Say Goodbye to Blisters ...

TRUSOX

A few months back I was talking with my buddy Mike, who is an avid soccer player, and he was telling me about how he was wearing these socks that had completely stopped the blisters that have been plaguing his feet for quite some time.  They were called TRUSOX and he swore up and down that the little rubber patches on the outside of the socks prevented his feet from sliding around inside his sweaty shoes and completely prevented blisters.

I pretty much forgot about the conversation until a pair of the TRUSOX arrived in the mail from Mike.  And since he was nice enough to send them I figured I would try them out and report back my findings and see if they have crossover potential for Endurance Athletes.


Running:

I have never really had a problem with blisters while running on the streets until I get up into the 18+mile range.  However, I have had a problem with blister while trail running.

Blister from 50k Trail Race

With the trails I run on being quite technical this leads to a fair amount of lateral feet movement and in the past this movement has led to some rather uncomfortable blisters (above) and hotspots.  My first attempt at using the TRUSOX was in a pair of trail shoes (Brooks Cascadia) at East End Park in Kingwood, TX.

This is a small park along Lake Houston that is packed dirt, sand and wooded bridges.  I was able to rip out about six miles on a hot and humid evening and the TRUSOX performed brilliantly.  They were extremely comfortable and I was impressed with the high quality of the socks.  Amazingly I was able to tell a difference in my running performance.  It felt like I was more confident on my feet when moving laterally over rocks and trail irregularities. This was an unexpected positive outcome of the TRUSOX.

During the run I could not even feel that anything different was even being worn in terms of comfort. After the run my feet looked fine and no hotspots were noticeable.

So far so good ...

Cycling:

Shortly after wearing the socks on a trail run I then tried them out for a long ride with a group of friends on a rainy and windy Sunday morning.  As I mentioned above I rarely have problems with hotspots or blisters while running on roads. This is the complete opposite while cycling.

At Ironman Texas the bottom of my feet were on fire from mile 80 to the 112 mile bike finish. It seems anytime it is hot (which is often here in Texas) that after about 60mi on the bike I develop some hotspots.   After the socks performance on the trails I was extremely optimistic about trying them for this ride.

That morning we did 80mi of cycling and my feet felt wonderful. Zero issues. Zero hotspots.  And it was an extremely wet and humid morning, which is what has lead to my past issues with foot discomfort. I felt like the TRUSOX really shined for me on the bike.

* Since this initial run and ride I have worn the socks for a Half Ironman and many other road and trail runs and my opinion has not changed since the initial run.


Summary:

Pros:
- The TRUSOX do what they claim and absolutely prevent blisters.
- They are comfortable enough to be used for everyday training.
- They are as easy to put on as any other sock.
- I could tell a noticeable difference in performance while running on technical trails.
- They are the perfect cycling sock.

Cons:
- They are a little thicker sock then what I normally use but are still pretty breathable.
- Cost. They are $24 per pair.


Overall I can say that I am extremely impressed with the TRUSOX. According to Mike, these socks were designed by a soccer player for soccer players but the crossover to endurance sports makes complete sense.  Runners and cyclists spend a lot of time on their feet and we need to keep them healthy - TRUSOX does that even if they were not initially made for us endurance folks.

For those of you who have blister problems I would highly recommend picking up a couple pair of TRUSOX.  Currently I am using them for all of my trail runs and long Saturday morning runs and will use them in next months Rocky Raccoon 50k Trail Run. They are a bit on the pricey side but I'd much rather pay a little extra cash then be unable to run or ride because of a couple of puss filled blisters! Well worth the cost.

Click Here to purchase a pair of TRUSOX.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

**Disclaimer:  The TRUSOX were given to me by a friend. I was not paid for this review and am not entitled to future compensation.  The opinions are mine alone based on the trial of the product while training. If you have any questions about TRUSOX I suggest you visit the website.