Product Review – Injinji compression socks

I’ve liked 5 fingers for a long time, for both running and hiking, but I’ve never really worn socks with them that much. I have a couple of pairs of ankle injinji socks which I wear when the temperature gets below 10° C, or with my ‘normal’ shoes and really like them.

When getting ready for my round themountain hike I really wanted to get some Injinji compression socks to test out. Long story short, I wanted black but the supplier ran out so I accepted purple and white. Also, I did pay for them, this isn’t sponsored, but if injinji want to send me some more socks I’d gladly accept.

So first up, these socks take a full 3-5 minutes I get on, seriously I’ve had a You Tube video playing while I put them on. Once on they feel pretty good, moderate compression of the lower leg, a little bit more in the foot, but not too much. I had no blisters wearing them, but I never get blisters. Now for the good and the bad.

Hiking

I really enjoyed these while hiking; so much so that I will buy a few more pairs so I can have a fresh pair each day. They were warm enough for walking between 1000m and 1500m above sea level, and the compression helped a lot to keep the pain and swelling down in my lower legs and feet. I’d give these a 10 out of 10 for hiking.

Running

I have worn these on two short runs now, and really disliked them both times. I think they heated my legs up too much and it felt like the compression restricted the movement of my Achilles. It felt like quite a lot of pressure on the tendon, and I couldn’t run as far or as fast as I do without the socks. Obviously this is a personal opinion and a lot of runners really like compression socks. They’re just not for me.

So whether they are good for you or not may depend on what you want them for. I will definitely buy some more for multi day hikes, but I won’t be wearing them running again.