Craft Compression sock

It's sometimes hard to get excited about socks. Sure, you need them to wick moisture away from your tootsies and keep everything a comfortable stable temperature, but that's about it really. Compression socks though are a different ball-game. Designed to compress muscles and reduce vibration, their goal is to enhance power delivery and help muscles recover more quickly from exertion.

These from Craft are a fairly average price for compression socks, but a good price for cycling orientated ones. Made from 94% Polyamide/6% Lycra these are fully synthetic and super super stretchy, allowing them to give full support to the muscles from foot to knee. There's a comfortable cuff that fits around the top, and a supportive arch band to keep them in place. Available in a variety of sizes (XS-XL) they cater to feet between an EU34 and EU48, which should cover most cyclists.

In wear, the fabric doesn't feel especially nice, with a distinctly plasticky feel to it. But, the fit is excellent, with no feeling of pinching or binding in any way, even with the knee length. The ribbed nature of the fabric is intended to assist in airflow, helping to keep legs and feet cool and dry, however, there is a definite heat penalty to be paid in wearing these. They would very soon be over warm and sweaty in summer. As far as muscle compression goes, it's hard to quantify such an effect, but there was definitely a feeling of sprightliness in the legs at odds with a few preceding days of hard effort. The best way to describe it would be to say the leg muscles felt supported. The foot area is comfortable, with no intrusion from seams whatsoever. Craft intend their socks to be worn during cycling, but also for pre/post-race travel and recovery. In spring and autumn I'd be happy to wear these for a protracted period (although feet do get a little sticky) but I'd probably reserve them for pre or post-event use in summer or winter.

Verdict

Good value for money, effective muscle support.