New Performance Toe Socks Are Super Comfortable and Supportive.
Credit: SeniorsSkiing
It’s March, and close to the end of the season for a lot of folks. If you think your gear is starting to look a little tattered, now is the time to contemplate a new way of thinking about your socks.
Injinji, the toe sock company, has introduced a new line of performance wear for snow sports. Toe socks, you say? Yes, we were quizzical, too, until we tried them on. The Performance 2.0 Snow socks are designed with graduated compression that does a fantastic job of supporting your muscles in your whole lower leg. These over-the-calf socks are also padded in strategic places for extra cushion. And they are made of NuWool, a combination of Merino wool, nylon and lyrca. And of course, there are the little toe “sleeping bags” that we found to be surprisingly comfortable.
Toe socks have been around for a while, and they are very popular with distance runners. The basic idea is to align your little piggies properly for better balance and blister prevention. When we tried a test pair, we were amazed at how different these socks felt from the usual. The toe feature was just—how to describe it—fun and remarkably different. Injini claims that proper “toe splay” distributes your weight evenly and allows better engagement for your feet. We can testify that the compression feature also gives you the feeling of significantly more support than regular socks.
We have two quibbles about the model we tested. Putting them on takes a bit of technique. Each toe has to be guided into its sleeve, so it does take a bit of concentration and a bit more time. No big deal. If you’re used to wearing an inner sock for extra warmth, you will need to get liners from Injinji that provide a base layer. You won’t be able to use your standard liners with these.
We continue to wear our Injinjis around the office as well as the gym and plan to take them to our next ski trip.
Injinji Performance 2.0 Snow medium weight socks come small, medium and large and in different colors. Suggested retail price is $30; shop around online.
Credit: SeniorsSkiing
I’m thinking that like gloves, these are not the best for really cold weather. I’ve never found a glove that works better than a mitten for warmth and I can only imagine this would be exacerbated on feet.