So, I find myself in a bind, quite literally, with the compression socks.
Here is what I have found so far:
Zoot: bought them at Luke's Locker on tri night. They are women's sized, with a true left and right foot. I ran in them Sunday and loved them. The feet are very padded and super comfortable. Only issue here: they are very hard to put on. I am not sure I would even have the patience to put these on in an Ironman transition. Published compression of 18-30mmhg; retail $60 at every place I have seen. I was able to get 20% off at tri-night and have a regular 15% off discount at Luke's, but with tax, that still comes out to about $55.
Beaker Concepts: Pink! But, sadly, not very tight at all. No published compression figure. Not surprised. I have not run in these yet. I could see putting these on in transition of a half or full ironman, but don't know if they would work nearly as well as the Zoot's as far as compression. I ordered these for about $30 with shipping after using a discount code I found on slowtwitch. Hmmm....
Futuro Anti-Embolism Socks: These are the first pair I bought back in November for around $30 at Walgreen's. They seem to work well for recovery/long-standing events, etc. They are moderately hard to get on - definitely would not take the time to put them on in a shorter race. I think they are 18mmhg compression from what I can find online. They are white which is good in hot weather...or cool weather. See next pair for explanation.
Futuro Restoring Dress Socks (for men): I bought these in black for $11 something at Kroger. The compression rating is 20-30mmhg. That is probably about as tight as I should go for exercising, and maybe recovery too. 30-40mmhg is the highest rating. I ran in these last Wednesday and that is when I realized how hot all of these socks are. It was evening, so the sun was not shining down, so I do not think white socks would have been much cooler in this case, but I can see black being unbearable in the sun. Therefore, these black ones will still be worn for recovery and for cold rides/runs, but not very often for outdoors stuff.
Jobst Open Toe: They lied about the color - plain and simple. They are not beige, they are old grandma suntan colored. Not cool. A lighter tan/beige would have been ok, but not these. Other than that, they feel good though. Open toe would allow me to wear them for an entire triathlon - I could wear them in the swim, thus meaning I would not have to fight with them while soaking wet in t1. Not this pair though - the color is just awful.
So that brings me to the need for a new product, somewhat of a mix of all of the above: a light pink, open toe, zoot-like compression sock. Open toe so I could wear them on the swim, light pink so they are fun but not too hot, and zoot-like because so far they are my favorite.
I am looking into SLS3's, as they publish their compression grade as well, 24-26mmhg's, and they are white. SLS3 also makes a compression sleeve with the same level of compression that I might consider. But with a sleeve, you lose any benefits you would get from compression going through the ankle and foot - both important for circulation purposes. Again, these are freakin' expensive. $57 for the socks and $44 for the sleeves.
Now, here are some that won't work, and why:
Skins - stirrup might be beneficial, but they only come in black. Not happening.
2XU - don't publish their compression grade, I have read from other reviews that they are not very tight. Ooh, just found they have stirrups in white, which is a big bonus, but I'm just not sure they would be beneficial if they are not tight enough.
Zensah - at first I got super excited. Pink calf sleeves. Awesome. But I have since read that they are not very tight either, compared to, say, the Zoot's, and they don't publish their compression rating either. Grrrr...
CEP - from what I have heard, these are very similar to Zoot. They have come out with an O2 Max line in addition to their regular line, and all I can find is that the O2 max line is tighter than their regular line. Still no compression grading published. I think though that they are similar enough to Zoot that I would try a different brand first, probably the SLS3s.
Thoughts/opinions/experiences??
Update: I have just ordered the SLS3 socks and sleeves as well as the 2Xu stirrups in white from www.worldtri.com (15% discount right now) as well as the Zensah sleeves. I figure I can't make any real judgment on any of them until I try them on for myself. Jon also spoke with one of his dr friends who seems to think the sleeves aren't an awful idea for me to use when racing shorter distances (i.e. for long races, socks are probably best, but the sleeves are a good compromise for shorter races, and I can still get the help I need with my issues using the sleeves). I will definitely report back with my findings.
Here is what I have found so far:
Zoot: bought them at Luke's Locker on tri night. They are women's sized, with a true left and right foot. I ran in them Sunday and loved them. The feet are very padded and super comfortable. Only issue here: they are very hard to put on. I am not sure I would even have the patience to put these on in an Ironman transition. Published compression of 18-30mmhg; retail $60 at every place I have seen. I was able to get 20% off at tri-night and have a regular 15% off discount at Luke's, but with tax, that still comes out to about $55.
Beaker Concepts: Pink! But, sadly, not very tight at all. No published compression figure. Not surprised. I have not run in these yet. I could see putting these on in transition of a half or full ironman, but don't know if they would work nearly as well as the Zoot's as far as compression. I ordered these for about $30 with shipping after using a discount code I found on slowtwitch. Hmmm....
Futuro Anti-Embolism Socks: These are the first pair I bought back in November for around $30 at Walgreen's. They seem to work well for recovery/long-standing events, etc. They are moderately hard to get on - definitely would not take the time to put them on in a shorter race. I think they are 18mmhg compression from what I can find online. They are white which is good in hot weather...or cool weather. See next pair for explanation.
Futuro Restoring Dress Socks (for men): I bought these in black for $11 something at Kroger. The compression rating is 20-30mmhg. That is probably about as tight as I should go for exercising, and maybe recovery too. 30-40mmhg is the highest rating. I ran in these last Wednesday and that is when I realized how hot all of these socks are. It was evening, so the sun was not shining down, so I do not think white socks would have been much cooler in this case, but I can see black being unbearable in the sun. Therefore, these black ones will still be worn for recovery and for cold rides/runs, but not very often for outdoors stuff.
Jobst Open Toe: They lied about the color - plain and simple. They are not beige, they are old grandma suntan colored. Not cool. A lighter tan/beige would have been ok, but not these. Other than that, they feel good though. Open toe would allow me to wear them for an entire triathlon - I could wear them in the swim, thus meaning I would not have to fight with them while soaking wet in t1. Not this pair though - the color is just awful.
So that brings me to the need for a new product, somewhat of a mix of all of the above: a light pink, open toe, zoot-like compression sock. Open toe so I could wear them on the swim, light pink so they are fun but not too hot, and zoot-like because so far they are my favorite.
I am looking into SLS3's, as they publish their compression grade as well, 24-26mmhg's, and they are white. SLS3 also makes a compression sleeve with the same level of compression that I might consider. But with a sleeve, you lose any benefits you would get from compression going through the ankle and foot - both important for circulation purposes. Again, these are freakin' expensive. $57 for the socks and $44 for the sleeves.
Now, here are some that won't work, and why:
Skins - stirrup might be beneficial, but they only come in black. Not happening.
2XU - don't publish their compression grade, I have read from other reviews that they are not very tight. Ooh, just found they have stirrups in white, which is a big bonus, but I'm just not sure they would be beneficial if they are not tight enough.
Zensah - at first I got super excited. Pink calf sleeves. Awesome. But I have since read that they are not very tight either, compared to, say, the Zoot's, and they don't publish their compression rating either. Grrrr...
CEP - from what I have heard, these are very similar to Zoot. They have come out with an O2 Max line in addition to their regular line, and all I can find is that the O2 max line is tighter than their regular line. Still no compression grading published. I think though that they are similar enough to Zoot that I would try a different brand first, probably the SLS3s.
Thoughts/opinions/experiences??
Update: I have just ordered the SLS3 socks and sleeves as well as the 2Xu stirrups in white from www.worldtri.com (15% discount right now) as well as the Zensah sleeves. I figure I can't make any real judgment on any of them until I try them on for myself. Jon also spoke with one of his dr friends who seems to think the sleeves aren't an awful idea for me to use when racing shorter distances (i.e. for long races, socks are probably best, but the sleeves are a good compromise for shorter races, and I can still get the help I need with my issues using the sleeves). I will definitely report back with my findings.
Comments
Shell
For runs in other climates, i am using my CWX calf guards. Compression is better and thicker than skins, after touch factor. They kept my calf really well. Next day post marathon, no issues with the calfs at all. It's very awesome! CWX is the company that produces women's lingerie in asia : Wacoal.
However, the color's black. Which really really interrupts the fashion style factor in running.