that's been my personal take on compression wear, and specifically compression socks/sleeves. i know that some people swear by them, others cite mixed or inconclusive scientific evidence when it comes to the physiological advantage (at least within the competition environment) provided by compression socks. having worn compression socks first as part of my post-achilles tendon reattachment rehab, and then testing various products from lunatik athletiks, falke and injinji, i've come to believe that their greatest benefit has been psychological - if i'm feeling like they give me an edge, then that's reason enough to wear them.
still, a guy can't have enough socks.
after reading my good pal stan's review of tiux compression socks, i entered his giveaway and was selected as the random winner of a pair to try out for myself! steven from tiux contacted me and hooked me up with a sweet pair of pink socks, which i promptly sported for the first time ever (yep, don't do this at home kids) at the 2015 waterloo marathon.
they may not have been the determining factor in my attaining a new PB, but they certainly were a contributing factor!
upon donning the tiux compression socks it was easy to note that they were serious about the compression part. aside from the quality feel i could see from their comparison chart that their graduated compression rivaled most other leading manufacturers and bordered on prescription-only territory. i initially had concerns that the padded footbed area was a bit too thick and would create space issues within my shoes (something that i have to consider when heading out with my falke socks) but that actually turned out to be negligible - they were surprisingly well fitting in all of my shoes.
the other interesting discovery in terms of fit was just how long the socks are - i got a pair of mediums (i'm 5'9" and about 137 lbs.) and while the circumference fit was great i found them to be quite long - almost hockey-sock long! even though i could pull them up over my kneecaps, they didn't bunch up uncomfortably when kept below the knee so that played out just fine.
when it comes to aesthetics, the design is pretty linear - i tend to fancy things that colour a little more 'outside of the lines' - but the detailing is nice and clean, right down to the "run.jump.go." words of inspiration stitched on the inside of the top band.
what you do need to know is that tiux has an impressive business approach. as a canadian start-up (canuck power!), their model is to eliminate overhead costs that wind up inflating the price-per-product at the consumer end. this means that they keep limited inventory on hand (i was asked if i was willing to wait a couple of weeks for the right size/colour combo of my socks) and that they specialize in direct-to-consumer sales among other things. they are also globally-minded, contributing 1% of all sales to the mines advisory group whose mission is about "providing a safe and secure future for men, women and children affected by violence and conflict".
for you that means that these top-quality compression socks can be yours for a cool $35 USD - with free shipping to canada and the US! seriously, you can't beat that.
here's my video review of the 'pink panther' (my name!) tiux compression socks for you:
tiux currently has a special father's day promo on now too - buy 2 pairs and get 10% off with the promo code RUNWITHDAD (expires june 14, 2015). trust me - even if you're getting them both for yourself they're well worth it!
*** disclaimer: i won these socks from Tiux courtesy of www.9run.ca but was not obligated to provide a positive review. all opinions - however poorly expressed - are my own.
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