Discussion: Does anybody still wear O socks?

Hi All:

We are having a fierce debate about O socks. Over the years several people has asked us to make one but we've been hesitant because we haven't have a good factory to do it til now.... so if we start making O socks will anybody still want them? It goes against our "new athletic fashion police" look here at Axis Gear but if you want it, we'll do it!

Thanks!!
Norm

Always. And my supply is getting pretty worn out. But I could be the only one.

Johnnie does, too. But, he is probably at home doing a lot of darning because he can't get new ones. And that's why we don't see him anymore.

Gregory wears socks, but not much else. [VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED!]. If Axis makes socks for Greg, make sure they are full-body socks.
Please, for the love of ...

What are O socks?

Heavens to Betsy!!

I wear o-socks, I think they actually look more fashionable than gaiters or full length o-pants... but perhaps I am alone in this thought.

My two cents - I'd like to try a product shaped like Trimtex or Vapro gaiters but constructed like an O sock, i.e. a stirruped, but otherwise footless O sock. I haven't yet tried O socks partly because availability in my foot size is limited and partly because I don't want to lose the complete control I can otherwise exercise over what socks I wear to protect my feet from blisters, etc. just to protect my shins in a way gaiters do pretty well.

Of course, never having tried such a product, I can't guarantee I'd like it and use it if it did appear on the market.

I have been meaning to purchase O-socks to replace gaiters; I would purchase them.

Lest this thread go to the dark side...

I have had mixed results with O socks. I kind of like the idea, because I don't like gaiters. I will wear the O socks with full length pants for extra protection, and will also wear them with knee length pants.

O socks and 3/4 Atak Pant fashion wise is not too disimilar to what football (American) players wear no?

I agree with Salal that O socks are way more fashionable than gaiters. With AR we have seen an influx of gaiters at O events in s. Ontario.

(yes and gaiters over tights too).

I raced AR in O socks with bike shorts. I could pull up the socks for those places in the forest I needed them and then dropped the low (Tero style) for the bike sections or road running.

I think I would probably try some if I could find them somewhere for sale. I have had a really hard time finding a pair of gaiters that fit in a way I like (or even just fit at all) so I gave up and just have torn up shins.

The only O socks I ever tried (the knee-high ones with the heavy-duty padded fronts) gave me blisters from the rough knit, even with a pair of liner socks underneath. Thus, I keep going back to those unfashionable gaiters. :-)

I wear above-calf length O socks with 3/4 length pant. Gale-O supplied my first set of socks which I found to be great - like gaiters without the bulk and just as protective. Got 2 more pair in Sweden this summer. Very comfortable combination.

I wear O socks or simply soccer socks (which I've been able to buy for as cheap as $5/pair - and I'm still using those two pairs of Adidas socks two years later with no problem - which is probably not what Norm wants to hear ;-)

But lately while watching soccer on TV I've noticed some teams wearing over-the-knee socks. Now I'm a bit puzzled about what keeps them from falling down, but if I could be convinced about their staying-up-ness I would be very interested in getting some over-the-knee O socks with a bit of extra protection just above the knee for those particularly prickly maps. After all, that is where I get most scratches & splinters.

I wear a lot of knee-high soccer socks for orienteering, Street Scrambles, softball, basketball, volleyball, golf. Heck, I wear knee-high socks all the time.

How I keep them from falling down: shin guard straps.
They are just elastic bands with velcro. They are meant to wrap around shin guards and your lower legs, but I just use them with socks. I've never had a problem with my socks falling down.

I would be interested in O socks over gaiters, and would prefer colors other than black (it'd look better with black Atak 3/4 pants).

PS-- Norm, I received the Orienteer Kansas jerseys earlier this month, and they look sharp. Great work!

Sorry, I didn't mean knee-high socks. These 'new' over the knee socks need to be held onto your quads somehow (not your calfs). Here's a really geeky link to show what I mean.

I like o socks as long as they are light and not chunky like footysocks.
Gaiters are gay. Even though they would have prevented the remains of a tree stump that embedded itself in my shin and the resultant nerve damge and deselection in state O team:(

OK, if those over the knee socks ever become popular I know who to blame. Mr. AZ ;-)

I'm a fan of O-socks in theory but when I was last at a shop that sold O-socks, nearly 5 years ago, they only had Silva ones and I couldn't find a comfortable size. I only wear those for shorter courses now and instead wear double-layer wrightsocks which are very comfortable but are not so protective. They always fall down too ...

Oh you North Americans are so fashionable.

Apart from O fashion being horrible anyway, the best look is the 3/4 articulated o pant with o socks (it also feels more free and faster(?).

NAFOO
Nationally Accredited Fashion Officer for Orienteering

I wear knee length o-socks under full length Atak pants. Adequate shin protection and not as hot as gaiters (and easier to wash). With the Atak pants over the socks there's less snagging of the socks and it keeps the fashion police away. :-)

OMG, AZ, those over-the-knee socks take the cake. SO NERDY! And what's the point of them? I play soccer, and I've never seen anyone wearing those. Hopefully that trend stays out of my area. ;-)

But seriously -- Norm, I like the idea of O-socks. Even though I don't own any (yet), I've thought about it lots of times b/c I don't like the way my VJ gaiters bunch-up around my ankles (and consequently I never wear those gaiters anymore). I usually just wear long pants anyway, and I don't get too scratched up at all out here in the west (Colorado / Wyoming). But, there are hot days when shorts + O-socks might be more comfortable.

As they are apparently too busy to see this, Sam and Hill wear O socks. Considered more fashionable than gaiters.
I used to wear them (Sharon gave me my first pair), but I had troubles with them falling down, bunching in my shoes.

I should mention that part of the reason that I started wearing O socks back in 1985 was that when regular socks got wet, they fell down around my ankles, whereas the knee-length O socks would stay up. However, the elastic in all 11.5* pairs of O socks that I have (I just counted) gave up the ghost years ago, so now a 1/2-width strip of ductape gets put around the top, above the calf muscle.

*Yeah, I seem to have lost one red sock. AndI got my first pair from Sharon, too. But I had to pay for them.

O socks can easily pass the fashion police test as long as they are a solid colour. And they need to match the colour of the 3/4 pant... and that colour can't be bright.

I still wear O socks with a thin ankle sock underneath. Like JJ, I am down to my last pair and use a strip of duct or hockey tape to hold them up.

Whether your soccer socks stay up or not has a lot to do with what they're made out of. Most pairs I've ever worn don't stay up well, but I did have a pair once (made out of some mix of acrylic, lycra and other synthetics) that did stay up, at least for soccer. However, I've never found them satisfactory for orienteering; they rip pretty easily.

O-socks are evil.

If your VJ gaiters fall down, they're too big.

... out of box thought... why not wear soccer shin guards.

I know a certain orienteer/adv racer/triathlete who swears by knee-high medical compression socks ...

I would buy O socks. Gaiters are overkill, socks offer enough protection for whatever's out there. And they make me feel fast. But, like Jon, I like to wear my own socks for blister protection. I can get away with wearing Trimtex O socks for a race or two, but often I just wear O socks on top of regular socks. Make an O sock that has a Wright-sock like double layer for the foot and I'd pay a lot for them...

Triathletes love a compression sock

I also wear compression socks as faux-orienteering socks.

For last 7 years I have being using O-socks - the best pair was made by trimtex - they stay up, they are not easily ripped, and serve as compression socks as well. I tried some others and have not found a mach for trimtex socks.
One more point - socks and gaitors - 4 items to wash after the race - O-socks - half the work :)

My favourite O socks are made by the Finnish company WOL. Those smart Finns have put an elastic drawstring around the top of the socks with a little toggle at the side to tighten so they never fall down. To answer Norm's original question the top model of O pant for Trimtex is only available in 3/4 length-- a pretty good indication a lot of people prefer O socks.

Just been in Europe studying what orienteers are wearing. The cool dudes are wearing 3/4 pants or tights, and long sox. Gaiters are on their way out.

I looked through all my pics from WOC this summer. Suprisingly, almost every competitor was wearing O-socks with 3/4 pants or tights! I only saw 5 people not wearing them. Only 3 were wearing gaiters (our own Nick Duca, and Zsuzsa Fey - both of Romania(ish), and attackpointer Lieke Van Opstal from The Netherlands). Almost nobody was wearing just plain O-pants with regular socks, and those two nobodys were me and Ross Smith. :)
I'm pretty sure the only reason Ross was even wearing pants was the full-coverage rule. Does Axis make an orienteering loin cloth? I'm fine with just a thin layer of nylon for scratch protection, and I'm not especially fashionable. Still, it seems that over-the-calf O-socks are the apparel of choice for the elites these days.

Here are my pics from this year:
Long Quali
Middle Final
Long Final
Relay

Nice pictures Eddie.

However, the socks are all too boring. Here's a source for 78 different patterns of long athletic Argyle socks. Click on the various patterns and pant colors to get the full fashion effect.

Wow--that was what we were missing! Eddie, time to get fashionable!

I wear O socks (currently Trimtex size L, which--with some effort--squeeze on over my chubby calves) and 3/4 pants. I sometimes just wear running socks and long pants, but that set-up has become my second choice. O socks aren't the best for blister prevention, but I very seldom have blister problems anymore, because my feet have toughened up over the years of running, orienteering, rogaining, adventure racing, etc.

I have always worn gaiters and they have always presented problems because I have short, heavy legs. They fall down, twist around, the zippers dig into my ankles, etc. Then this summer at the O-Ringen I forgot my socks one day, so I headed over to the Team Sportia tent to see what I could get cheap and found the O socks were 2 pairs for 200 krona or about $33.00 so I got a pair. I loved them, they were much more comfortable than gaiter. I went back and got the 2 for $33 deal and came home with 3prs of O socks. Corinne has worn them for quite a while and had been encouraging me to try them, I wish I had done so sooner.
We both will buy O socks!

I tried gaiters when I first got into orienteering, and while they did provide protection, they were a real hassle. So since then I've pretty much just orienteered in full length tights - they protect me from the small whippy stuff, but I still get occasional jabs and bruises from bigger stuff.

I've considered O socks, but haven't gone that route because the looks of the foot portion of the sock didn't impress me. I've become very partial to good quality synthetic running socks - especially Thorlo trail running mini crew - but if there were an O sock that had a good synthetic blend sock portion married to a light protective upper portion I'd probably give them a shot. Another possibility would be a protective sock-like leg protection married to a thin liner type sock (or a thin stirrup) that could be readily worn in conjunction with ones favorite athletic sock.

Like orienteeringmom, I have shorter heavy legs. I've used gaiters all along, but nice fitting O socks like she found in Sweden would work for me! They just can't be too tight/constricting under the knee.

Thank you EVERYBODY!! We have lots of reading and research to do now.. :P
But from the sounds of it, we'll give it a try for 2009?

On a related note--it would be great if there were some easy way for you to distribute more a la carte stuff down here in the USA. I don't have any great suggestions, but it would be nice when these socks are available, to pick up some on a whim.

While this is somewhat off topic, where do you APers purchase your apparel - tights, knickers, O-pants, O-socks, gaiters, shirts and so on? I'm particularly interested in aquisition of tights, but I imagine others would benefit from a more general discussion.

I saw 3/4 length running tights at Target the other day that were just about the same as the ones I got at an orienteering meet this summer.

That is a great question. I always struggle to find tights. It seems to be hard to find lightweight tights for men at retailers.

I just want cheap, inexpensive tights. However, I did find some at Eastbay (their house brand) and got three pairs. They literally lasted 2 races each. In fact one lasted one race, although the Pig middle this year was a bit thorny.

Now I've bitten the bullet and am paying like $40 for UA heatgear, which I think is way overpriced, but in the long run cheaper than the $15-$20 Eastbay tights. I would like to find some other choices.

How are your Siven ones from this summer holding up?

I gave those to Dasha. They were too small for me.

You can find inexpensive tights sometimes at bike stores, or Performance, but not 3/4 length without the chamois, only with or women's - they get all the good deals;-} One problem though with the lycra type material is that it easily snags and, being skin tight, will provide no protection from incidental contacts. The nylon type pant like the Attak seem resistant to the snags and slough off the light stuff.