If you’ve been around The Hackers Paradise for a while you’ve definitely heard us talk about Kentwool socks. We’ve featured their booths from the PGA Merchandise show and we’ve also done multiple home page reviews on some of their past products. These reviews have been on a wide range of offerings and they all seem to end the same; they are filled with positive results about a great company making a great product. This time Kentwool sent us a pair of Graduate Compression socks to get a closer look at.
Kent Manufacturing has been around since 1843, but it wasn’t until some 165 years later that the Kentwool brand and golf sock would make its debut to the world. The story of how it all happened is quite interesting, and according to their website Mark Kent sounds like a pretty solid golfer. Needing an eagle on the 18th hole of the 2008 Web.com Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am to secure a spot in the final round, the story goes that Mark let his focus drift from his golf game to his badly blistered feet. He failed to eagle the hole and the rest is history. Kentwool Performance golf socks would soon become a reality.
Product info from Kentwool
The Graduate Sock compresses the lower leg to increase venous blood flow that slows down with forced inactivity or long periods of sitting—at the office, on a plane, in the car. Increased blood flow also improves leg and foot muscle recovery time for athletes. The Graduate Sock is engineered to reduce muscle and tendon soreness caused by impact forces when walking, running or golfing.
• Made from 18.5 micron super-fine Merino wool—one of the softest hands of any fiber
• Thermoregulatory capabilities: cools in summer, insulates in winter
• Naturally absorbent: holds up to 30% of its weight in moisture
• Natural wicking keeps moisture and sweat away from skin to keep you dry, comfortable
• Non-abrasive and friction-resistant to skin—No Blisters!
• Odor resistant—does not bond with bacteria
• High-performance fibers are easy to clean and highly durable
• Natural and high-tech fibers provide maximum elasticity to conform perfectly to your foot
• Cocona fiber drastically reduces friction to eliminate abrasion and skin irritation
Prior to testing the Graduate I probably would have told you that I was always under the impression that compression socks were for old men. I don’t know where that misconception came from, but I guess it could be from seeing old men in golf shorts with their knee high compression socks on. That couldn’t be more of an inaccurate assumption, as the Graduate Compression is a sock engineered for athletes.
As I tested these I was constantly amazed at just how good they felt when pulling them on. I’ve worn them while walking 18 holes multiple times and I’ve been really impressed with how much difference a good pair of socks like these make. The portion that goes around your foot and just up on the ankle is fairly thick and offers great cushion. I expected that to mean that these socks would make my feet sweat a great deal, but that wasn’t the case at all. The performance materials used to make these and other Kentwool socks make them comfortable, and in my case, completely sweat free.
The Graduate Compression sock runs $40 a pair. At first I was thinking the same thing you are probably thinking right now – that is too much for a pair of socks. But really, is it? Match these up with a decent pair of golf shoes and your feet will thank you. Not only that, if you’ve got a company so confident in their sock that they offer a 100% money back guarantee then maybe that’s not too much to pay after all. I’ve continued to wear this sock every time it is clean and I have yet to find a bad thing to say about it. I know people like to pay $8 for about 10 pairs of socks, but that’s not even the same category of sock as the Graduate Compression. Give it a try and I think you’ll like it.
Good review Jake. I never thought of wearing compression socks. Have to find the right time of year to wear them. Would look silly with shorts on. Haha. But if they work and my feet can be spared a little, wearing pants isnt much of a sacrifice.
Wonderful review. Like Ricky, I’ve never worn compression socks before, but this certainly makes me ponder the apparent benefits of doing so.
Nice write up Jason, I’m not sure I’ve ever been this interested in socks before but you have piqued my interest, I always thought that they were for folks with circulation problems and that sounds like a great misconception. Thanks for the review.
Per your statement: The Graduate Sock is engineered to reduce muscle and tendon soreness caused by impact forces when walking, running or golfing
This would probably help guys like me who have had surgery to repair a joint. The tendons are very slow in healing imo and the support could a welcome relief! Great job Jason.
Funny, I thought the same about compression socks. Always for old folks that needed increased circualtion and people with poor circualtion. I think these will do great for golfers that wear pants or live in cooler climates.
Great review, Jake. Have long been a fan of the brand, really like what they are doing with the compression socks here.
Solid review as always, Jake. These could definitely help in colder weather golfing.
Great review Jake. I have been a big fan of Kentwool socks for a couple of years and the Graduate Compression sock interests me. Will definitely have to check out a pair!
I still need to get a pair of these! Great info Jake. In the cold winter months of the Midwest, these would come in quite handy I’m sure!
Good stuff Jake, I am a lover of compression socks and especially the longer ones in cold weather.
Great review. Very informative. I’ve never thought about wearing compression socks. I do like to walk a lot as well. I would definitely wear these with pants and they seem like they would be very beneficial when it’s cold or humid outside.
Interesting review. Sounds like these are some really good socks. I would wear these if I got them as a present, but no way am I ever spending 40 bucks on one pair of socks. These may be wonderful but my wife would kill me first and then I would kill me after!
If I were to get a pair as a present and I wore them, I might change my tune because they sound great. But they would have to blow my old socks out of the water.
Good job done on the review. I’m impartial to compression socks, and would gladly try these, but not at $40…
They would have to really really have a dramatic difference on my feet and overall comfort while playing to be worth it in my mind.
Great review Jake. Something I learned in the Army after too many years under “the big green tick” is that if you take care of your feet, your feet will take care of you. While it’s true that I use a push cart so there’s no weight on my back anymore, the way I play equals added mileage. With the 100% money back guarantee I can’t see how someone could go wrong giving these socks a shot.