M2O Merino Crew Compression socks

The M2O Merino Crew Compression Socks are well made and comfortable with very few obvious failings. They're warm enough when it's cool and breathable when it's not, and they certainly feel like they offer decent compression.

Compression socks have been found to improve blood circulation in the legs. In simple terms, it's easy for blood to reach your lower limbs, but it's a lot harder work to counter gravity and get back to the heart again. Wearing them can mean that you recover faster as your muscles get more oxygen and clear waste products more rapidly.

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The exact difference this makes with these particular socks, I can't exactly say – but they do feel significantly tighter than the average pair of socks, so I'd assume they're beneficial.

More prosaically, they're comfortable. Really, really comfortable in fact.

I find with the vast majority of socks, you put them on and just instantly forget about them for the entire day. Then occasionally there are pairs that are uncomfortable or annoying in some way.

I'd say the M2Os fall into a third category – socks that you occasionally notice because of how comfortable your feet are. This is quite a rare thing.

The only real complaint I had with them in this area was that because they are compression socks – and therefore grip your feet and ankles pretty much all over – you are at times liable to pick up on very minor differences in sensation between left foot and right.

For example, I wore them for recovery and also for rides, and during one trip out I became aware of a slightly different flexing feel in one foot compared with the other. There was nothing wrong. Neither foot was uncomfortable. They just felt... different.

This barely even qualifies as a nitpick really. It's just a thing that I noticed.

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Beyond that, their construction seems quite robust. I've worn them plenty and washed them plenty and they haven't acquired a smell and they still feel pretty tight. If they were perhaps a little tighter at first, I couldn't state that with complete conviction. They certainly haven't gone slack.

Price-wise, they're not cheap socks. But compression socks tend to be a little dearer, and let's not forget they're merino wool too.

The cheapest merino wool socks we've reviewed in recent times are the dhb Aeron Light Weight Merino Socks. They only cost a tenner, but Steve made reference to scruffy stitching inside, and there's certainly none of that here.

Verdict

Combine compression with the comfort of merino wool at a not outlandish price