In just a few short years, Stance Socks has established itself as a major player in the sock industry. In 2015, they became the official sock of the NBA, and gained the same title for the MLB a year later. Over the past two years, we’ve seen a ton of people move to Stance as their go to ski sock and we wanted to find out for ourselves if the hype was real.
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Stance sports a loaded roster of sponsored athletes and artists that includes, James Harden and Allen Iverson, Rhianna, Big Sean, Jimmy Chin, Jossi Wells, Sage Kotsenburg, Bubba Watson, and Silje Norendal just to name a few of the heavy hitters.
MLB and NBA players make millions of dollars a year in their stockings, but few athletes are as finicky about their feet as the average skier. Poorly fitting socks can deliver horrible cases of shin bang but the perfect pair can keep skiers going from bell to bell, day in and day out.
Unofficial Networks readers deserve hard hitting journalism, not puff pieces about gear we got for free. So with that in mind, I set off to tackle the age old question that changes every year– who makes the best, most affordable ski sock on the planet? Because let’s be honest, not everyone can afford CEP compression.
Stance socks are good enough for Baseball and Basketball players… but are they good enough for Skiers?
To answer that question, I went to the source. The Stance Store. That’s right folks. I braved the mall for you. Everyone knows the mall is a special circle of hell during the the holiday season, but a 100 degree day in the summer might be worse.
So after risking life and limb I walked into the Stance store to talk socks. I asked the fine folks working behind the desk where I might find ski socks and, as one could surmise, 100 degree weather is not prime ski sock season. They didn’t have any. I did ask a few questions though, and got not-so-great answers from the Stance team
What’s your warranty?
Don’t worry about that, you won’t need one
Stance socks are about $38. Why should I spend that money when some socks in the industry are $10-15 cheaper?
Ummm. Cause they’re better?
I realized I was getting nowhere fast, so I jumped back in my car and drove down to the local ski shop that just got a fresh shipment of socks in, from Stance and a few other competitors.
*These guys had better answers to my questions.
What’s your warranty?
It’s 30 days, but it also covers standard use, so if you wear them out quickly, just bring them back. They’re super good about returns.
Stance socks are about $38. Why should I spend that money when some socks in the industry are $10-15 cheaper?
Stance socks are made of a mix of merino, combined with Graduated compression to help with blood flow through the foot and leg. They have integrated arch support which helps reduce fatigue in the foot over the course of the day. Sure. They’re $38, but compared to competitors offerings in the compression range, they’re actually a bit cheaper.
The proof is in the pudding when it comes to socks, but given that I’m new to Unofficial, I’m not sure if I can expense a pair of socks just as an excuse to write an article. So I did something even more risky than going to the mall. I went to the try on bin. I may end up with ringworm or athlete’s foot, but I can tell you, those socks fit beautifully.
They felt almost as good as another age old feeling in the ski world… Taking your boots off at the end of the day.
Note: We’ll update this post after getting a few laps on the socks this winter