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As with players, there are two type of socks you can wear. The outer, team colored hockey socks, and under-socks made from cut-resistant Kevlar®. Unless your leg pads wrap completely around the backs of your legs, I highly recommend the cut-resistant socks. They are not cheap, but neither is an emergency room visit to treat a skate cut. Cuts from skates can go deep enough to sever tendons, ligaments, and nerves.Outer Socks
As with player socks, there are two major manufacturers of hockey socks: Reebok and CCM/The Reebok SX100 Edge Gamewear Hockey Socks are the more comfortable of the two. They have a much finer weave which does not irritate the backs of your knees. They also have a Velcro® tab which you may or may not find useful. If you wear a jock short with sock tabs built-in, the tabs on the socks are redundant. If you hold up your socks with a garter belt, the tabs are redundant. To be honest, I don't know what those tabs are designedto adhere to. If you know, sens me an email. The Reebok socks sell for $24.95/pair and come in junior, intermediate, and senior sizes.
The CCM scoks are cheaper ($10.99/pair) but tthey have a very course weave which can be irritating to the backs of your knees, which for a butterfly goalie, where knee bending is frequent, can be especially annoying. The sole good feature of the CCM socks is that they fit tighter than the Reebok socks. They come in junior and senior sizes, no intermediates.
Cut-resistant Socks
There are a number of companies which now sell cut-resistant socks. One company even sells team socks made from cut-resistant material.Hogan Hockey sells the XH Series ACHILLES® Skate tube Sock 60 made with Kevlar®. I use these and they are very comfortable. They are offered in Men's, Women's, and Youth sizes. They also make the XH Series ACHILLES® Cut-Resistant Hybrid Sock with Kevlar®, in Adult size only. I also use these. They are designed for players who do not wear socks under their skates. They also offer the XH Series ACHILLES® Cut-Resistant Goalie/Player Underwear with Kevlar®. I have not tried this product, but from the photo on the web site it appears that the garment covers the entire back of the leg and a portion of the front of the thigh. They also make player wrist guards with Kevlar®. None of these products are cheap, but neither is an emergency room visit.
Another manufacture is Tactics Socks. These are also made with Kevlar® but unlike the ACHILLES® socks, they are not tube socks so make sure you get the right size. You can watch Youtube videos about these socks here (Don Cherry likes them) and here. I use these also and find them to be comfortable. I did receive a skate to the back of my leg while wearing these socks. The outer team sock was cut completely but the skate blade did not penetrate the Tactics sock. In fact I had a hard time finding any damage to the sock, but I replaced that pair anyway.
Do NOT wash any product made with Kevlar® in normal household detergent. It degrades the properties of Kevlar®. Instead use either Wins Sports Detergent or Atsko Sports-Wash. Neither product will harm Kevlar®. You should also use either product on any garment that uses wicking technology (all Under Armour garments, Reebok Speedwick® garments, and Nike Dri-Fit® garments). These products are also suitable to wash all your hockey gear.
Other manufactures offer cut-resistant socks including Bauer, Combat Sports, Firstar, and Easton (Easton only offers low-cut socks which don't protect as well as those from all the other manufacturers who offer knee-length socks). I have not tried any of these socks with the exception of the Easton socks, which are uncomfortable.
Make sure you buy socks made with Kevlar®. At least one manufacturer sells a cut-resistant sock that is made from material other than Kevlar®. Caveat emptor.
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