Wendy’s Picks

Sock It to Me!

Change your socks for cold weather walking or for hiking. The traditional sock combination for hiking or winter walking was a wicking acrylic liner sock under a wool sock. The drawback was that the old-school wool socks weren’t machine-washable and dryable. Modern fabrics, weaves, and designs can provide a single sock that can do it all under most conditions and that you can toss into the washer and dryer.

SmartWool Socks
SmartWool makes machine-washable, non-itchy wool socks that provide natural moisture management. The Light Hiker or the Walking socks are great for wearing in colder weather or with trail shoes or light boots. You don’t need a liner sock with SmartWool socks; just wear them like any other sock and feel the natural comfort of itch-free wool. When I wore SmartWool walking socks, my feet stayed warm on a very cold day without adding bulk to my shoes.
www.smartwool.com

WrightSock Merino Trail
WrightSock puts the acrylic liner and outer wool layers together in one double-layer sock that is no thicker than a regular pair of socks. These are well designed to stay in place and provide a nice amount of insulation when the temperatures get close to freezing. The advantage of the two-layer sock is that it gives the blister protection and wicking function of wearing an inner and outer sock, without the bunching and bother of having two pairs of socks to deal with.
www.wrightsock.com

Teko
Teko is an environmentally friendly company making socks that are well engineered for hiking and walking. Their EcoMerino wool comes from a fifth-generation sustainable farm in Tasmania. Ozone, rather than chlorine, is used to make their EcoWash wool non-shrinking. Teko uses recycled polyester in their blends. And for something completely different, you can wear their Ingeo socks made from corn. The Ingeo PLA socks are soft and have good moisture transfer. A Lycra arch band provides support and helps keep the socks from bunching. The socks have a flat toe seam and breathable air vents. Teko makes good socks that are also good for the planet.
www.tekosocks.com

Thor-Lo Light Hiking Socks
I wore the same pairs of Thor-Los for 10 years and they stood up to the walking and the washing. The light hiking socks have padding in the heel and ball and a lace pad on the top of the foot to prevent pressure. They fit through the arch with spandex so your socks stay in place and do not contribute to blisters by bunching up. They wick away moisture and have ventilation.
www.thorlo.com

Injinji Socks
Toe socks are fun to wear, but also very practical if you are prone to getting blisters around the toes. Rather than wearing toe caps or toe separators, let the socks do it for you. Injinji has designs in wicking CoolMax, NuWool, and comfort cotton. All feature a vector heel to prevent sock bunching. The socks feel a little strange at first, but after a few minutes your toes and feet are very happy, with each toe protected and cuddled.
www.injinji.com

—Wendy Bumgardner
www.walking.about.com

Fitness Center Opens

The latest addition to Portland’s NE Fremont Street is the Alameda Fitness Center (AFC). Geared towards local residents, the center provides access to a friendly, fun, and comfortable fitness facility designed to welcome people of all ages and fitness levels.

Dave Pietka and Kate Fischer, AFC offers open gym facilities daily, nutrition services programs, seminars, personal training, and group classes.
AFC will add to its existing facility in early 2007, this new area will house all group classes including spinning, circuit training, stretching and toning, yoga, yoga-spin, and conditioning. The space will also be available during non-use hours for community programs and clinics.

Alameda Fitness Center is located at 4016 NE Fremont, Portland, OR. For more information, visit www.alamedafitness.com or call 503-548-4011.

A New Twist on Shoelaces

Instead of tying your shoes, why not give them a yankz!?

The yankz! Sure Lace System is one of the most comfortable and innovative athletic lacing systems available today. Its unique design suits walkers, hikers, and runners.

Tying your shoes is a thing of the past with the yankz! unique loop system and high-impact, lightweight, plastic cord lock. No more tying, retying, or double-knotting your laces to keep them in place.

Toddlers struggling to tie their shoes or seniors who have trouble bending over to reach their laces can give a yank and get moving.

If you’re planning an event, increase your pull with a personalized pair of yankz! For more information, visit www.yankz.com.

Give Safety a Hand

For maximum visibility anytime you’re on the road or trail, slip on a pair of Glo Glovs. The one-size gloves are designed to stretch from a medium to double-extra-large, so they’ll fit over your regular hand warmers.

Inventor Lynette Warneke Gray came up with the idea after realizing police officers and firefighters needed a highly visible, readily recognizable way of standing out on a dark street or in an emergency situation. The gloves have quickly become a popular safety item for walkers, cyclists, boaters, motorists, and others who want to be seen in the dark.

Using a half-finger glove pattern, this Madras, Oregon, resident created a glow-in-the-dark glove that blends a high-quality, breathable, non-fraying, nylon-spandex fabric with a retroreflective vinyl.

The resulting Glo Glov is rated to be visible for up to one mile with a searchlight and up to four miles with night vision goggles, so think how safe you’ll be walking through the park at night. The gloves are a great choice for night walkers and are a must-have for emergency situations. Keep a pair in your car’s glove box.

Visit www.gloglov.com for ordering information.