To Those who own Ballestras: What socks are you wearing?

[ladyofshalott99]

When I initially tried them on last night, they fit like a dream. I was, however, wearing regular athletic socks. In competition, I wear the Adidas soccer socks, which are rather thin, but I feel are more comfortable around the knee, as I have rather "large" calves/knees (for a girl anyway). They also come in black, which I prefer for this issue

I used to be a die-hard Uhlmann sock wearer, but finally switched after two ongoing things:

1. My boyfriend (with whom I shared a collective sock drawer) accused me of wearing all *his* socks, and stretching them out. Regardless of that, he wore holes in all the heels, so it wasn't working out anyway..plus his feet are two inches longer than mine, so I was really wearing socks that were too long (in the foot), either way.

2. Restriction around the knee/upper calf area for the reasons aforementioned.

I tried Absolute's socks, too, which were a looser fit around my leg (good); however, they seemed to shred easily when one wipes one's foot off on one's leg when the floors get too dusty/slippery (sock shredding = bad).

My dilemma is this: I *like* the fit of my black Adidas socks. I like the *color* of my black Adidas socks. However, I feel that, historically, with a cotton sock I've had more traction/less slippage inside the shoe.

So, I'm curious: what socks are people here wearing with their Ballestras? Have you tried different combinations, and what results did you end up with?

Thanks!

[TBean]

Ballestras aside, wear two pairs of socks. The one being the long soccer socks you like, and a short second pair that are cotton. I have known any number of fencers to adopt this strategy.

[chase]

I wear these http://www.leonpaulusa.com/acatalog/...cing_Sock.html .

[Fiat Slug]

When I initially tried them on last night, they fit like a dream. I was, however, wearing regular athletic socks. In competition, I wear the Adidas soccer socks, which are rather thin, but I feel are more comfortable around the knee, as I have rather "large" calves/knees (for a girl anyway). They also come in black, which I prefer for this issue

I used to be a die-hard Uhlmann sock wearer, but finally switched after two ongoing things:

1. My boyfriend (with whom I shared a collecive sock drawer) accused me of wearing all *his* socks, and stretching them out. Regardless of that, he wore holes in all the heels, so it wasn't working out anyway..plus his feet are two inches longer than mine, so I was really wearing socks that were too long (in the foot), either way.

2. Restriction around the knee/upper calf area for the reasons aforementioned.

I tried Absolute's socks, too, which were a looser fit around my leg (good); however, they seemed to shred easily when one wipes one's foot off on one's leg when the floors get too dusty/slippery (sock shredding = bad).

My dilemma is this: I *like* the fit of my black Adidas socks. I like the *color* of my black Adidas socks. However, I feel that, historically, with a cotton sock I've had more traction/less slippage inside the shoe.

So, I'm curious: what socks are people here wearing with their Ballestras? Have you tried different combinations, and what results did you end up with?

Thanks!

I wear some generic soccer socks with my Ballestras. I also have large calves (for a guy) but I never have problems with soccer socks. I suspect soccer socks are made to accommodate shin guards so they have more calf room than other socks.

In the warmer months, I often wear short jogging socks during practice. These are thinner than soccer or athletic socks but the synthentic blend makes them really comfortable.

I don't wipe my shoes on my socks so I can't comment on the shred factor.

.

[Dev]

Two pair.

Since the Ballestras run about half-size big, I use soccer socks (the lycra/nylon ones from Adidas or Nike that don't get holes in them easily) and some low-cut Nike dri-fit athletic socks. The shoes fit better and the socks provide a wee bit of extra padding for that thin forefoot sole.

I only use one pair of socks for the Beijing AdiStars.

[fencer92]

PBT fencing socks, one pair.

[wbowman]

For competition, I wear the Uhlmann fencing socks (the ones with "Uhlmann" on the sides in blue), which are a bit thin. When I got my Ballestras, they seemed a tad wide-ish, so I added a pair of wool crew-length socks. (Used to wear these as a second pair all the time and got away from it).
Anyway, those filled up the gap and keep me from feeling like my shoes are sort of wallowing around. Worked so well I went back to using the second pair with my practice shoes too.

[fencerchica]

Some of my "practice-only" socks are Adidas soccer socks, but it seems to me the fabric they use is a little too slick, so I tend to slide around a little in my shoes. Also some of my practice-only socks are the LP socks and the Artos fencing socks, but for long tournaments I find both of those shred my feet up and cause irritation/blisters. The socks I swear by for tournaments are the Adidas 3-stripe fencing socks. They fit well & don't fall down, they're not slippery, and I don't get blisters or chafing from them even in longer tournaments.