injinji – The Original Toesock Reviewed
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Rating
Summary
Total Foot Utilization, Moisture Management, Blister Prevention.
Source: Bike shops, Websites
Features: Toesock
How obtained: Samples from injinji
Other Products: injinji offers a vast collection of toesocks from liners to compression toesocks.
Pros
- WOW, these socks are really comfortable
- My feet felt drier
- With toes separated, it felt as if I had more contact area with the bottom of my cycling shoes
- 3 weight options to maximize your preference, comfort and performance
- 6 length options from no-show to over the calf to match your sport shoes requirements
- 4 unisex, 2 women’s specific and 3 kids toesock sizes
Cons
- None identified
User Review
( votes)
injinji – FIRST THOUGHTS
I first heard about injinji toesocks from a friend. When I visited their website, I felt a little overwhelmed. I clicked on injinji toesock bike test reviews“SHOP” and 104 different pairs of socks popped onto the screen. Thank goodness you can down select via a well thought out CATEGORY filter. I clicked on BIKE and 2 pair of socks were displayed.
I contacted injinji and was told that for 2017, they are changing around their socks a little bit. They asked what I was looking for so I told them my requirements; thin, moisture absorbing and lightweight socks for low-volume cycling shoes.
They said that they would send me several pair to try. These would all be made with COOLMAX and be either thin or ultra-thin cushioning.
SOCKS ARRIVED
The socks arrived in a medium sized mailer. I was surprised, 4 pair, each a little different.
Three of the four were Mini-Crew and one Full Crew length in a fancy “American Southwest” pattern with turquoise, black and peach. All socks contain COOLMAX, NYLON & LYCRA in varying percentages and all include sewn arch supports.
FIRST IMPRESSION
At first I was skeptical. How could this be comfortable? As cyclists, we all have several pairs of cycling socks that have a seam ending on the little toe.
That seam is usually a big knot of thread that lies right along the little toe so that when we cycle, it starts rubbing the little toe raw. Best case, it’s a large distraction. That was exactly my first thought with these socks.
I removed the first pair from its packaging… the RUN PERFORMANCE 2.0 MINI CREW Original Weight Thin Cushioning. My first detailed inspection of the socks was to see if there were any areas of knotted thread seam ends.
What a pleasant surprise to see that injinji made these right!!! NO seam ends anywhere near any toes. In fact, no seams anywhere in the entire sock! The entire sock is SMOOTH!
TRYING THEM ON
Trying them on for the first time, it took no time to get used to them. They slipped easily onto my feet. I did have to line
injinji toesock bike test reviewsup my toes with the toe holes since two of my toes tried to fit into one of the socks’ toe holes – kind of like with gloves.
I found it best to grab the socks’ toes and wiggle them a little. Lastly, I found it best to take the index finger and pull backwards between each toe. This step ensures that your toes are seated all the way into the socks and no bunching occurs.
I walked around the house for a few laps and the socks felt very comfortable.
FIRST BIKE RIDE
The next day I went for a ride with these toesocks. After the first pedal revolution, they felt like regular socks but more comfortable. I did not notice any material between my toes.
I felt total comfort the entire ride. They did not feel any different than using regular toeless. The one thing I did notice was that with my toes being a little more separated, I had more stability in the shoes and ultimately on the pedals.
I am very happy with these socks. In fact, so happy that I am swapping out my regular cycling socks for the injinji’s.
FALLOUT
I spoke to several friends about these toesocks and they all said “yuck”. I asked them is your comment based onexperience or what? They all said “they just don’t look comfortable”.
I replied;
1) “uncomfortable like your full fingered gloves?” It took them a second or two to realize what I was saying and that they were wearing the ‘same things’ on their hands, and
2) “don’t knock them until you’ve tried them.” After this comment, they all said, “yeah, you are right.”
Last I heard, 3 out of the 4 went out and bought some. Right now, I’m waiting to hear their replies.
SUMMARY – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
These are a full 10 out of 10!
The material is comfortable, there’s more stability inside the shoes, no seams, they run drier than other socks, thin and light and cost no more than a good pair of cycling socks. What else would you want?
If you haven’t tried these, they are a must.
Where to start? I would start with a pair each of the PERFORMANCE 2.0 RUN. One Lightweight Ultra-Thin and one Original Weight Thin.
You can’t and won’t go wrong with any of these, but, be warned that it will be tough to go back to your old cycling socks.
I have always enjoyed bicycling and, through a series of coincidences, became a Bicycle Industry Consultant and Product Tester. I test prototype products for companies and have published only off the shelf production products on biketestreviews.com.
