There are two types of runners in this world; those who care dearly about the socks they wear and those who don’t. We at TAUR are definitely part of the “people who care about the socks they wear” crew. We are critical of not just the way a sock feels, but even how it looks. And above all things we care about durability. Feetures was excited to have us review their new Elite sock, the Ultra Light, a low cushion, high wicking sock meant for people who want to feel the shoe and the trail under foot. The Ultra Light ($15) is designed with an anatomical fit and no seam over the toes, providing for a near exact fit and extreme comfort.
We put the sock on several of our testers, both men and women, who wore them in as many different conditions and on as many different kinds of trail as possible. We scored each test area from 1-5 with 5 being the best possible score.
Fit & Feel – 4.5
As mentioned above, Feetures uses anatomically correct fitting and no toe seem. Along with their soon-to-be patented Power Arch – providing targeted compression around the midfoot to reduce slippage or spinning – this sock overs an amazing fit. That being said, and this is not specific to Feetures, we generally feel that providing an anatomical fit is a waste of time and more of a marketing scheme. In our history of testing and comparing socks we have found that it simply doesn’t matter (and we’ve tested a lot). Ultimately, this opinion didn’t distract from our overall opinion of how comfortable the sock was, our only complaint being it may be a bit too thin for any run over 20 miles or so. Beyond that, it fit extremely well and was quite comfortable.
Durability – 5.0
The risk you run when testing socks is not wearing them enough to really know how well they hold up to the punishment provided by ultra runners and the elements. Luckily, we’ve had these socks a while and were able to really put them through their paces. What we found was that for a sock so thin they held up extremely well. Unlike other socks of similar thickness, such as Smartwool, these socks held up a minimum of two times as long. In fact, as of the writing of this article we had yet to put a hole in any single pair provided to us. Very impressed.
Protection & Wicking – 4.0
iWick construction in Feetures socks allows moisture to be pulled away from the foot. It must be cool super-secret technology because we couldn’t find any information about iWick on the Feetures website. Fear not, we trust Feetures and the results spoke for themselves. Overall the socks protected the feet of our testers just fine and there were no complaints regarding sweat or slipping.
Final Thoughts
Trail and ultra runners tend to lean towards socks with increased cushion and construction built from natural fibers. However, if anyone truly gives this sock a try they will find that they need neither of those because this sock delivers in just the right areas for any type of runner. While the price tag is a bit steep for a sock that would likely get used mostly for racing, consumers may find that it’s still a solid value considering how long the sock holds up. Ultimately, we stand behind Feetures with this sock and found it to be a tester favorite. We hope you do too.
