Meet the reviewer
1000 Mile Fusion Socklet Repreve 2024: first impressions
For a small, seemingly minimalist running sock, there’s an awful lot going on beneath the flat seams of the new 1000 Mile Fusion Socklet Repreve 2024. For starters, the brand have made some serious steps towards becoming more sustainable by using a mostly recycled material in the construction of this socklet, which is primarily made with Repreve, a synthetic fabric spun from recycled plastic bottles.
• List price: £14.50 (UK)
• Gender specificity: Unisex
• Sizes: Men’s: M / L / XL; Women’s: S / M
• Materials: Repreve
• Length: Ankle
• Colors: Men’s: Silver & Kingfisher / Silver & Orange; Women’s: Silver & Kingfisher / Silver & Pink
• Compatibility: Road, trail and mixed-terrain running, plus walking and general use
Fortunately, this doesn’t appear to be at the expense of the high performance offered by previous iterations of 1000 Mile’s running socklets, which have impressed me with their combination of well-placed padding, good levels of support and ventilation panels.
On paper, the Fusion Socklet Repreve 2024 looked to be equally well designed, and the double-layer construction of this version of the socklet promised to prevent blisters too.
To find out how they performed in the real world, compared to the best trail- running socks on the market, I needed to trail test them properly, which I’ve now been doing for several months.
1000 Mile Fusion Socklet Repreve 2024: on the trails
Having been lucky enough to get my feet on an advance pair, I’ve been trialing the new Fusion Socklet Repreve socklet 2024 since late 2023, wearing them while running along technical trails and other kinds of terrain, on dozens of different outings and in all sorts of conditions.
Happily, I can report that the no-blister promise was kept. To be honest, I don’t generally suffer badly from blisters while running anyway, but the double-layer construction was tangibly comfortable, and it prevented any hot spots from developing while I was simultaneously testing a broad range of trail running shoes (constantly swapping shoes is a bit of an occupational hazard, and it can occasionally lead to foot woes).
Further more, I felt the padding on these socklets – at the heel, in the toe zone and around the ball of the foot – provided a good degree of cushioning, which (while it won’t compensate for a sub-par midsole in a shoe) makes a definite difference when you’re pounding out the miles.
There’s also extra support across the arch, and a section of ventilated mesh just below the ankle (in a low stress area), which allowed my foot to breathe while I was running. The heel has a Y design, for a better fit, and the flat seam in front of the toe further reduces the chance of experiencing uncomfortable friction and rubbing.
Aside from having a lighter environmental footprint than most socks (thanks to the use of recycled plastic in the material mix it’s manufactured from), being made from synthetic fabrics means the 1000 Mile Fusion Socklets are very hard-wearing and durable. I can’t claim to have worn them for anywhere near 1000 miles yet, but I reckon I have notched up a few hundred miles in total, with no major signs of wear and tear (beyond a tiny bit of bobbling), and based on previous pairs of 1000 Mile socks I confidently expect to get plenty more mileage out of them, even after running on rough terrain where grit inevitably gets inside my shoe.
These are not the kind of socks you wear when you need to keep your feet warm – the below-the-ankle fit and ventilated style means they supply little in the way thermal protection – but for most short and mid-length runs in non-freezing conditions, they’re perfect.
