The Injinji Ultra Run no-show toe socks use Coolmax, a polyester blend that wicks moisture and resists shrinking. Injinji uses NuWool merino in some of its socks as well.

Fit/Comfort
The obvious design feature of toe socks is that each toe is covered independently, which prevents blisters and aids in airing out the toes. The big toes indicate the correct foot, and the top-of-foot mesh and band of arch support are offset from the center. The fabric between the toes is both the sock’s appeal and its drawback. For runners with blister problems between their toes, these make running longer possible. For those who can’t stand the feel of fabric between their toes, the comfort remarks ranged from “weird” to “painful.”

These are not the easiest socks to put on, especially the first time, and it’s best to take a seat while you drape the toe fabric over each toe. These come with the toes flat, and there will likely be excess fabric extending beyond the toe at first. We found wearing these around the house to establish the shape of the toes before running in them worked well. They will hold their shape after washing.

Wicking
The Coolmax fabric wicks moisture well, but testers found stray strands of fabric inside the sock held sweat against the foot. The toe sock design means two layers of fabric between each toe, which aids foot splay but also keeps things warm.

Durability
These nylon-heavy socks are built to last, and there’s enough material underfoot to keep them from thinning out early.

The Injinji Ultra Run toe socks use off-centered mesh and compression for each foot.

We called in 10 pairs of socks from established brands as well as newer entries to the market. We tested a mix of socks that will either debut in spring 2018, or are 2017 sock styles that will carry over into 2018 with new colors or patterns. Samples of variant styles were sent to our testers, who as road shoe testers, tended to prefer low-cut, thinner socks. Some ran in taller, more cushioned socks, though testers judged each pair based on the design’s intended use. We focused on the performance features in the foot of the sock, and our testers reported differences in the low-cut socks tied to the shape of their feet and the types of shoes they wore. 

Our testers ran in these throughout the fall in different climates, including Colorado, California and British Columbia. Most of the testing coincided with our road shoe testing, though several runners took these on trail and training runs, too.