TennisIDENTITY

For the love of toes.

Most of you have probably seen the super-weird looking footwear with toes, not on me, never, but I have tried these toesocks in my tennis shoes.  Injinji sent me a pair from their Performance Series. They felt kinda odd but I gave them a couple of good clinic trys. 

The concept: Injinjis are designed to prevent blisters. The five-toe-sleeve design protects each toe (working well in the Vibram Five Fingers shoe), but also allows your feet to move the way nature intended. The close fitting, seamless socks eventually become a second skin and absorb the chaffing and moisture associated with physical activity. Wearers benefit from the dexterity and balance associated with each individual toe. They are great for those whose feet sweat a lot, pulling moisture away from the feet and between the toes.

Verdict: I can't say I'll be running out to buy a drawer full of these but certainly if you struggle with toe blisters or sweaty feet give them a shot. The company admits, they are hard to get used to but based on testimonials on their website, people love'em eventually and in their "normal" footwear. Find them in lightweight to midweight fabrication and micro no-show to crew style in a variety of colors. $12 a pair USD. at Injinji.

 

More tennis socks. New From Puma. Win a pack of no-shows for your tennis bag!

Continuing the sock-it-to your-feet coverage this week (who knew there was so much to say), here's another new line for your tennis game: 

Pictured here is a set of no-show socks from Puma. The mens pack comes in black, white and grey. The special "sorbtex" fabrication helps to regulate foot temperature and control condensation by absorption holding up to 50 times its own weight in moisture.

These socks are comfy, giving your foot a tight hug with no bunching and they hold their shape over time which is a plus.This is not a padded, foot protective sock like some on the market however; it looks to be intended primarily for those who like a thin sock with good moisture controlling capabilities. MSRP $11 for the pack.

Puma is giving away six packs of three no-show socks (mens included). Leave a comment below this post to enter. One entry pp. RT@Tennisidentity on Twitter for an extra entry. US only please. Ends with random draw at 6pm EST, June 3, 2010.

Find Puma tennis socks at Bare Necessities.

Sock it to your Sweaty Blistered Feet. Win a Pair of drymax for Your Tennis Game.

If your feet get blisters easily, hurt, sweat or just plain ache while playing tennis, listen up. We're covering tennis socks this week:

Knowing that moisture is the athletic foot's biggest enemy, the folks at drymax have created a pretty amazing sock that removes sweat from the skin and keeps it away. Two layers of interwoven fibers are at work here. The skin side layer actually repels water; sweat is pulled away to the moisture attracting outer layer. The result? Dry feet, no friction, no blisters.  

Many wicking socks move moisture around until it evaporates, still leaving some wetness next to your skin. Drymax socks are designed to work with the new generation of breathable tennis shoes -- which is how moisture eventually escapes. They come in a wide variety of sizes (only white right now) with an instep hugging arch band and offer five densities of padding (not thicknesses) to reduce pressure in the heel forefoot and toe areas. No stink too thanks to an infused antimicrobial additive. They work well.

Bonus points -- these socks have codes on them (see the little red mark above at the toe?) so if you have multiple sizes in the house they are easy to match. LOVE that. Warning: Bleach and fabric softeners render much of all this good technology useless. At $9-15 USD per pair that's worth knowing.

LEAVE A COMMENT below this post to register to win a free pair of drymax socks. We're giving away 5 pairs. Names pulled by random draw. One entry per person. Contest closes May 28, 2010 5 pm EST. US only please. RT @Tennisidentity on twitter for an extra entry.

Find  a retailer at drymax or buy online at Tennis-Warehouse

Candy for your eyes, heaven for your feet. Enter to win a 5 pack of new Thorlos Experia.

Thorlos has recently introduced its new Experia multi-sport line, colorful and above all super comfortable. Tennis players if you've tried Thorlos in the past and found them to be too thick for your liking, try these.

Experia are anatomically engineered to fit like a glove, no bunching or bulk. The company has taken out all of the excess padding leaving it only where you need it to protect your heels and balls of your feet against impact and shearing. Loved them in my close fitting tennis shoes!

Check out all the great colors (white available in June). They're made of CoolMax to keep your sweat-prone dogs dry during play. $13.99 USD a pair.

Enter to win one of three sets of five pairs of Thorlos Experia, a $70 value, by entering a comment under this post. Deadline is Friday May 8, 9:00 pm EST. US and Canada deliveries only. The winners will be posted on Tennisidentity's Twitter feed.

Learn more or buy at Thorlo.

A Technical Tennis Sock That Makes a Difference

We didn't know that socks really mattered until we started trying specialty styles. We will not be going back for another low priced six-pack at T.J. Maxx. With the kind of comfort and snug fit offered by companies like Eurosock, you will forget your feet, even in a super long match. Pictured here are two of four styles, the Slam Cool for men (also in white) and Court Cool for women (also sold with accents of blue or pink) Both have a suggested retail price of $9.00 a pair. The padding system is set in just the right places to provide protection against hard stops and starts, and "expansion joints" in the seams make the socks stretch and move without any bulk or wrinkling. This means no blisters. Eurosocks are a bit thinner than other technically savvy styles we've tried so if you wear a very snug sneaker, these might work well for you. The moisture management provided by the Coolmax content lives up to its billing. Find retailers and learn more at www.eurosock.com. You can also find some of the styles at www.tenniswarehouse.com.

You'll dig for these socks every time

These are simply among the best tennis socks we've tried. They wick moisture away from your tired dogs and are so cushioned you'll be tempted to wear them at home as slippers (don't because you'll ruin them). Their padding offers awesome blister, impact and shear protection, especially in the heel and toes, and the change in construction at the arch means no excess fabric anywhere to bunch up.

Thorlos are available for men and women and come in three cushioning levels (with the thickest, level 3, you may need to add a half size to your sneaker). The styles shown here are crew, left and rolltop, right. There are three more styles. $11.99-$13.99 per pair. Your feet will be thrilled. Buy them at www.thorlo.com or Tennis-Warehouse