I'm not sure the last road trip that I went on that didn't involve some sort of running. Similarly, I'm not sure the last road trip I went on that I didn't bring my RecoFit Leg Compressor Leg Sleeves with me.
These are full leg sleeves that are intended to provide compression for your hamstrings, quads, calves, and any other muscles that might exist in there.
Fit
I'm not going to bore you with the details that you can look up on RecoFITs
website,
but rather tell you about my experience with them. I should also say
that they have a very comprehensive sizing chart on the website that
helps out a ton.
The first thing I should emphasize, despite having skinny runner legs, these things really stay put nicely. I've had trouble with other brands of compression wear slipping and sliding down my legs, making me question the degree of compression and making the sleeves essentially useless.
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| Photo Wilderness Running |
RecoFIT sleeves have a nice sticky polymer that is at the very top of the sleeve to that they stay in place. The polymer seems to have just the right amount of tack, as they dont pull on my leg hair (when I let it grow out you know?). They are a little difficult to get on, but I think that's just fine, it lets me know they are nice and tight, and actually doing some compressing.
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| Photo Wilderness Running |
Durability
After using them for months, they still stay in place just as well as they did originally, the only noticeable wear is that the label on the outside of the sleeve is starting to peel, which in no way influences the function.
In my opinion the durability is a huge benefit to the Compressors, since I am kinda rough on my gear. Sometimes tights/compression wear tend to rip and tear wayyy too easily, especially for stuff that you have to tug a little bit to get on.
Performance
To be completely honest, I don't notice much of a benefit of using the leg sleeves on a weekly day-day basis, where my runs are usually between 1-2 hours. HOWEVER, over the months that I have been using them, I personally have found the Leg Compressors to be very useful in two specific applications.
1. Recovering from hard biking - I don't bike too often these days, but occasionally get out for a nice quad hammering. The leg compression benefits from the RecoFIT sleeves was clearly noticeable as I started working more biking into my cross-training/recovery routine post-100 mile races. Without the Compressors, my legs felt totally flat when I ran the day after a bike ride, with the sleeves, my runs felt significantly more fluid the day after. I think this has something to do with the nature of biking, in which you really isolate the big muscles in your legs.
2. Recovering from long runs - especially during car rides. I'm not a huge fan of driving several hours after a long run, mostly because I find it hard to sit in a car for extended periods of time after running for 5-6 hours, however I frequently find myself in this situation. Normally, I try to stay mobile post-run, I think moving around, even if its just walking up and down the street helps promote blood flow and speeds recovery. But, if you are incapable of moving (post-100 miles or riding in a car), these babies are awesome. Something about the compression keeps my legs feeling fresh, even when I take those first few steps out of the car after driving post-long run.
I think noticed it the most when Ben Vanhoose and I were driving back from a week of pretty aggressive trail running in the Upper Peninsula. It was a long, rather impromptu car ride home, and boy was I happy to have the Compressors to pull on.
The nice thing about the Leg Compressors is that they aren't overly warm. Sometimes I even sleep in them, and usually I don't like to sleep with much more than a sheet.
Conclusion
While I don't use these on a daily basis, they are a must when I am packing my bag for a trip that involves a lot of running. I will again emphasize the durability and excellent fit, because I think those are really important aspects to consider when purchasing compression gear. That being said, the RecoFIT Leg Compressors retail at $75.00, which I seems reasonable for a piece of clothing that seems as if will last me for well over a year.
If I had one complaint or suggestion, I think it would be nice to incorporate a sock, even if it just pulled on separate from the sleeve, as this would aid in maintaining the compression for the entire leg. I put on the sleeves after the Woodstock 100 mile, and while my legs felt nice and secure, my feet did swell up like sausages (not unusual for me).
* I was given a pair of RecoFIT leg compressor sleeves to try by the Wolfhound Marketing Group.
