This is how these socks look after ONE DAY of wear (no washing). The day was ~90 minutes of walking in the city and then mostly sitting. I have 10-year-old Woolie Boolie socks I've worn about 300 times that are in better condition than this. To add to this, my feet felt cold and sweaty all day, unlike in any merino sock I've worn before. It reminded me of 12 years ago when I used to wear cotton socks.
adamhosmanYeah, mine showed similar wear and pilling after 1-2 outings. Comfiest socks I own though. Only ever had regular cotton dress socks before this, usually soggy by mid-day. These work for me. For the price/comfort ratio, I think I can deal with how scrappy they look :D One has developed the start of a tiny hole around ankle area (only appears if stretched), I'll wait to see how that goes before testing my luck with the warranty.