After running an ultra in France back in the fall of 2007 I started searching out brands of compression socks and sleeves. You see about 30% of the field at Cours de Templier were wearing Booster Compression socks. So I first searched for Booster but they don't sell them in the US and they are crazy expensive.
I had heard of Zensah and they quickly sent me out a pair to test. I've been wearing that pair for a year both while running and while sleeping after hard efforts. Needless to say I like them.
So why compression sleeves. Well first of all I've had calf issues for a few years. While running in them the compression helps to reduce vibration and to help with blood flow. Both of those things have been very good for my legs.
The other reason is that I haven't been training all that much but when I do I most likely will do too much (like yesterday when I ran a half marathon on snowshoes) In these cases I will leave the sleeves on after finishing and then wear them all night while I sleep. I've found this to drastically reduce soreness the next day.
Why Zensah calf sleeves. Well I like how they work. I've tested both sleeves and socks from many brands and chose to stock these cause they just plain work. Other brands lacked compression. Some were way over priced. Compression socks can be nice but I like having the option of wearing my own socks (Balega or Darn Tough)
So after testing a half dozen brands and styles I found that the Zensah calf sleeves performed best and were at a reasonable price.
If you have calf issues or would like to speed up your recovery I'd highly suggest giving them a try. In the very least you'll gain Euro trail runner style points.
Now go outside and play
