, all the socks I bought for the kids have gripper pads on the bottom, so they kids don’t slip-slide all over hardwood and tile floors. This is an important safety feature, especially for kids who are learning to walk, and I’m really happy to see that Bombas offers them. I’ve only purchased these “gripper” style socks and would recommend them. I consider these mandatory if you have hardwood steps in your home.
The designs of the kids and toddler socks are quite nice — colorful and fun, but with no characters or logos on them. Even the Disney Princess pack uses colors inspired by the princesses but hasn’t have faces or logos on them, which would have been a dealbreaker for me. This kit came in a really nice gift tube, which was much more appreciated buy the receiver then the socks (at least at first).
The quality of the socks is quite high — as nice as that of the adult socks, though not in merino like those above. The fit also seem to be spot on, but my kids seem to be indifferent to the style of socks they wear so it’s always hard to say. That said, there were no complaints and the kids like the color schemes.
On the whole the socks were a hit insomuch as any kids’ socks will be a bit. For me it’s more important that the kids don’t fight wearing them, they are comfortable, and they are safe with the grip material.
The Bombas kid socks have cycled through multiple children at this point and while they have seen a fair bit of fading and pilling (they go through a lot of wash cycles) they are still serviceable and nice enough for hand-me-down status after 3 years! That’s pretty great in my book.
The main downside of the Bombas socks for kids is that they tend to run small and snug, so if you kids have larger feet the Bombas will be a bit snugger than they might like, which was a problem for our boys.
Bombas Coupons And Discounts
Bombas’ products are expensive, but the company runs frequent discounts. Post-holidays all the holiday-inspired sock packs were 15% off, all new visitors are invited to start off their Bombas’ journey with a 20% coupon, and if you invite a friend they get 20% off and you get $20 once they order.
In early 2022 the discount code was “COMFORT20” in order to save 20% on your first order. It’s worth a shot, but it’ll only work once per email account.
So, yes, Bombas is not the cheapest route, but make sure you factor in the discounts and free shipping before you outright reject the order and move on to something more affordable.
Bombas Free Shipping
In order to get free shipping on Bombas orders you’ll generally have to hit the $50 price point, post-discount and post-coupon codes. This is shockingly easy as Bombas usually sells their socks in multi-packs, so you might be buying a pack of 6 Toddler Disney Princess socks for $38. Throw in men’s merino calf socks ($19) and you are are already above the free shipping amount!
Verdict
Bombas makes great socks, especially for kids, but they are on the expensive side, so they are could be ideal for gifts.
With the benefit of well over two years of experience wearing these socks as well as observing how the have held up to usage from three children, I can say that Bombas socks last very well and are of high enough quality that I’m not disappointed with the money I spent. Sure kids normally grow out of socks or lose them before the wear out, but most of the socks have become hand-me-downs so they have seen usage from more than one child, and thus I’ve generally felt quite good about the value they have offered, especially in the colder months where their patterns and robust materials are more appreciated.