The second you pull on a pair of Swiftwick socks, you’ll immediately feel their exceptional padding, compression, and second-skin fit. In fact, wearing them feels like a pair of hands is engulfing your foot and calf and gently massaging it to stimulate blood flow and circulation. A great performance sock at a great price.
Go ahead and laugh at a review on socks but like it or not, they’re the sole barrier between your foot and shoe. It’s the quality of the sock that largely determines if your day on the trail is going to suck or be great. This bit of common sense is the mantra of Swiftwick, a Tennessee-based company—that actually makes the socks in Tennessee two hours down the road from their corporate headquarters.
When it comes to the sock construction, it’s all about “needle count”. The higher the needle count, the tighter the knit. The tighter the knit, the harder it is for trail debris to penetrate and cause irritation and blistering. Swiftwick socks are knitted at 200 needles; the highest density you’ll find in socks. This high needle count makes the socks very form-fitting. This combined with the Lycra and construction, creates the compression foot bed that cradles your foot’s arch and manages pressure on your ankles, calves and feet.
Compression also pulls double duty in the overall foot health department by promoting blood flow to the feet and improving circulation, thereby ensuring good feet health. I know this to be true as I tested a pair of Olefin Four Crews for three days at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City where I was on my feet from 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. each day. Leg fatigue? Nope.
This reduction in fatigue will increase your own recovery time after a bike ride, long run or hike.
Swiftwick socks are available in two different blends: Merino wool and Olefin. Merino wool, as you know, is nature’s original technical fiber. Its insulating and wicking qualities have earned it bragging rights the world over because it keeps skin dry when sweating, warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot.
Olefin is the fiber that won a Nobel Prize. It retains less than .01 percent of its weight in moisture and resists deterioration from chemicals and sweat. The end result is a fast-drying, lightweight sock that breathes and is resistant to abrasion. Best of all, the production of Olefin is friendly to the environment because it leaves minimal waste and is easier to recycle than most synthetic fibers.
Your feet have 60 joints, 200 ligaments and 35 muscles. Treat them to a pair of Swiftwick socks. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Swiftwick unconditionally guarantees every product to be the best performance product you’ll ever wear and they’ve backed it up with a phenomenal guarantee program. If you buy a pair of socks and think they’re just mediocre, mail them back to Swiftwick (they only ask that you launder them first) and request a competitor’s replacement pair of equal value. Swiftwick will in turn donate your laundered socks to Soles4Souls, a charitable organization that facilitates the donations of shoes to underprivileged people around the world.
Right now, in light of recent world events, Soles4Souls is mounting a massive emergency relief mission to the victims of Haiti’s earthquake.
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