Compression socks are some of the things that I
had never considered using until our sponsor Medilast sent me some. Now that I've started wearing them, I'm hooked. They have several uses
according to the Medilast. You can wear them while training, during recovery or on long car rides (not sure if they suggest that last one but they should).
I wear them when traveling to and from races
under my pants or with shorts. As opposed to compression tights that are
difficult to take on and off the socks can come on and off easy. Stopping in a
rest area and don't want to look like a weirdo with knee high socks, just take
them off and put them back on when you get back in the car.
I also wear them after almost every ride or jog
I do. I normally have an urge to sit down with my legs up after a ride but that
isn't always possible or convenient. Wearing these leg compression socks is the next best
thing to laying down. Sometimes I even do both.
I wear them when I know I will be on my feet
for a while. Two days ago I got back from a 3-hour ride and my dad asked me to
help move furniture to his new place. I threw the tall sock on under my pants
and was able to more comfortably stand and work with fatigued legs. I've also
used them while working construction. There have been many days when I know I
will be on my feet all day painting or hanging dry wall and having the extra support
helps. It is another layer of clothing though, so on hot days I don't wear them.
I haven't used the tall compression socks
during training or racing (normally its too hot out) but I do use their ankle high short socks. They cover less of the body so they don't do too much
as far as aiding in recovery or preventing jarring muscles but they are nice,
durable socks with quality elastic.
I can see how the tall socks would be valuable for
runners with the high impact causing muscles to shake and fatigue faster. I
have used Medilast arm covers and they are nice on super rocky descents with a lot of
jarring for preventing arm fatigue. They're a little too hot for me for summertime use - I feel a little odd on the first mtb rides of the year not wearing them. I never thought that arm compression sleeves would help out on a mtb ride, but they definitely help me feel fresher after long rides (they even work well for reducing fatigue on long road rides).
I have used a few pair for 2 yrs now that still feel like new.
For the most part I use the tall socks. I've used several pair for two years (and I wear them a lot); the
compression of the material has stayed strong. I have noticed some pilling with
the black compression socks. The white ones don't show any sign of age besides
looking a little grey, mostly because I don't separate my white when doing
laundry. I don't do anything special for washing or drying them, the socks go
in the wash with everything else. I'm not sure what the proper procedure is for
caring for them (the packaging was all in Spanish).
Medilast has me sold on compression clothing,
especially the tall Compression socks. I'd highly recommend their products to anybody if you're looking to recover faster and feel better while racing, training or at work. Here is the link to their website…
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| The black knee high socks are for wearing during exercise, or for recovery (that lump at my ankle is another pair of socks on underneath) |
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| the white knee high socks are tighter and meant for recovery only |
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| ankle high white socks - these feel great for riding |
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| white and black ankle high in package |
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| some pilling after 2 yrs of heavy use |
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| white knee high socks after 2 yrs of use (no pilling - I think they are made from a different material than the black ones, they are a bit tighter too) |
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| sizing info |
Teammates and I use the ankle high socks all the time during races and rides...
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| Photo credit to Ian McAlexander / ITMexposures.com |
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| Photo credit to Ian McAlexander / ITMexposures.com |
