When you hear the name no show socks, you picture socks that do not show above the shoes and this is exactly what they are. These come just beneath the ankles and are mostly worn by athletes and sportsmen and women. However, there are those who like to wear them under trainer shoes during the summer. The benefit of these is that they protect the feet and toes from rubbing and keep them dry but don’t come up high enough to affect the movement of the ankle or the knee.
These no show socks protect feet from heat and cold and act like a wick to take wetness away from the skin. They also help to stop rubbing and blistering of the feet. As well as being made to keep the feet warm, no show socks can be manufactured of material that actually keeps the feet cool too, so they can be worn where it is hot. Most no show socks that are designed to be worn in hot climates are made from pure cotton, or cotton blended materials because cotton is cooling but also highly absorbent.
Ordinary no show socks are made from a number of different natural and man made fibres including acrylic, spandex, polyester and nylon fabrics. These materials are combined to give the wearer the best of them all. For example, spandex is clingy and stretchy but it is not absorbent so it might be mixed with a combination of other fabrics to achieve that. Nylon would not make a good no show sock on its own because it too is not absorbent but add cotton to it and make a cotton blend and you get something that keeps its shape, stays up and absorbs wetness.
For athletes the foot part of the sock, underneath, will be padded slightly to provide cushioning and cut down on impact. If you are going cycling, or hiking, no show socks made from special materials that act like a wick and keep feet dry are ideal.
These are mostly made in white, or they used to be. There are now lots of different colour ways available and it is possible to buy patterned no show socks.
Care should be taken when you buy these because very cheap no show socks are a complete waste of time and money. They will slide down your feet into your shoes and make you feet sore, or even give you blisters. They end up all screwed up in a ball in the bottom of your shoe and while that is something you could probably cope with at home, or on the beach, it would be no good if you were an athlete. Many of these cheap ones are seen in the women’s sock ranges and they are bought because of their colour and style. If you want your no show socks to be functional as well as decorative you need to buy good quality ones from a sports shop or an good online store.