Skate Socks: The Hockey Gear Nobody Talks About

The Beer Leaguer
0:00

If

there's

one

piece

of

equipment

out

there

that

I

don't

think

ever

really

gets

talked

about

for

us

beer

leaguers,

but

really

it

should

because

it's

kind

of

expensive

and

can

be

annoying

to

buy

if

you

don't

know

what

you're

looking

for.

It's

skate

socks.

That's

right.

We're

talking

all

about

skate

socks

on

this

edition

of

the

Beer

Leaguer

podcast.

All

right,

skate

socks.

Why

should

you

care

about

them?

Well,

number

one,

you

should

care

about

them

because

they're

not

cheap.

Uh

you

can

obviously

wear

athletic

socks,

you

know,

with

your

skates,

or

if

you

wanted

to

wear

like

really

short

socks.

I

don't

know

why

you

would

do

that.

Or

you

could

be

one

of

those

gross

heathens

that

doesn't

wear

any

socks

and

goes

barefoot,

which

is,

I

think,

just

disgusting,

but

you

do

you.

But

why

would

you

– Why cut-resistant socks matter

The Beer Leaguer
0:49

care

about

these?

Well,

a

good

pair

of

skate

socks

can

cost

you

upwards

of

60

bucks.

A

crappy

pair

of

skate

socks

can

cost

you

upwards

of

20

bucks.

What's

the

difference?

Is

there

a

difference?

What

should

you

be

looking

for?

So

I've

decided

to

go

through

the

last

six

pairs

of

skate

socks

that

I've

owned,

none

of

which

are

that

old.

Uh,

they're

all

still

available

out

there

that

you

can

buy

and

tell

you

what

I've

liked,

what

I

haven't

liked,

differences

in

them

and

well,

how

they

felt

wearing

them.

All

the

ones

that

I'm

going

to

be

looking

at

today

are

cut

resistant

socks

because

whenever

I'm

buying

skate

socks,

I

figure

it's

worth

the

extra

couple

of

bucks

to

get

the

cut

resistance.

I

also

highly

recommend

it.

If

you're

getting

skate

socks,

definitely

get

cut

resistance.

I

don't

know

why

you

wouldn't.

It's

worth

the

money.

Uh,

what

do

they

protect?

Well,

in

general,

with

your

skates,

I

mean,

yeah,

skates

work

here,

is

right

above

the

top

of

the

skate,

uh,

and

especially

the

back

of

your

leg

above

the

tongue.

That's

not

protected.

It's

not

protected

usually

from

anything.

Maybe

just

your

regular

hockey

socks

are

back

there.

Or

if

you

have

some

shin

guards

that

have

like

wraparound

hard

plastic

protection,

you

might

get

some

protection

right

near

your

knee.

There's

a

whole

gap

in

there

that's

not

protected.

And

on

the

sides,

it's

not

protected.

You

can't

really

have

anything

that's

hard

plastic

or

foam

or

anything

there

right

around

your

skate

because

you

need

to

have

mobility.

And

having

anything

hard

there

would

take

away

from

that

mobility.

So

that's

where

the

cut

resistant

socks

come

in

handy.

All

right,

let's

get

into

it.

– Easton Socks

The Beer Leaguer
2:22

Okay,

so

here

we

go.

All

six

socks

here

that

I've

previously

worn

the

last

couple

years,

from

the

oldest

ones

I

have

to

the

latest

ones

that

I've

been

wearing

just

this

year.

All

right,

uh,

just

kind

of

quick

rundown

here.

Well,

we

have

here

this

is

the

Easton

Toiron

sock.

Hope

I

have

that

name

right.

Couldn't

really

find

a

price

for

it.

I

don't

think

they're

really

available

uh

so

much

anymore,

but

that's

a

number

of

years

old

for

me.

Uh

not

much

to

really

say

about

it.

It's

you

know,

it's

it's

kind

of

this

design

that

is

pretty

standard

for

these

kind

of

cut

resistant

socks.

Uh,

the

actual

part

that

goes

around

your

foot

is

like

a

smaller,

almost

dress

socky.

This

one

is

very,

very

stretchy.

That's

very

comfortable.

But

because

this

is

older,

you

can

kind

of

see

the

difference

here.

The

upper

part

that

goes

to

about

mid-calf

was

where

the

cut

protection

is.

It's

really

thick.

It's

really

thick,

not

very

stretchy,

not

very

comfortable,

honestly.

And

while

wearing

it,

it

definitely

stretched

out

uh

and

didn't

stretch

back

very

well.

So,

what

wound

up

happening

after

about

a

year,

year

and

a

half

of

wearing

it

is

it

got

stretched

out.

The

top

here,

as

you

can

see,

is

very

stretched

out,

and

it

would

fall

down.

It'd

fall

down

and

you'd

have

floppy

socks,

which

not

great

in

your

skate.

Uh,

so

it

got

to

be

pretty

uncomfortable

and

just

kind

of

weird

feeling

because

this

heavy

part

of

the

sock

would

start

to

fall

down

for

it.

But

this

is

an

older

style.

This

is

kind

of

what

I

think

all

these

skate

socks

sort

of

look

like

from

here

on

out.

Uh,

this

is

the

Easton

Toiron

protective

skate

sock.

So

don't

have

a

price

for

it

because

I

couldn't

find

it

anywhere

because

I

don't

think

they

make

these

anymore.

Uh,

the

next

one

I

got

here

is

another

Easton.

This

is

just

an

Easton

cut

protective

skate

sock.

Uh,

this

obviously

much,

much

shorter

sock.

Uh,

same

kind

of

thing.

The

foot

part,

very,

very

stretchy,

very,

very

elastic

y

to

have

on

there.

So

it

stays

put

pretty

good

on

your

foot.

But

again,

a

real

thick,

not

very

stretchy

upper

part

here.

Uh,

this

is

much

shorter.

It

kind

of

just

sticks

out

just

above

your

skate.

Uh,

it

doesn't

offer

much

protection

above

that,

but

it

definitely

is

some

protection.

Uh,

but

again,

super

thick

up

there,

super

thick.

It's

like

double

layered

uh

for

a

skate

sock

and

comfortable,

but

be

a

little

bit

weird.

As

someone

who

is

used

to

wearing

athletic

socks

in

my

skates

beforehand,

this

was

a

super

odd

thing

for

me

to

be

wearing.

Uh,

just

felt

weird

for

the

size

of

it.

And

this

is

the

Easton

Cup

Protective

Skate

sock.

Now,

what

I

could

find

out

about

this

one,

uh,

a

little

bit

more

info,

is

apparently

it

is

33%

nylon,

21%

paraaramid.

No

idea

what

that

is,

21%

glass

polymer,

15%

polyethylene,

8%

polyester,

and

2%

spandex.

I'm

assuming

all

the

spandex

is

in

the

bottom

part

here

because

that's

super

stretchy.

And

apparently

the

UHM

WPE,

which

again,

no

clue

what

that

is,

but

that

is

whatever

that

is,

is

it

provides

the

ultimate

strength

weight

protection

ratio.

So

that's

kind

of

their

technology

for

this

cup

resistant

part

here.

You'll

see

a

lot

of

these

older

socks

have

a

lot

of

kind

of

crazy

sounding

stuff

that

they

use

for

the

cup

protection.

Uh,

and

it

gets

a

little

gets

a

little

bit

more

standardized

uh

as

you

get

later

on.

But

these

are

still

available.

You

can

find

them

for

around

40

bucks

a

piece

uh

for

these,

or

for

the

ones

that

are

a

little

bit

longer,

mid-calf

length.

Like

I

said,

they're

comfortable,

they

work,

uh,

but

they're

heavy,

they're

very,

very

heavy.

Older

cup

protective

socks.

You'll

see

the

cup

protective

part

is

usually

very,

very

heavy

and

uh

thick,

very

thick.

So

even

though

they

are

kind

of

wick

away,

the

bottom

part

very

thin,

very

comfortable,

upper

part

very

thick

and

heavy

to

wear.

All

right,

next

up

we

have

Swift

Wick

with

the

hockey

knee-high

360-degree

cut

resistant

socks.

– Swiftwick Hockey Knee High 360

The Beer Leaguer
6:50

So

now

we're

getting

into

socks

that

look

a

little

bit

more

like

normal

socks.

Uh,

so

this

Swift

Wick,

it

very

much

looks

like

just

a

regular

athletic

sock,

as

you

can

see.

Very

similar

to

that.

Uh,

it

has

patches

of

cut

resistance

on

it.

So,

as

you

can

kind

of

see

here

on

the

back,

it

doesn't

have

cut

protection

that

goes

all

the

way

up.

Uh,

it

just

kind

of

goes

above

your

tendon

guard

a

little

bit,

but

not

very

much.

So

it's

not

gonna

protect

the

whole

back

of

your

leg

if

that's

something

you're

worried

about.

Uh,

but

there

is

a

little

patch

of

cut

resistance

here

in

the

front

that

can

protect

kind

of

where

your

tongue

is,

like

right

behind

your

tongue

and

a

little

bit

above

it.

So

that's

kind

of

nice.

Uh,

what

that

also

means

though

is

that

the

top

part

of

this

sock

kind

of

feels

like

a

regular

sock.

There,

these

cut

protective

pieces

are

definitely

thicker

and

not

as

stretchy

as

the

rest

of

it,

but

it

definitely

makes

the

whole

sock

feel

a

lot

nicer.

Uh,

the

bottom

of

the

sock

where

your

foot

is

is

not

nearly

as

thin

as

the

other

ones.

It's

not

like

a

dress

sock.

This

is

much

more

kind

of

like

your

generic

white

athletic

sock

for

it.

Uh,

so

it

is

a

lot

more

comfortable.

Um,

but

again,

though,

it

is

kind

of

hot.

It

is

kind

of

a

hot

sock

compared

to

just

a

regular

stock

sock.

So,

a

little

bit

of

info

on

that

Swift

Wick

from

what

they

say

about

it.

Uh,

they

say

that

it's

engineered

with

lightweight

olefin

fiber.

Uh,

also

that

it

has

uh

360-degree

protection

for

the

Achilles

and

tibual

tendons,

which

you

definitely

has

that,

it's

not

just

in

one

spot.

Has

a

sweat

channel

that

moves

excess

moisture

to

ejection

ports

on

the

bottom

of

your

skates,

and

it

has

a

double

cuff

on

it.

The

double

cuff,

it's

nice,

it

keeps

the

sock

up,

makes

it

last

a

little

bit

longer

uh

for

it.

These

are

nice

socks.

Uh,

right

now

you

can

get

these

for

around

40

bucks

uh

if

you

can

find

them.

They're

real

nice

cut

resistant

sock.

Uh,

I

like

them,

but

we

can

do

better.

Next

up,

we

have

the

CCM

Pro

Line

Cut

Resistant

Level

5

ice

hockey

socks.

– CCM Level 5 cut-resistant hockey sock

The Beer Leaguer
9:06

All

right,

and

so

you

can

see

with

these

guys,

we're

still

in

kind

of

that

classic

athletic

sock

style.

Um,

these

are

overall

a

little

bit

stiffer

than

the

Swiftwood

ones.

The

lower

portion

of

it

that's

on

your

foot

is

definitely

thicker.

That's

definitely

like

a

thick

sock

on

there.

But

this

part

here

that

provides

the

cup

protection,

one,

it

goes

all

the

way

around,

which

is

nice,

and

it

is

much

thinner

than

the

other

ones

that

I've

shown.

This

is

the

thinnest

of

the

ones

that

I've

shown

so

far

that

provides

cup

protection

that

goes

all

the

way

around

for

it.

You

can

feel

it

being

very

thin.

You

can,

but

you

can,

I

don't

know

if

you

can

see

this

on

camera

as

well,

you

can

feel

the

transitions

from

the

cut

resistance

to

the

regular

sock

portion.

You

can

definitely

feel

those

inside

the

sock,

uh,

unfortunately.

But

it

is

a

lot

more

comfortable

than

the

previous

socks

because

this

upper

part

is

not

nearly

as

stiff.

So,

what

does

CCM

say

about

these

socks?

Uh,

they

tell

you

that

they're

40%

dynema,

30%

nylon,

15%

glass

again,

10%

polyester,

and

5%

spandex.

And

these

guys

you

can

find

online

at

a

lot

of

places

for

around

35

bucks.

Uh,

but

you

can

see

way

stretchier

than

the

other

socks

so

far

for

the

cut

resistant

area.

All

right,

next

up

we

have

– Bauer Pro 360 tall sock

The Beer Leaguer
10:33

the

Bauer

Pro

360

cut

resistant

tall

sock.

Another

sock

that

costs

about

40

bucks.

Uh,

this

one,

very

similar

to

the

CCM

one,

a

little

bit,

I'd

say,

less

compartmentalized

than

the

CCM

one.

Like

you

don't

feel

it

uh

transitioning

from

the

cut

resistance

to

the

non-cut

resistance.

Again,

the

foot

is

pretty

stretchy.

It's

pretty

thick,

but

it's

also

pretty

darn

stretchy,

like

an

athletic

sock.

Uh,

and

the

upper

part

here,

cut

resistance

all

the

way

around.

It

does

have

some

little

panels

on

it

that

are

supposed

to

help

with

uh

moisture

to

keep

your

feet

cool.

Uh

I

really

like

these

socks,

uh,

they're

real

nice.

One

of

the

issues

that

I've

had

with

a

lot

of

these

cut-resistant

socks

is

I

have

pretty

big

feet.

And

trying

to

get

them

in

and

getting

right

here

where

they

transition

from

the

cut-resistant

upper

half

to

the

regular

sock

lower

half,

just

getting

my

foot

through

there

because

they

don't

usually

stretch

that

great,

that's

always

been

a

problem

for

me.

So

these

same

kind

of

issue

with

it

because

the

upper

part

is

stretchy,

but

not

as

stretchy

as

a

regular

sock.

But

very

comfortable,

they

do

wick

away

moisture

pretty

good,

but

your

feet

will

sweat

in

these,

at

least

mine

did.

They

sweat

pretty

well,

um,

which

is

weird

because

the

lower

part

keeps

them

pretty

cool.

So

my

actual

feet

don't

sweat,

but

kind

of

everything

from

the

ankle

up

definitely

does.

In

the

winter,

not

a

big

deal,

but

if

you're

playing

summer

hockey,

not

really

the

best

uh

experience

you

can

have

out

there.

– Aycane socks

The Beer Leaguer
12:09

All

right,

next

up

we

have

the

A-Kane

Power

Light

socks.

Um,

I've

talked

about

these

a

little

bit

before

on

the

channel.

These

A-Kane

socks.

These

uh

you

can

see

they're

kind

of

an

evolution

from

all

these

other

socks.

Again,

look

like

pretty

much

just

like

an

athletic

sock

with

that

360

protection.

It

is

taller

than

the

East

is

in

the

CCM,

so

this

does

go

up

almost

to

my

knee

for

protection,

which

is

nice.

Uh,

has

the

little

little

vents

and

stuff

on

here

to

help

out

with

moisture

and

have

a

little

padding

uh

in

your

skates,

which

help

out

and

are

very

nice

to

have.

And

on

the

actual

bottom

sock

portion,

we've

got

these

little

vents

on

here

that

help

out.

Now,

these

are

not

as

stretchy

as

some

of

the

other

ones,

but

they

are

very

cool.

These

kept

my

actual

foot

very,

very

cool.

And

because

this

upper

part

is

not

as

thick

as

some

of

the

other

ones

used

to

be,

uh,

that

actually

kept

it

fairly

cool

as

well.

One

thing

that

these

socks

is

they

have

like

a

liner,

it's

like

a

two-piece

upper

construction,

which

I

thought

was

going

to

be

really

hot,

but

I

think

that

might

actually

be

part

of

the

reason

that

these

were

actually

a

lot

cooler

than

the

other

ones.

These

were

insanely

comfortable,

and

I

was

very,

very

happy

to

have

these

socks.

I

was

very

happy

to

have

these,

and

I

would

still

be

wearing

these

today,

if

not

for

the

A-Kane

A-Shield

skate

sock

that

they

actually

sent

me

a

while

ago.

Uh,

I've

been

wearing

these

for

about

a

year

now.

This

is

my

everyday

sock

that

I

wear

for

hockey.

Insanely

comfortable.

Um,

the

bottom

is

very

similar

to

the

other

A-Kane

sock,

whereas

it's

stretchy,

but

not

overly

stretchy

like

a

compression

shirt.

This

is

very

much

like

a

standard

like

white

athletic

tube

sock.

It's

got

the

little

pattern

on

here.

I

don't

know

a

better

way

to

put

it,

that

does

help

with

some

of

the

moisture

management.

It

has

the

little

uh

ankle

guy

here

that

is

a

little

extra

padding

right

where

your

ankle

is,

which

is

nice

for

it.

And

the

upper

here

is

single

layer,

unlike

the

other

older

A-Kane

sock,

single

layer

all

the

way

around,

cut

protection,

super,

super

comfortable,

super

stretchy,

which

is

nice.

And

like

I

said,

on

the

other

socks,

this

is

the

first

sock

that

for

me

putting

on

is

super

easy

because

that

transition

here

from

the

cut

resistant

upper

to

the

regular

sock

lower,

it's

fine,

it

does

it

stretches

out,

it

stretches

out

no

problem.

I

don't

have

a

problem

putting

my

big

foot

through

there.

I

have

no

issues

with

it,

which

is

a

huge

deal

for

me.

So,

what

does

A

Kane

say

about

these

socks?

They

say

that

obviously

they

are

cut

resistant,

they

follow

the

ANSI

uh

IISEA

A5

standards

for

cut

resistance.

They

are

NHL

cleared,

so

that

obviously

says

a

lot

right

there.

Says

that

they're

15

times

stronger

than

steel.

They

have

a

chimney

construction

for

wicking

moisture

and

padded

zones

for

protection

from

other

pressure

points.

And

finally,

these

guys

retail

for

about

$55.

So

a

little

bit

more

expensive

than

some

of

the

other

socks,

but

they

have

held

up

great

so

far

for

wearing

them

multiple

games

a

week.

Uh,

no

kinds

of

issues

– Are cut-resistant socks worth it for beer league?

The Beer Leaguer
15:41

for

it.

So

there

you

have

it.

There

is

the

six

skate

socks

that

I've

worn

in

the

last

couple

years,

and

what

I've

liked

and

what

I've

not

liked

about

it.

Uh

like

I

said

in

the

beginning,

I

really

recommend

getting

cut-proof

skate

socks.

I

think

they

are

very

much

worth

the

extra

little

bit

of

money

that

they

are

over

regular

skate

socks.

If

you're

someone

that

just

likes

an

athletic

sock

or

even

a

dress

sock,

uh,

I

can

totally

get

that,

but

I

still

think

that

the

cut

resistance

is

worth

the

money.

Uh,

especially

like

in

beer

league,

where

you

have

people

falling

around

and

skates

flying

up

in

the

air,

people

can't

control

their

bodies

very

well.

Uh,

to

me,

it's

a

similar

thing

of

the

reason

to

wear

a

full

face

cage

or

full

visor

uh

when

you

play

out

there

in

beer

league.

It's

not

because

of

you,

it's

because

the

other

people

you're

playing

out

there

with.

You

know,

that's

who

you

have

to

be

worried

about

and

protecting

against,

really.

– Wrap-Up

The Beer Leaguer
16:35

So,

what

about

you?

What

kind

of

skate

socks

do

you

wear?

Cut

resistant

ones,

regular

ones?

Are

you

a

dress

sock

wearer?

Are

you

one

of

those

gross

people

that

doesn't

wear

any

kind

of

socks

with

your

skates?

Love

to

hear

about

it.

Let

me

know.

Either

drop

a

comment

on

this

video

or

get

a

hold

of

the

show

over

at

thebeerleager.com.

Thebeerleaguer.com

is

also

where

you

can

find

past

episodes,

all

sorts

of

other

stuff

that's

put

out

on

social

media,

and

anything

you

want

to

know

about

the

beer

leaguer.

As

always,

thanks

a

lot

for

listening.

Catch

you

in

the

next

one.