I used to buy bags of socks.  You know, buy one bag, get one half off or even free.  The 20 pairs of socks for $10 deal.   Regular socks.

In my “sock drawer” I have ten or so pair of black and even more white.   Some of the white ones are solid and some have grey along the toes and the heel.   In all I have a nice selection, but if they didn’t come in a clear bag or in packet of four or five hugged by some thin paper and glue, I wasn’t buying them.

I spent enough money on my basketball kicks (Jordans of course) and I surely wasn’t going to spend extra on socks.   After all, they were just socks!

I’ve lived this way my entire life.  I just never really saw the value in them.

Basketball Socks (How I uncovered this secret society)

Did you know they make socks specifically for basketball?  I had no clue.

Recently I was forced to retire a pair of Jordans (do you see a trend in me wearing things as long as possible) and when I put on the next pair of Js, I got a killer blister.   The main reason for the blister is I typically wear low cut socks that don’t show, thus giving me no protection from shoe to skin around the upper heal of the shoe.   Anytime I’ve ever gotten a blister, I’ve just bandaged it up and dealt with it.  Eventually my skin would toughen up and I’d be fine (That sounds even dumber typing it).

Going to see Austin Rivers play actually gave me the idea to look for new socks for myself, due to Austin wearing longer socks.   Amazing what one can pick up from a game.

So I got home and started researching the cotton casings that hold my feet.  I came across several brands and read about each.   The one glaring thing that jumped out at me was the price.   With tags of $12-$15 I quickly looked for the count and with each found it to be only one pair!  How could this be?   Did people actually pay this much for a pair of basketball socks??

I closed my laptop and forgot about it for a day or so.   A few days later I went back and researched a little more.  This time I read reviews. People were going on and on about how great they were and how they helped their feet.  Again I walked away.  I couldn’t see throwing down $14-$15 bucks for one pair of socks!

I Spend Money (Tangent)

Before I get too many people who don’t know me thinking this guy is ultra conservative, doesn’t spend money and really wears everything until he can’t wear it any longer, let me end that.  I spend money.

I’m the guy who went into Best Buy in December for an iMovie upgrade ($50) and walked out with a new Xbox 360 w/Kinect and three games (a lot more than $50). *The Kinect ROCKS btw.

As long as I see some sort of value for myself, I’ll spend.  I couldn’t see spending on the socks.  They’re just socks right?

Decision Time (Buy or Pass)

Just the other day, I stopped by a sporting goods store to check out some cold weather clothing for running, since I do my share of that as well.   While I didn’t find any clothes that I liked, I did make my way by the sock section while I was there and take a look at the basketball socks.

The first pair I grabbed off the rack were the Thorlo Thick Cushion Basketball socks.  They felt amazing.   They had extra padding surrounding the foot and up the heel.   They were also a longer cut sock, which is what I was looking for when I began the whole sock search.

I read the back of the package and figured I’d give them a try.   Worst case scenario would be that I spent $14 and felt no difference (Thorlo actually has a 30 day money back guarantee, but I didn’t realize that until after I bought them).  Best case…no more blisters ever again??

HAPPY FEET!

The very next morning after buying my new Thorlo Basketball Socks, I slid them on and smiled.  My feet felt like they were being pampered and they liked it!

I then proceeded to go to the court and shoot and work on my ball handling for over an hour and a half.   My feet felt great the whole time.  I didn’t have any slippage at all and when I got home my feet were nice and dry when I took the socks off, which was really nice.

One of the things I read, when researching, was that people were saying the socks kept them from getting calluses and blisters and I am now a believer!

More Thorlo’s on the way!

After such a stellar first impression, I jumped online later that day and ordered four more pairs of the Thorlos.   They should be here later today!

With as much time as I plan on being in my basketball shoes, the $70 spent is really a small investment into taking care of my feet.

I’ll admit it was still weird looking at $70 for five pair of socks, but if you’re on the fence, go buy one pair.   It will change your hooping life!

*Oh and one more thing…I’m bringing long socks back! (said like J. Timberlake sings Sexy Back…haha)

Note:  Thorlo also has socks for running, walking, hiking, etc.

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Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

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If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!