Disclaimer: I received CEP products as part of being a Bibrave Pro. Learn more about becoming a Bibrave Pro(ambassador), and check out Bibrave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!”
Anyone that is active in sports activity or fitness has most likely heard of the brand CEP. CEP is an industry leading compression apparel company that utilizes fully graduated technology. Unlike typically compression apparel, CEP products gradually increase the amount of compression from the ankle to the calf. They also don’t work on the typical Small, Medium, etc size chart, you actually have to measure your calf size so their products will have a better fit than normal products. So all the Pros were happy to see a pair of Trail Merino Socks and a pair of Merino socks for Recovery in our swag bag from The Running Event.
RECOVERY SOCKS
I will start with the Recovery Socks. When we had the opportunity to walk around and talk to CEP representatives at TRE, I actually learned a lot about compression. The main thing I learned was that compression sleeves/socks should only be worn during active activity. They are made for activity so wearing them while you are just sitting around, would not be beneficial and possibly be harmful. Recovery Socks should be used in those type of situations. Upon hearing this, I immediately thought to myself, what better way to try out the recovery socks than to wear them on my plane ride home the following day. The next morning I slipped them on and heading to the airport. As the morning progressed, I could feel a difference in my legs. No aching and they felt fresh the duration of flight/flights. I actually forgot I had them on when I got home until I was asked about them. That tells you they weren’t tight enough to make it uncomfortable.
MERINO TRAIL SOCKS
Full disclosure, I have never been a fan of compression socks. I have always ran with compression sleeves, part of reason is probably because I like certain socks and sleeves still allow for some freedom with your sock color, etc. Nevertheless, I wanted to give this trail socks their fair shot. We were given the yellow color so they pretty much will go with any color. I headed out on one of NC’s 30 degree mornings to give them a try. At first they felt strange on my legs, mind you I told you I have never been a compression sock wearer. I was doing a 10 plus mile run, so it should give me plenty of miles to see how the socks perform. Halfway through my run, my legs still felt fresh and no signs of fatigue. One slight issue I noticed around mile 8 was my left leg began to get numb. This has only happened one other time and that was when I was wearing some sleeves that were a size too small. I don’t know if my left calf muscle is slightly larger than my right, but once I stopped and rolled down the sock, the numbness went away and I finished the run.
RECOMMENDATION
I will 100% endorse the recovery socks, they are great. That was the first time trying recovery socks and now I am hooked. They are so beneficial and are especially useful to wear during plane rides to keep the blood circulation going. As far as the Trail Socks go, I am still not a compression socks type of guy BUT I definitely see the benefit of these for those people who are. My opinion is solely based off personal preference and nothing to do with the way the Merino Trail Socks perform. They definitely do what they are supposed to do. If you are a compression sock user, do give CEP Merino Trail Socks are try.
TMilesAndRunning 