They’re weird looking things aren’t they toe socks? I think this has always put me off trying them previously but in my quest to find the perfect kit for running ultras and particularly the UTMB I decided to give them a try to see if they could help prevent blisters in long races.
In typical marketing fashion the Injinji website is full of the benefits of using toe socks over more conventional socks. These include total foot utilization, moisture management, and blister prevent.
The main reason I wanted to try this socks was to see if they could help prevent blisters so I purchased three different types of Injinji’s, the Lightweight No Show, Midweight Mini-Crew, and Trail Midweight Mini-Crew and set about testing them in training.
Injini Run Midweight Mini-Crew
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[column size='2/3']The best of the three pairs I tried and the ones I keep going back to. Not too thick and long enough to stop chafing on the heel. They fit really well and because they are thin it helps to keep your foot cool on hot days whilst drying quickly if it’s wet.
Since using these socks for ultra marathons I haven’t had a blister so they must be working.
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Injini Trail Midweight Mini-Crew
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[column size='2/3']These were the socks that I thought would be best suited for my needs but I found them slightly too thick so my feet got really hot and sweaty. The extra padding you get from these socks is quite nice but it’s not needed throughout, it would be best to use the thicker material in key areas such as the heel and use a thinner material elsewhere.
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Injini Run Lightweight No Show
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[column size='2/3']Not a fan of these for trail running if I’m honest. They just aren’t long enough to protect the heel from chaffing in well cushioned trail shoes. More suited to gym sessions or shorter runs.
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How did they fair on the UTMB
Verdict
The mini crew are my favourite of the three versions I tried. I found the trail socks slightly too thick so they caused my feet to sweat a lot in hot conditions and they give a slightly dull feeling in the shoe.
The no shows caused rubbing on the back of my ankle where they didn’t cover it from rubbing on the heel of my shoe. I wore them with Scott Kinabalu Supertracs and Enduros which do have a slightly higher heel than most shoes so with a road shoe they may work well.
Once you get used to the odd feeling of having your toes in individual pockets the Injinji toe socks feel really good. I used them on the UTMB and I definitely didn’t suffer from as many blisters as I usually do in 100 mile races so they will be my go to sock for long runs in the future.
I’m certainly a convert to toe socks and would really recommend them to help prevent blisters. Just make sure you keep your toe nails short otherwise you might put holes in the end of the toes.