4 mm
loop height under the ball
01 — Condition
Pick by the shiftyou actually work
How long you stand. What shoe you stand in. How cold or how humid it gets. Three questions, and none of them is what the sock is called.
Rigid work shoe · hard floor · 18 °C
Thickness works here.
On a hard floor in a rigid shoe, the one variable you control from the sock side is how much material sits under the ball of your foot. Four millimetres of terry is a different shift from two.
- Cushioning
- 2 – 5 mm
- terry loop height
- Weight
- 90 – 420 g/m²
- wool blends and liners
- Shaft
- 9 – 32 cm
- ankle to high boot
- Footwear
- 5 types
- rigid, boot, soft, trainer, rubber
- Not suited to
- Listed
- on every product page
02 — Three questions
Not by what the
sock is called
Most work socks are sorted by job title. That is useless, because two people with the same job title stand for different lengths of time in different footwear. Onshift sorts by the three things that actually change what you need.
01
How long do you stand in one shift?
Under 4 hours, 4 to 8, 8 to 12, or more than 12. The answer sets how much terry is worth carrying under your sole.
02
What is on your feet while you do it?
A rigid work shoe, a tall lace-up boot, a soft-soled shoe, a trainer or a rubber boot. Each one fails in a different way, and each one takes a different shaft height.
03
How cold or how humid does it get?
Below 10 °C, ordinary, above 28 °C, or humid. This is the question that decides between wool weight and open mesh — and the one where we sometimes have to tell you no sock fixes it.
Shift Match answers all three
Three inputs, a recommendation, and a plain statement when the honest answer is that no sock is going to fix your problem. It never asks your job, your employer or anything about your health.
03 — Cushioning
Millimetres, not adjectives
Every terry loop height on this site is measured flat and uncompressed, and printed on the product page. “Extra cushioned” is not a measurement. Five millimetres is.
- Thinnest pad
- 0 mm
- A-01, B-01
- Thickest pad
- 0 mm
- A-06, B-08, C-04
- Products with terry
- 0
- of 45 in the range
- Zones
- 0
- ball, heel, full sole
04 — Six lines
Each line answers one condition
The lines do not overlap. If two of them look like they fit your shift, the difference between them is written on both pages.
Line A
Long Stand
Eight hours or more on your feet, on a hard floor.
Terry cushioning under the ball and heel, 2 to 5 mm loop height.
$14 – $36 USD
Line B
Safety Footwear
You stand in rigid work shoes or tall lace-up boots all shift.
Shaft heights and shin panels built for hard boot collars.
$16 – $40 USD
Line C
Cold Shift
Cold store, night shift, outdoors in winter.
Wool and merino blends from 200 to 420 g/m².
$20 – $52 USD
Line D
Warm & Humid
Kitchen, greenhouse, summer shifts in closed shoes.
Thin knits, open mesh panels, moisture-moving yarns.
$12 – $30 USD
Line E
Seamless & Sensitive
The toe seam bothers you, or the cuff leaves marks.
Linked seamless toes and non-binding cuffs, four cuff tensions.
$16 – $38 USD
Line F
Multipacks
You already know which one works and you need more of it.
Same sock, three, five or eight pairs. Never mixed styles.
$42 – $112 USD
05 — Weight and height
Two more numbers we print
Weight tells you how much material is there. It does not tell you how warm you will feel — footwear, activity level and your own circulation all change the answer. Shaft height is measured from the floor.
06 — What we do not sell
The limits, stated first
This is the part most work sock brands leave to the small print. It sits here instead, because it changes what you should buy.
We do not sell protection
Nothing here is personal protective equipment. No sock on this site resists cuts, impact, static, heat or chemicals, and we do not reference any protective standard, because none of them apply to socks.
We do not make health claims
No product here treats, prevents or improves any medical condition. If you have a circulatory or nerve condition affecting your feet, that is a conversation with a doctor, not with a sock shop.
We do not promise dry feet
A closed shoe worn for eight hours holds moisture. Thinner knits and moisture-moving yarns hold less of it. That is the honest ceiling of what a sock does.
We do not promise no blisters
Blisters come from friction, moisture, shoe fit and gait together. A seamless toe removes one common source of rubbing. It does not remove the others.
Not protective equipment
These are socks, not personal protective equipment. They provide no protection against workplace hazards. If your job requires certified protective equipment, your employer must supply equipment that meets the applicable standard.
07 — Range
Four ends of the range
A-06A · Long Stand
Stand Thick
- Cushion
- 5 mm
- Shaft
- Mid-crew 18 cm
- Cuff
- Ribbed cuff
- Fit
- Regular
$30USD · per pair
B-03B · Safety Footwear
Boot Sock Cushion
- Cushion
- 4 mm
- Shaft
- High shaft 32 cm
- Cuff
- Ribbed cuff
- Fit
- Regular
$26USD · per pair
C-05C · Cold Shift
Cold Merino 280
- Cushion
- 3 mm
- Shaft
- Mid-crew 20 cm
- Weight
- 280 g/m²
- Fit
- Regular
$42USD · per pair
E-06E · Seamless & Sensitive
Seamless Extra-Loose
- Cushion
- None
- Shaft
- Mid-crew 18 cm
- Cuff
- Extra-loose cuff
- Fit
- Regular
$28USD · per pair
08 — Sizing
Measure once, in millimetres
Every product page carries a size table in measured foot length, not just EU numbers. Wide-fit products add a forefoot girth figure. Orders over $70 USD ship free by standard service.
Buying for a team?
Send a size spread, a quantity and the shaft height you need, and we will come back with availability and a lead time. We supply socks only. If your team needs certified protective equipment, that must come from a supplier of certified PPE.