Active Socks for Active People: Find Your Dream Pair
If dreaming about active socks sounds weird, that’s because you haven’t met your perfect pair yet. When you do, you’ll just know. It’s not an exaggeration to say that well-designed performance socks will be a game changer for your workout routine.
From enhanced comfort to extra energy to quicker recovery time, the right pair will make the burn feel even more satisfying. In this post, we break down what to look for in the perfect pair of go-to performance socks.
1. Performance Fabric
If you’ve ever run, hiked, or trained in cotton socks, you already know that it’s a no-go. As your workout heats up, the thousands of sweat glands in your feet flip on the waterworks. With material like cotton, your feet will get wet and stay wet, which puts a damper on your performance level (pun intended). Not to mention, your feet start slipping, blisters pop up, and you don’t exactly smell great. It’s not pretty.
The fabric in well-engineered active socks has the following features:
- Moisture wicking. The best fabric moves moisture away from your body so your feet stay dry.
- Thermal balance. Look for fabric that transports heat from areas of highest to lowest concentration to help you stay cool.
- Breathability. Certain fabrics encourage air to move through freely, which helps maintain body temperature as sweat evaporates quickly.
- Freshness. The right material won’t give odor-causing bacteria a chance to grow, so you stay fresh rep after rep.
2. Superior Construction
The way socks are designed has a major impact on comfort levels. Seams and stitching can cause blisters and sliding, so active socks with a smooth construction are best. Whether you’re looking for the best socks for Crossfit or for running a marathon, different active socks have different features to enhance your activity.
Seamless toe
While a thick seam might look cute, it does you no favors when you’re trying to exercise, causing weird bumps in your shoe. No matter what type of workout you’re undertaking, always look for seamless toes in your active socks.
Cushioning
Whether your workout calls for a light cushion or a high impact cushion, make sure that your workout socks deliver support where you need it most.
Back Tabs
Runners often have to stop mid-jog when their socks pull a disappearing act and slide down their shoe—not fun! A Stay Up Tab on the back guarantees that your perfect pair of active socks stays in place no matter how vigorously you’re working out.
Venting
Serious athletes need serious performance gear, and a pair of active socks with compressed venting technology ensures that heat and moisture are swiftly moved away from your body so you can keep going mile after mile. Mesh venting is another alternative that guarantees efficient flow of air and thermal regulation.
Achilles protection
Some active socks offer protection against blistering on the back of the foot, which is important for race day, and is a great extra perk to look for in the best socks for runners as well as serious speed-walkers!
3. Perfect Thickness
How thick should active socks be? That depends on the type of activity you’re undertaking. For instance, if you’re running on a treadmill, you’ll have different performance needs than someone who’s hiking on a mountain trail. The most popular styles of active socks are light-weight and mid-weight, but there are times when harsh conditions mean that thick, super-cushioned materials are in order—as in, hiking in sub-zero temps!
Lightweight
Thinner active socks are great for people with higher-volume feet or folks who exercise in extra warm climates. Lightweight socks do an excellent job managing moisture and keeping your feet cool and dry, and they provide light cushioning.
Midweight
If you’re looking for additional cushioning for enhanced comfort around the ball of the foot, or if your feet are extra narrow, then midweight socks are a good option. They deliver more padding to protect your feet, eliminate the risk of blisters, and hug your foot in all the right places.
If you’re working out in cooler climates, it’s smart to reach for a fresh pair of midweight socks over ones that are more lightweight.
4. Proper Fit
Performance gear should work with your body, not against it. How well your active socks fit will determine whether they slide around and bunch up as you exercise, or stay in place, allowing you to focus on your routine.
- Anatomical construction. A specially designed, extra deep toe and heel pocket prevents sock material from bunching up inside your shoes.
- Arch support. During high-impact exercise, your feet need all the support they can get. Runners, especially, can benefit from light compression that hugs the center of the foot.
- Ankle support. To reduce the risk of injury and enhance comfort, some workouts call for additional ankle support, so make sure your active socks can deliver!
By Athletes for Athletes: From Our Passion to Yours
Athletes inspire us to run faster, push harder, and keep going no matter what life throws at us. We’re dedicated runners who wanted to find the perfect pair of active socks—so we decided to make them ourselves, right here in America. And that’s how Fitsok was born. Whatever your exercise routine, throw on a fresh pair of our performance socks and see how much farther you’ll get.