The Tennessee based sock company Swiftwick develops socks for runners and hikers. When they asked me to try out their new Swiftwick Maxus running sock and Swiftwick Pursuit Fours for hiking, I agreed to give them a try! Do Swiftwick socks live up to their claim of being “The Best Sock You Will Ever Wear?” Check out this Hiking Lady Swiftwick Sock Review to find out.
Swiftwick Sock Review: The Maxus Zero Running Sock
Swiftwick’s new running socks are called the Maxus, and are definitely quite cushioned. They’re made of a unique fiber called “Olefin”, which is apparently the only Nobel Prize winning fiber. What does that mean for your feet?
I found the Swiftwick Maxus Zero running socks to be well cushioned, yet still provide a good amount of compression. As seen in the picture below, I love it when I’m doing trail runs to wear socks with a bit of compression. The Maxus Zero’s have just a perfect amount of compression right in the middle of the sock (by the arch).
In my testing, the Maxus Zero’s were very comfortable to wear, provided lots of cushion (on Swiftwick’s own scale comparing their various sock lines, the Maxus Zero has 10 out of 10 “Footbed Thickness”), so no wonder they felt so cushioned.
The Verdict: A. The only thing I would change is that it be slightly higher profile to keep out more debris for us trail runners out there.
Swiftwick Sock Review: The Pursuit Four Line for Hikers
Swiftwick’s Pursuit socks come in a range of heights, since all of us hikers have preferences on how high we want our socks to come up as well as socks for hiking boots versus backpacking boots.
I had hoped to get a chance to try the Swiftwick Pursuit Sevens, since they come up higher than the Fours and I prefer more support around my calf, not just my ankle, when I hike. Nevertheless, I enjoyed testing the Pursuit Fours. Here’s why:
The Swiftwick Pursuit Fours have a good amount of compression, just like the Maxus running socks. As those of you who have read Hiking Lady reviews of other compression socks, often times they aren’t meant to be worn on the trail. Instead, they are designed to be worn as a recovery sock. These Swiftwick Pursuit socks have a moderate amount of compression built in, so the compression works while you hike. I definitely noticed the difference versus my Smartwool socks.
The Verdict: A- for the Pursuit Fours, because I would prefer them to come up higher (which the company has solved with the Pursuit Sevens). I also think they could use one more level up of cushioning.
Specs:
- How to Buy Swiftwick Socks: The Swiftwick Maxus are available at Amazon. The Swiftwick Pursuits are available at Amazon or Swiftwick.
- Price:
- Maxus: $21.95
- Pursuit Four: $19.00
- Materials:
- Swiftwick Maxus – 75% Polyester, 15% Olefin, 8% Nylon (I’m not sure about the last 2%) 😉
- Swiftwick Pursuit – 67% Merino Wool, 29% Nylon, 4% Spandex
If I get the chance to test the Pursuit Sevens, I’ll update this review. Also, so far both of these sock styles seem durable, but I’ll let you know how they hold up to multiple washings!
Update: Swiftwick has launched a new line called the Swiftwick Pursuit Hike!
Happy trails!
Treat Your Feet Right! Hiking Lady’s Tips:
