If you’re a soccer nerd like me, you’ve probably heard and watched the Youtube channel SR4U. Run by Joshua Vujovic, the channel is arguably the best soccer review channel. Josh was continually frustrated by the poor performance of budget-friendly grip socks, whose low performance didn’t justify the equally low price. With this, he decided to create Pure Grip Socks, a cheap, but high-performance grip sock. After operating for a few months, he made them even better and made Pure Grip Socks Pro, which has the same grip, but a better material blend. Today we’re reviewing Josh’s creation in three categories, grip, comfort/fit, and durability.
THE GRIP
The Pure Grip Socks Pro is a really good grip sock. The silicone pads on the bottom of the sock really keep you locked into your shoe. The grip elements spread over the bottom of the entire sock, making sure that you will always be stable while you run. I found that the sock was really sticky from the get-go, as it was impossible to get into my cleat.
My favorite part about the sock was the grip on the heel, which most socks, even TRUsox, don’t have. A big problem I have is when my heel slides up and down the shoe, causing painful blisters. The Pros do a great job of preventing that.
As with most grip socks that don’t have IN//EX technology, I did find that sometimes during extreme changes of direction, the socks gripped to the bottom of the shoe but my foot slid a little down the shoe. This is not a major detractor because this happens on nearly every other sock besides the fabled TRUsox.
In the Make the Cut test, where we go through a grueling gauntlet of agility drills, lateral cuts, and suicides, the Pure Grip Socks Pro performed at a pretty good level. The sock only bunched up and moved 4-15% of the time.
Our first test, sprinting at full speed and coming to a complete stop, had 20 reps. The Pro bunched up 3 times, equating to 15%, which is an average score. I did feel that during the later stages of the test, the sock started to heat up and caused some discomfort on my midfoot.
In the second test, where we one-touched passed a soccer ball against a wall 100 times, the Pure Grip Socks Pro excelled and only bunched up 4 times or 4% of the time. The sock stayed put on nearly all of the passes and didn’t heat up at all.
In the third and final test, where I jumped 1 yard laterally 50 times, the sock moved around 4 times or 8% of the time. I felt that it stayed put, but was on the verge of sliding down the shoe, which was a strange sensation to feel.
COMFORT/FIT
The Pure Grip Socks Pro are relatively comfortable socks. They’re built like standard tennis socks, but with more quality. I do find that because of the thickness of the grip on the bottom of the sock, it feels a little bit cramped inside my shoe, which led to some discomfort before I got used to it.
There is a seam running over your toes on the Pro and it is mildly uncomfortable before you wash the socks. However, it caused me no blisters, and eventually, it softened up.
The Pros are a really great sock, but the fit is not ideal. As with any tennis sock, the compression is bad. The sock had a tendency to slide down my shins when I training without any shin guards or sock sleeves. The sock fits true to size but the sock sizes on the website are unusual, but there are 4 different sizes, so you are guaranteed to find your perfect size.
DURABILITY
After wearing the Pros for more than 2 months, I was surprised to find that the durability is quite good. Only one or two silicone pads have fallen off and the sock feels relatively similar to the out-of-the-box feel.
With every good, there’s a bad, and the footbed of the Pure Grip Sock Pro suffered from durability issues. I felt that the grip just wasn’t as good as the new sock, which is expected, but was still disappointing.
A GREAT BUDGET GRIP SOCK
Ultimately, after wearing the Pros for about 2 months, the conclusion I came to was that it is a great budget sock, but ultimately not as good as some of the other options on the market, namely the Adidas Alphaskin Traxion and NikeGrip Strike Light. For the price point, this has all of the features of a top-class grip sock, but the materials used for the knitting just aren’t as high quality as some of its competitors. But with that said, this is a great option for any player wanting a cheap, budget-friendly grip sock.
If you have any questions about our review or want to share your thoughts contact us here or write a comment below.
Subscribe to our Newsletter below!
Great review and testing of this grip sock, AK. I wonder if you think that other types of athletes might find these socks useful, like tennis players, or even dancers? Thanks for your insights!
Tennis players wear grip socks as well, and they can be useful for doing yoga or stretching. Many professional athletes such as Daniel Carlson, Felix Auger Aliassime, and Tyler Bass all wear different kinds of grip socks.
Wow, these sound like two socks! I have two questions though, the first being, how much do the socks cost, and second, would you recommend this sock to someone doing track and field? Namely the track part
These socks are $16.99 on https://puregripsocks.com.
I would definitely recommend these for track, but I think the Alphaskin Traxion, covered in an earlier review (https://sockergear.com/?p=113) would be a slightly better option.