When gear is reviewed it is usually one particular piece or clothing that is tested of that brand during one type of weather element. For this review of Fox River, I tested several socks over Fall, Winter, and Spring!
After running with Fox River over the last six months, it is no wonder they are a leader when bringing happiness to our feet.
Socks Tested: Pioneer Crew, Trail Quarter, Ultra Light Velocity Quarter, and the Maximum Military Boot Socks.
The first pair I tested in the warm months was the Ultra Light Velocity Quarter. This sock came in several different colors, I picked red/white for the road and grey/orange for the trail. The socks came up just above the shoe opening and held up strong around the ankle. Both pairs had a reinforced toe and heal with ribbed tightness around the centre of the foot holding the sock in place. Most of the time it felt like I was running bare foot inside of my shoe. I wore this sock training for my three day run to Ottawa and put it through the wash plenty of times before, putting them to the test of over a 100k run from Toronto to Ottawa. During my run the socks wicked away the wetness, leaving me no blisters on my tired feet! This spring I have slipped on the same socks and they are still holding up. The Fox River sock is a durable piece of clothing that is made of Eco Fibers, (recycled polyester) that is very soft on the foot. I rate this sock a 5/5 in my own testing and will buy more of the Velocity.
On my trail runs where I spend most of my time, I tested the Trail Quarter, Trail Master, and the Pioneer crew. All of these socks had the same make up with a little more cushioning on the bottom of the foot then the Velocity and kept my feet cool on hot days and warm on cool days. The blend of polyester/merino wool helped wick away the wetness. In the rain, mud, and swampy ground the soft fibers when wet, kept my feet from blistering. I did wear them in one race where they where to hot for the weather and got a small blister on the side of my toe. Knowing the different weights of the socks is important, all socks come with a temperature guide on the package so you do not run into this problem. I used the Pioneer Crew all winter long with a gore-tex running shoe and my feet stayed toasty warm over the winter months of trail running. These socks sat at mid-calf and hardly ever had to be pulled up. I thought the socks did well during the cooler running season, and held up also with multiple washings. I am still using the Trial Quarter’s this spring and will use them in the upcoming 5 Peaks Trail Races until June. Fox River with it’s attention to detail on every model of sock gives them a 5/5. The price of the sock is comparable with most technical socks. The comfort and the durability will keep me coming back to this sock.
Finally when I was in the United States I picked up a pair of Fox River Maximum Military boot socks for work. It will be hard to ever go back to plain sports socks. These socks wicked the sweat like no others! The padding and cushioned bottoms made long days at the range standing that much better, with no smell. If taken off during a fifteen minute break they would be dry and ready to go again. The socks would hold tight to the leg and not fall down. If you are on your feet a lot when you are working and not running a nice trail, put these socks on your feet, trust me you will want more!
Fox River has impressed me and I will continue to use them as my go to sock, I don’t write a lot of reviews, but taking a product out for a couple of runs is not a true test! So through different seasons and different models of socks Fox River gets a two Thumbs Up!!
Keith
Ajax Running Free
