When you pay $38 for a pair of socks — that’s $19 per foot, not including tax — they had better be something special. The EX-Celerator Socks from Injinji Footwear Inc., which have individual toe slots and an over-the-calf compression fit, do indeed qualify as special.
Putting them on is a task. The compression legging, made of a calf-squeezing nylon/Lycra fiber blend, is a tight fit. Add Injinji’s patented “five-toe-sleeve technology,” where each piggy has to be wiggled into place, and pulling on a pair is no fast feat.
But once adjusted and on, the socks feel great. They fit like no other sock I have worn, hugging toes, feet, ankles and calves like a second skin.
There is an adjustment period to getting accustomed to the feeling of your toes separated. But on a run or hike, you forget about the “foot gloves” below after a few minutes on the go.
Injinji, which sells a line of toe-socks, touts the toe separation as preventing common foot problems like blisters, hotspots, moisture build-up, and “fungal conditions.”
In my test, including running and hiking in the EX-Celerator socks, the fabric-between-the-toes fit did noticeably prevent rubbing. However, I do not commonly get blisters between my toes, so I couldn’t assess the socks’ effectiveness in that area.
The second technology story with this sock, the compression leg, is marketed as “fueling circulation to promote faster muscle recovery and prevent fatigue during and after exercise.”
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