I give Stance socks (their athletic ankle height tabbed variety) a 4.6/5 rating. See the chart and other ratings here.
I’ve been seeing ads for Stance socks for years. I have had friends mention seeing Stance socks in stores (surprisingly mostly at airports) a number of times. Sock City (a sock only store go figure) in South Lake Tahoe caught my eye and I had to go in. On principle I needed to buy at least 1 pair of socks (I did buy another – more on that later). There was a wall dedicated to the various designs and heights of Stance socks. I wanted to go with an ankle height for maximum comfort and a better comparison to the socks I already love. The design I went with caught my eye and I didn’t look back.
Pros
I love their designs. I wasn’t able to find my specific socks online, but they’re a special edition of Stance’s Feel 360 athletic tab socks. Mine have a pink base color with white accents and quotes/tributes to the 1960s Gemini space program (the nerd in me is over the moon). Their other designs, of which there are many, are pretty cool too.
The socks have purposed cushioning and elastic to cater to the shape of each foot which is definitely very comfortable. Similar to my beloved Bombas, the toe seam is incredibly forgettable. The blister tab blows away most other socks by being a just enough taller to notice and help without bothering the achilles from being too long.
Cons
While the socks are generally comfy, the way the patterns are stitched and the material of the socks itself is noticeable – I could not see myself going multiple days in the socks without being overly aware of them on my feet. Turning the socks inside out makes it immediately clear why: a bulk of the patterns seem to be sewn into the sock after the fact instead of being stitched as a part of the base sock. Some of these threads are loose by design and are the reason why I am so aware of the socks on my feet.
The elastic at the top of my ankle is slightly tighter than is comfortable. This could be just the shape of my foot and how pronounced my tendons are, but I’m not a fan.
Summary
I take a positive stand on Stance socks. I’m very satisfied with them. My obsession could have manifested differently had I invested in some Stance socks first instead of Bombas. I’m glad I tried them out and I will continue to wear them as I love the design of the ones I have. The Stance socks don’t have a cause they stand behind so while they’re similarly priced, your hard earned dollars are not going towards more than a sock that is really good but not quite perfect. Since the pricing is similar to the Bombas, I would say go with the best. If you’re feeling like something different or find a particular design that catches your eye, don’t be shy to jump into a pair of Stance socks. Based on my generally positive experience with the socks I am interested to try a pair of their crew height socks to see if they would be a better alternative to the Bombas dress socks that bother my leg hair (an adventure for another time).
