When it comes to buying new sports gear, socks usually take a back seat. We might spend time, effort and money finding the best boots or trainers, or the best moisture wicking tee or jersey, but barely think anything about buying sports socks.

Your best running shoes or trainers will be of no use if you don’t have good pair of sports socks to manage moisture and give you support and cushioning for hours. At Nivia we firmly believe that sports socks are huge contributors to the safety and movement of your feet — imagine wearing your basketball boots barefoot or the blisters you’d get running in just trainers.

As an Indian heritage sports brand spanning over 80 years we understand the need for the protection and stability to perform at your best and reduce the risk of injury which a pair of carefully sports socks can give you. Without them everything from motion and flexibility, to accuracy and comfort would be knocked off balance.

Check out why NIVIA’s sports socks are important sports gear and what to look out for to get the ideal pair for your sport.

What are sports socks?

Athlete socks, sports socks or performance socks, whatever you choose to call them, are essential items of footwear for anyone who takes part in sport, from professional athletes to everyday gym goers. Just a single day of walking puts about 100 tonnes of pressure on your feet, so imagine what happens when you factor in running, kicking, jumping, and resistance training.

Essentially, decent sports socks should improve your performance; providing a dry, comfortable and supportive environment to protect and stabilize your feet during intense activity and continuous movement. If you’re struggling to choose from the variety available, check out Nivia’s sports socks, made with simple understanding of complex sports and focusing on details like Lycra, cotton and spandex mix fabric, zonal cushion padding, arch band support and moisture management. These help you stay dry and reduce impact and manage fatigue helping you to focus on your game for hours.

Avoid 100% cotton socks, as they soak up moisture and keep it sitting on your skin, and stay away from wool due to its thickness, or heat-generation in a country like India.

Why wear sports socks?
Each human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 12,500 sweat glands, and more than 100 tendons/ligaments/muscles. During exercise, your feet are more susceptible to strain and injury, so sports socks are specially designed to provide the extra protection and comfort you need that standard socks cannot provide. Here’s a rundown of exactly what performance socks should be and why you need to wear them:

• Cushioned: to absorb shock.
• Comfortable: to help you cope with intense activity for longer.
• Durable: to withstand continuous and rigorous movement.
• Lightweight: to help you move quickly and easily.
• Flexible: for maximum movement of different parts of the foot.
• Supportive: targeted compression for weaker parts of the foot to prevent injury.
• Moisture-wicking: to trap and transfer sweat from skin.
• Reinforced (particularly the heel and toes): to provide extra comfort and protection to high-impact areas.

Sports socks by activity
There are sports socks for all kinds of sports. So, if you’re focused on a particular sport, it’s worth knowing what to look for to help you excel at your game.

Yoga and Zumba

Nivia’s Yoga fitsocks are made for all yoga, pilates, or zumba classes. The socks have inbuiltarch support bands and secure fitted heels. These are lightweight, made with cotton rich stretch fabric, for a breathable, soft and accurate fit.Check out the understated patterns and soft pastel colors.

Running & Fitness
Good running socks should feature cushioned zones and a lightweight feel, so that they’re able to take the shock impact of pounding feet without making them too heavy in order to keep you nimble. Our Run fit socks have cushioned zones and a lightweight feel, so that they’re able to take the shock impact of pounding feet without making them too heavy in order to keep you nimble. The padding is minimal, placed on the ball and heel of your foot, and the material helps moisture-wicking to minimize dampness brought on by profuse sweating during long runs.

Football
Similar to running socks, football socks need to provide padding to protect vulnerable areas of the foot, including ankles and toes, from tackling. Proper football socks need to be long and elasticated enough to go over the shin pad and keep it in place, so flexibility and ability to return to its original shape are key. On top of this, football socks need to remove sweat efficiently from the skin to avoid playing in wet socks, and odor-eliminating properties are perfect for making changing rooms more bearable.

Court Games like Basketball, Volleyball and Badminton
Unlike running, court games require 360 movement. Forward0 backward, side to side and also involves high impact in certain areas underfoot. Our Basketball and Badminton socks have appropriate padding underfoot and a compressive arch-band support to manage fatigue.

Cricket Socks

While our Cricket socks have the same performance parameters like Court Game Socks, the Cricket socks are made for optimum moisture management for long hours of play and come in Mid-calf and Full-calf as the game demands. These socks will compliment your cricket whites when you dress up for a long innings.