If you have done an obstacle race within the past few year I bet you have either seen a MudGear booth or someone sporting a pair of their socks. MudGear has been creating outdoor sports apparel for obstacle racers since 2012. MudGears slogan is "warriors are not made on treadmills". They are a brand for getting outside and getting dirty. Per www.mudgear.com, "We build rugged tactical gear for top athletes competing in OCR, trail running and outdoor endurance events. We believe we were all made to get outside and get dirty." I was lucky enough to get a pair of MudGear compression OCR socks as well as a few pair of 1/4 length trail socks to put through the ringer. I love Obstacle Course Racing (OCR), but have been in love with hitting the trails for longer. I am going to take this review in a different direction and see if MudGear socks can withstand and intense trail/ultra running regimen. These socks have been tested by hundred of OCR athletes, but let's see how these socks hold up over longer, rugged distance.
The first MudGear product I will review are the full length MudGear Compression Obstacle Race sock. This sock seems to be perfect for OCR with it's built in layer of padding on the lower leg that protects them during tyrolean traverse, the weaver, and rope climbs. I recently wore these for the McDowell Mountain Frenzy 25K in the heart of the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix Arizona. This race was on a rocky course full of cactus on both sides of the trail. These socks had enough compression to not slip and let rocks in, but not enough to decrease mobility. The fit was great and I nearly forgot I was wearing knee high socks (This was my first race wearing compression socks). The socks were also thick enough protect lower leg from all the cactus thorns that try to reach out and grab you by the ankles. I will definitely wear these socks for future rugged trail races!!
The 1/4 length Trail Running Socks were next on the list. These seemed more specifically built for the trails. They lack that extra padding which is not necessarily needed for ultra running. The material and build quality seem to rival that of my go to Dry Max socks. I have put these socks through a recent Turkey Trot 5k (Shown Below) as well as multiple 15 mile+ trail runs and here are the results. As with the knee high compression sock, these are a thicker sock that has a tight fit that keeps out dirt and rocks, but not too tight to restrict mobility. These feel more like a regular sock and had a comparable feel to Drymax socks. The only negative with these in comparison to Drymax was that my feet seemed to sweat a bit more in these. I could see this possibly being a blister issue on longer runs, but had no issue as of yet. The bottom of the sock is very soft and comfortable, but also built to shed water and mud as quickly as possible. I can't wait to use these during a gnarly muddy race to see how they hold up.
All in all, I will add these to my repertoire for trail running and will 100% percent use them on all upcoming OCR races. The OCR scene is definitely where these socks shine! Strong work by this up and coming rugged outdoor fitness brand. I haven't done a full ultra using these socks yet, so stay tuned for an update in the near future. Let's see how they hold up once you get past marathon distance!! Any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments below and I will get back to you!
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