Besides being butt ugly, yes they serve a purpose and I will sometimes wear them at home, or under pants…NOT walking around town race week in shorts or during a race. Sorry flame is you will but this screams ‘dork’ to me.
What about the fact that during a race it covers your age on calf. Is this fair? hmmm.
I was wondering this exact thing this weekend. I am thinking of wearing the calf sleeves for the first time in a race next weekend and realized it would cover my age.
I don’t think it’s impactful for me in particular as I am at the non-pointy end of the field, but still… is there a rule about this?
I agree they look silly with shorts but if looking silly is a concern we’re all way too far down that road… ever walk into a public place after a long ride?
- Mike
My shorts cover most of my race number on my thigh. I doubt the age matters much.
Uhh, the thigh and calve are different parts of the leg.
If your socks are white, your age will most likely show through. One potential issue with this though is in one of my races this year my age transferred to the socks. Not a problem this year, but I won’t be 28 forever! I saw this on someone else’s socks too - one spring weekend morning I saw a girl riding with socks on and an age on her calf. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what in the world race was in town that morning that she would have had her age on her leg…not until a few months later when my age came off onto my socks did I realize hers probably did the same thing.
I’ve followed people on the bike and run wearing knee socks and the magic marker DOES NOT show through the thread count of the garment.
Uhh, the thigh and calve are different parts of the leg.Yes, more than mildly aware of that. I was making a comparison; my race number is hidden by my shorts and has never caused a problem. In turn, I doubt that age matters much and covering it with socks is probably no big deal.
I think they are ridiculous looking. Maybe they are really great but at a certain point it starts to make me question how many gadgets, gimmicks, synthetic drink/meal replacements engineered for whatever, aerodynamic seatpost/water bottle, housing cables etc… do we really need. I mean, I can understand if your competing as a pro and the difference in seconds may change your income, but I can’t help but think that it is a bunch of marketing overkill.
Good example, I friend of mine was looking for an entry level bike and they asked what made a $8,000 bike better for performance than a $1,000 bike and after I thought about it…for the incredibly small gains you get, your basically paying for fashion and marketing. Sadly, compression socks just look lame. I can’t help thinking of the guy on the $300 heavy old model aluminum trek bike with jean shorts on at IM Lousiville in 2007 had it right. Keep it simple…that said screw it: I am a hypocrite and would love to buy another bike!
I guess it depends on how magic of a marker you have?
It definitely showed through on my SLS3’s and I’ve seen it through other’s zoots (both white).
But, I doubt it would show through my pink zensah’s at all, so still definitely not “fool proof.” When I wear the zensah’s, I just have them mark my age a bit higher, not that anyone is gunning for me anyway though.
I don’t need compression socks. Even in marathons and Ironmans my calves don’t take the brunt of the abuse. It’s my thighs. I need something to cover those up and return some of the energy to those muscles, like a pair of compression shorts with a pad in the crotch to (sort of) protect my boy bits.
Compression manufacturers, you listening to me???
Uhh, the thigh and calve are different parts of the leg.Yes, more than mildly aware of that. I was making a comparison; my race number is hidden by my shorts and has never caused a problem. In turn, I doubt that age matters much and covering it with socks is probably no big deal.
If you are trying to run down someone in your age group, yes it would make a difference if you couldn’t see it. Your numbers on your thigh have no bearing in that.
clm
I think they are ridiculous looking. Maybe they are really great but at a certain point it starts to make me question how many gadgets, gimmicks, synthetic drink/meal replacements engineered for whatever, aerodynamic seatpost/water bottle, housing cables etc… do we really need. I mean, I can understand if your competing as a pro and the difference in seconds may change your income, but I can’t help but think that it is a bunch of marketing overkill.
Good example, I friend of mine was looking for an entry level bike and they asked what made a $8,000 bike better for performance than a $1,000 bike and after I thought about it…for the incredibly small gains you get, your basically paying for fashion and marketing. Sadly, compression socks just look lame. I can’t help thinking of the guy on the $300 heavy old model aluminum trek bike with jean shorts on at IM Lousiville in 2007 had it right. Keep it simple…that said screw it: I am a hypocrite and would love to buy another bike!When I bought my $40 helmet a few weeks ago and including the time in the store a week earlier, two separate sales people had a very tough time explaining how a $230 helmet was better than the $40 one. One said it was lighter and had other technical features and the other talked about ventilation. Both basically BS.
I find these do the trick for me:
- Sugoi Piston tri shorts
- 2XU Endurance tri shorts
.
I guess I’m different than most using compression socks. I’ve got a DVT in one of my legs, and without compression socks, the lower ‘bad leg’ can be several inches around larger than the other one.
It also starts to feel like running with an ankle weight.
So, geeky, techie, stupid, whatever you may call them…I wear them, and love them.
Any votes on whether black is less annoying than white to the rest of you?
Just don’t like harming other peoples vision permanently.
The big socks are beyond ugly. So is body marking. But they serve a purpose… or so they say.
Someone just needs to invent compression socks with a built in bento box and glow-in-the-dark numbers that slide-in. I mean, those markers are just so childish, no?
How many sub 2:20 marathons have been run with compression anything? The top male runners will not use them, and besides Radcliffe and one other elite Russian female I know of, I’m not aware of any elite runners using them. If they think it’s a bunch of phooey, then why should I waste one dime so that I can look like complete tool? I saw a tridork running yesterday - no shirt, short short running shorts, and knee high white condom socks. If I would have seen him earlier I would have tied one of those socks around his neck. I was embarrassed for our sport watching that knob.
They marked us at Muncie with the lowest age in your age group on one calf and your wave on the other. My Zoots (which you can all kiss my ass about how dorky you may think we look - if it helps my shin splints at all and/or means I don’t rip my post-tib from anything it attaches to I don’t give a good rats ass) now sport a 25 on one side and a 6 on the other. I’d have though (was hoping) that between all the rain, and a washing they’d maybe have faded a bit - but at least I wasn’t walking around like others with the numbers upside down on my thighs…I get to be 25 for as long as the socks last…they say so!
Yeah, we look goofy - I even wear red calf sleeves and have an argyle Beeker pair of socks - but even if it’s mental, I’m ok with any help I can get. I’m not winning anything, so I might as well try to feel as good as possible and embrace our goofiness.
And for the tool that thought the short running shorts were an issue (maybe only when combined with the socks) - have you noticed that we hang out in spandex all the time? Other athletes think we’re all tools - regardless of compression garments.
But my dad started wearing them in his early 70s and he is cooool!!!