As most people know, Compression gear is meant to increase blood flow (and some say ‘squeeze’ out lactic acid) and improve performance while aiding with recovery.
Admittedly, I was a bit of a skeptic on compression gear as it seemed, on the surface, to be a bit fad driven and followed the thought I’m trying to get people away from (‘you’d run better if you Just had _X_ product!’). With that said, I began thinking about how each time I had to have knee surgery (6 times…) I had to wear compression sleeves on my legs to reduce swelling and save me from blot clots – by increasing blood flow/circulation… so I decided to give compression a true go and put several types, brands, and lines to the test; today we have a Boulder, CO company founded by Susan Eastman Walton (a cycler and runner herself): RecoFit (the name is derived from RECOvery and FITness).
Today we move on to 2 products for review from from RecoFit:
--------------------------------------------------------------
RecoFit Compression Calf Sleeves
Here’s what I found:
As most of you know by now, the calf sleeves were the 1 piece of compression gear I was most interested in as (running barefoot or in VFF) my calves often suffer from DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).
The RecoFit sleeves fit great! The height of the sleeves provided the best fit (length) of any sleeves I have tried to date. They completely covered my calf without being too high (where they rub in the back of your knee) or coming too low (covering up the entire ankle).
I was very happy with the level of compression as well – it Did compress at a level that I could feel (some feel simply like tight fitting socks – not so with these) but it did Not over-squeeze. As you know, many ‘cheap’ compression companies just squeeze you to death and call it a day, which hurts, restricts movement, restricts bloodflow, etc. But in the RecoFit sleeves, the fit was spot on.
Of course, one of the most important questions about calf sleeves is whether or not they stay put. The RecoFit sleeves held their position perfectly, from thin ankle to the top of the calf, allowing me to forget that they were there – never having to bend down and adjust them or pay any attention to them at all – a great second skin fit! These sleeves featured flat seams that truly made the sleeves disappear once I put them on. Very smooth fit.
The best benefit of the RecoFit sleeves is what, on first impression, I feared would be their downfall. When you first hold a pair of the sleeves in your hand, they feel like normal nylon stretch material and gave me the impression that they would be very hot. However, after wearing them extensively I can say that (where the heat index hit 99 degrees here yesterday) they breathe extraordinarily well.
Not only were these sleeves comfortable, but I do feel that it did reduce my post race soreness as well as DOMS, allowing me to recover quicker.
These sleeves are not a cheaper counterpart to the “big names”, or a rushed replica. The fit is top notch, the compression level and gradation were designed very well, and, much to my own surprise, this Boulder, CO company’s calf sleeves are now my go-to sleeves.
Great read thannk you
ReplyDelete