A cut above: hockey socks

Most fans watching their favorite National Hockey League (NHL) players zoom, weave and crash on the ice probably don’t realize that some of these consummate athletes aren’t wearing socks. Hockey players regard many styles of protective socks as inhibiting their connection to the ice and, therefore, their performance. However, in a sport where razor-sharp skates and aggressive physical play are expected, ankle injuries (especially to the Achilles tendon) can end seasons or careers.

Swiftwick, a Brentwood, Tenn., manufacturer of performance socks for athletes, developed a cutting-edge product that is wearing well in the NHL. Its new Cut-Resistant Hockey Sock is worn by players on the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars. The socks provide moisture-wicking and compression to promote comfort and blood flow, as well as an ultra-high modulus composite yarn based on cut- and ballistic-resistant fiber technologies.

Other cut-resistant hockey socks use Kevlar® aramid fibers to offer protection against slicing injuries, but “other socks on the market simply do not perform as well,” according to Pete Rogers, equipment manager for the Nashville Predators. “The result is a sock unlike any currently out there—one that players will actually want to wear,” says Mark Cleveland, Swiftwick’s co-founder and CEO.