It’s hard to believe that Fox River has been producing socks for over one hundred years. The products they produce are of a high quality, and as such, when I had the opportunity to try out their new Peak series socks, I was excited to wear this new design.
As with all the Fox River line-up, the Peak series is available in both ankle, and crew cut styles.
First, the socks fit the foot well. The multi-material fabric is not only durable, but the new HelixFit technology reduces the amount/volume of material around the foot preventing the dreaded sock bunching in, and around the toe area. There’s nothing worse than logging your “long run miles” fighting a sagging sock. The added compression claims to improve blood flow and circulation in the foot area, helping you resist foot fatigue.
After a full season of use, I can’t say I really noticed the (claimed) effects of the compression technology, however, I can say that the socks did/do feel great on my feet, and after multiple wash cycles, (including a few trips into the clothes dryer) the fabric remains elastic, and soft. Typical wear patterns developed in the heel and toe box areas, but this is to be expected after logging 140-150K weeks on my feet. One observation that I made was that during hot summer training runs, the socks ‘felt’ too warm, and instead I’d recommend wearing one of the company’s other offering the Running – Ultra Light Weight Velocity (Wick and Dry series ). This said, the Peak series is marketed as an ‘all weather sock’. Is there such a thing as an “all weather sock”? I’d argue the claim, especially while running outdoors during Ontario’s nasty cold winter days, but simply put, every individual runner is different, so giving a pair a try is recommended.
The importance of wearing “technical” socks while training and competing can’t be stressed enough. Working in conjunction with a good pair of runners, the Fox River’s Peak series, kept me feet dry allowing air to circulate in and out of my shoes.
The price is competitive to other similar styled sock, however, to my knowledge, Fox River is the only company to offers this hybrid technology (the Helix fit) in a non-designated piece of “compression gear”. If you’re interesting in trying a sock that is durable, lasting many miles, try Peak Series, and moreover, the technical benefits of the volumetric compression might just help your running.
