Comfort… Who doesn’t want to be comfortable? We all dream of being in our favorite shirt, in baggy sweats or shorts, sitting in our favorite chair, watching our favorite show, eating our favorite food. We spend huge money finding comfortable desk chairs, and buying a car we feel comfortable driving.
Maybe the t-shirt/sweats/show/chair/food vision isn’t one you connect with, but we all search for comfort in some area or another. I do a lot of outdoor stuff… I want my bicycle to fit comfortably. I want my cycling clothes to be comfortable. I want my hiking backpack to sit just right on my hips and shoulders. I bought a super light canoe paddle to ease the strain on my shoulders during a big trip. I have a pair of shoes that I love so much as I wear out a pair I buy new ones of the same model.
I also like to do nice things for other people. I don’t have much money to throw around so I am limited in what I do financially. Periodically, the worlds of comfort and helping people collide and that is kind of a sweet spot.
First, unless Bombas somehow stumbles across this blog, they are unlikely to even know that I have a pair of their socks. With over twenty-million pairs sold they aren’t likely to notice one guy from Indiana that bought one single pair of ankle socks.
Bombas is doing a cool thing… I don’t know who came first Bombas or Toms but they function on a similar notion – 1 pair equals 1 pair. For every pair of socks (and now t-shirts) that Bombas sells they donate a pair to a person in need. I bought one pair of socks and someone in need got a pair as well. I like that model, I once told a friend that I loved the notion of being wealthy enough that for every dollar I spent on a luxury item I could give a dollar away, so this resonates with me.
I heard about Bombas a few years ago on a podcast I listened to at the time. I liked the idea but I was walking when I heard about them and forgot about the ad by the time I got someplace I could look up Bombas. A few weeks ago I was, again, reminded of them while I was near my computer, so I looked them up while I was sitting there. They were a little pricy for me (I run a young not-for-profit which means I don’t have a lot of money) but then I remembered that I was basically buying two pairs of socks. I decided to splurge and I ordered one pair of ocean blue Marls ankle socks. After I ordered them I promptly went to bed and mostly forgot I ordered them. A few days later a package was in my mailbox, “Oh, yeah. Socks.” I wasn’t expecting much from mail order socks, plus I have some merino wool ankle socks that I love and wear all the time.
I ordered them with hesitation just from reading the materials list — cotton, polyester, rubber, spandex. It seemed like an odd mix for something to wear on my feet. For most things I like polyester and spandex, I am not a fan of cotton, and rubber just seemed weird. There were a lot of strikes against the socks going in. On paper I assumed that I was throwing money away on socks that would be worn once out of obligation for having purchased them.
What happened instead of the one and done… I found some socks that are comfortable. When I took them out of the package I was surprised by the thickness. There was a lot of obvious cushion in the socks. Then I pulled them onto my feet and they fit. I wear a size 15 shoe and most of my socks are size 6-12 when I have bought socks that were for 15s they didn’t fit tightly around my foot and a sock that is too small is better than one that fits loose. The Bombas were nice. I spent a hot day in them walking around and they never got the stiff feeling that most socks I’ve worn get. By the end of the day I am usually ready to change socks or go barefoot. The Bombas hung in there all day and felt good. I was so impressed I washed them that night and wore them again a couple of days later. It was only one wash but they still felt like new socks.
I had found one of those magical places where comfort matched with my desire to help people out. Next time you are in the market for a new pair of socks give them a try. Here’s a link that will get you 25% off and also will get me some socks and only socks because again, Bombas has no idea I even wrote this and I doubt they ever will.
P.S. After I wrote the above the socks went through another long day walking around Kings Island Amusement Park. They were great, my favorite socks (up till now) would have given up after a day like that.