The other day I purchased these crazy socks from REI:
I saw them and thought, “That’s so weird. I must buy them.”
I asked the guy at REI what he thought and he said he loves them for hiking or running and that they help prevent blisters between the toes – something I used to struggle with but ever since I started getting fitted for running shoes I have never had that problem again. (Sidebar: If you are just picking your running shoes off a shelf at Foot Locker or wherever like I used to, you are probably making a big mistake. I’ve been buying my shoes for the past couple years from the professionals at Run For Your Life, but I plan to get my next pair from TrySports (they fitted Jeff for his shoes and I’m more impressed with their process, though I have nothing bad to say about RFYL.)
So I bought them, out of pure curiosity, and took them home. At $12 a pair, they were really going to have to impress me to make me go buy more pairs.
Putting them on took a little more time than normal – as I had to get each toe situated perfectly. After I got them on, though, they felt so weird in a good way – like my toes were being hugged. I walked around the house in socks most of the day and after a little while I forgot about them. Later I put my running shoes on – and I felt suddenly like my shoes had been shrunk in the wash or something (the REI employee had warned me of this.) My toes took up more room now, with these socks on, and I almost thought they felt too tight. Amazing what a difference a little bit of fabric makes!
After a few minutes, though, I forgot I was wearing them and my run proceeded as normal. The only other thing to note is the moisture-wicking fabric worked really well – performed better than my Under Armour socks.
Will I buy more pairs? Probably not, as I don’t really need the blister protection. But I do like these – I’ll likely use them as a lining underneath my hiking sock as sometimes I feel my boots are a little too big – this will help fill them out a little! And if I want to wear my Rainbows by the campfire and it’s cold, well, these socks will work well in the thonged shoe.
So, that’s that – give them a try!