Stuff I'm Using: 2XU Compression Socks

I got the yellow and teal pair.

I got a pair of 2XU compression socks to try out from the 2XU rep who works with my Dick's Sporting Goods. They were free. I love my job more and more.

I've always been skeptical about the value of compression socks. Besides which, I thought they looked ridiculous on all the triathletes and long-distance runners who adopted them about four years ago.

I may be changing my mind, though.

I've only run in them once. It was a brief run, cut short by soreness in my calves (which I attribute more to a day spent on my feet than to the new socks). They didn't seem to help much, or make much difference.

But I've been wearing them to work, where I spend 8-12 hours at a time on my feet. And they make an incredible difference. I feel significantly less pain in my calves and feet when I'm wearing my compression socks. I can see how they would make a big difference in a long day. I don't know that a marathon--or even a 70.3--is long enough. But an iron-distance race? I could definitely get behind that.

I have a pair of the running socks, which differ from the recovery socks in positioning of support and compression. I gather that the recovery socks are better for walking and standing, where the running socks facilitate activities where more plantar flexion is involved. I may just go and buy myself a pair of recovery socks! I've worn the pair I got for free so much that they're starting to stink!

2XU has done a fantastic job over the past few years of widening their reach. They've moved from a niche brand marketed almost exclusively to triathletes to the kind of mainstream brand that you can find at a big-box retailer like Dick's.