Dry Athletic Sock – Type Of Athletic Socks

The Acrylic Council, Inc. visited the Offense-Defense Football Camp in Stonybrook, New York last Summer to ask some of the country's most dedicated young football players what type of athletic socks perform best on the field -- acrylic or cotton. A blind sock test and survey revealed some interesting facts about the teenage tacklers' sock preference, based on specific attributes such as dryness, cushioning, fit, softness, comfort and whiteness.

Acrylic socks are the number one choice for the pros -- they're worn by all players in the National Football League," said Lynn Misiak, Executive Director of the Acrylic Council, Inc. "In addition, independent studies with long-distance runners have proven that acrylic athletic socks are superior to cotton with regard to wickability and blister prevention.

Knowing how influential teenagers are today, we were interested in finding out exactly where they stood on the importance of comfortable socks. A blind sock test was conducted by packaging identically constructed socks in pairs of one acrylic sock and one cotton, identified only by a green (acrylic) and blue (cotton) dot. The socks were distributed to 250 participants, who were asked to wear the mismatched pair of socks during their afternoon workout and to then complete a survey questionnaire immediately afterward.

Out of 164 respondents (75% teenagers, with 6.1% pre-teen and 7.3% coaches or not indicating age), results revealed that acrylic socks beat out cotton in terms of overall preference which regards to dryness, cushioning fit, softness, comfort and whiteness.

I just thought all socks were the same, said Rob Mosurick, a sixteen-year old running back from Middlebury, VT. "The acrylic sock was a lot more comfortable. I wouldn't only wear these socks on the field -- they'd be great for walking around all day.

Tackling Blisters

Football, along with other high-impact sports, creates a tremendous amount of strain and friction on an athlete's foot. Constant footwork has a tendency to cause friction blisters. Acrylic socks outperform their cotton counterparts by considerably reducing friction blisters and "wicking" moisture away from the feet. Consequently, drier, more comfortable feet mean top performance for any athlete -- professional or amateur.

When asked which sock best prevented friction blisters during practice, 63% of the athletes chose acrylic. In addition, 54% said that the acrylic sock kept their foot drier. What's more, 85% said that their socks felt dry or mostly dry after their workout.

Shock Absorbers

When it came to overall cushioning and comfort, this group of young stars also made acrylic the winning choice. In fact, 75% said that the acrylic sock cushioned their feet best and 71% agreed that the acrylic sock was softer and thicker than the cotton sock.

Some other key results revealed by the Acrylic Council's survey of teenage athletes:

68% strongly agreed that the acrylic sock kept its shape and elasticity better than the cotton sock (didn't bunch up at their ankles while only 9% disagreed and 23% were unsure).
55% noticed that the acrylic sock was whiter than the cotton sock.
When asked about specific characteristics of the acrylic sock, softness and thickness were most important (73%) followed by comfortable fit (71%).

With the acrylic sock, my foot felt like it hadn't perspired at all," said 15-year old Josh Dardastian from Great Neck, Long Island. "My foot felt protected also.

We were extremely excited to find out that these athletes were concerned about the comfort and quality of their socks,added Misiak. "More encouraging is that they were able to ascertain a distinct difference between acrylic and cotton, and acrylic was preferred.

The Offense-Defense Football camp in Stonybrook, NY is the only full-contact football camp in the United States and is attended by some of the best young athletes in the country.

Also see; sport socks.

About The Author:

Rony Swede is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.socks-n-socks.com. Having indulged in countless sporting activites over the years, Rony is a self-appointed expert on socks and enjoys sharing his insights with consumers.

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