I still go to an independent optician even though I wear contacts now. When I used to wear glasses, the free adjustments and small repairs were amazing. Now I still go in for a yearly eye checkup, since eye doctors are super backlogged in their work. My current one still does this, as well as trial contact lenses, for free! Since I recently switched due to my former optician retiring, they did a full test from scratch and really let me take the time to compare strengths. The level of service is amazing and totally worth it for the price difference you get at a large optician chain. Your eyes are super important, and if you’re on a stronger prescription like me (I am -8.5) and also need things like astigmatism correction you should absolutely opt for the better care if you can.
Merino wool is the good stuff. My sock experience is the same. I also bought some fancy sneakers that are merino, treated to be water repellent. I wear them to the office all year and I’ve not had any smell issues. I used to always buy cheap shoes and cheap socks but here it seems that your choice of material really makes a difference. I’ll pay the price for that.