The following guest post comes courtesy of John from CanadianJerseySuperstore and JerseysMadeEasy.com. Canadian Jersey Superstore provides blank jerseys and socks while Jerseys Made Easy can handle your custom jersey needs.
Socks were once part of the hockey wardrobe that few players thought twice about. Knit socks were basically a given and nearly identical from brand-to-brand, but “high performance” socks have slowly taken over in recent years (AKA polyester socks, AKA “new style” socks, AKA “dry fit” socks…there doesn’t seem to be a universally accepted, brand agnostic name).. Reebok initially led the charge with their Edge socks and seemingly every other brand has since followed suit.
The general pitch on high performance socks is increased durability, mobility, and breathability. They also seem to vary in construction a bit by brand. Reebok socks, for example, seem to be quite elastic while Kobe socks appear a bit thicker and well-built to handle wear-and-tear.
At anywhere from 50-150% more expensive than their knit counterpart though, many players have yet to make the transition.
Below are a bunch of questions you can ask yourself/your team to decide if it’s time for you to upgrade or not:
Do you like to upgrade your gear wherever possible?
Regardless of brand, you’ll probably feel like you’ve shed some weight when transitioning out of knit socks. An extra $10 or so may make you feel like a fresh new skater!
Will you be playing with this team for a while and/or will this team keep the same uniforms for some time?
With the added durability of high performance socks you may end up saving money in the long-run vs. knit socks. If you’re unsure of your future uniforms, however, those socks may need to get replaced before they wear out anyway, nullifying the longevity of the high performance socks.
Are you prone to losing socks?
If so, you may end up losing the knit socks before they wear out anyway, again defeating the effects of the added durability of high performance socks.
What does your team think?
Sometimes it can be hard to track down the same pattern in both knit and high performance socks, so you may need to come to some sort of consensus on which route you’re taking if placing the order as a team.
Looking for socks? Check out CanadianJerseySuperstore.com for a wide range of options shipped North America-wide.
