*Product Reviews Round 2: CEP Compression (calf sleeves, socks, & new compression shorts)

[Second Wind]

As an introduction (again), I will periodically be posting these reviews of various products and brands.

At the end (a few months), I will publish all of the reviews in a PDF and make that available to anyone who wishes.

Note that I am reviewing products that I have done a good bit of research on First before including them in my list of products to review so I am anticipating most all of the products will receive favorable feedback (these are not 'blind' tests).

Also, all reviews will be posted on my blog and on my facebook page as well (The blog will include all the pictures)



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As most people know, Compression gear is meant to increase blood flow (and some say ‘squeeze’ out lactic acid) and improve performance while aiding with recovery.



Admittedly, I was a bit of a skeptic on compression gear as it seemed, on the surface, to be a bit fad driven and followed the thought I’m trying to get people away from (‘you’d run better if you Just had _X_ product!&rsquo. With that said, I began thinking about how each time I had to have knee surgery (6 times&hellip I had to wear compression sleeves on my legs to reduce swelling and save me from blot clots – by increasing blood flow/circulation… so I decided to give compression a true go and put several types, brands, and lines to the test; now with CEP.





Today we have a series of 3 compression products from CEP



**NOTE: CEP has offered all readers of this review the ability to get 15% offall of their products at SportsCompression.com by entering the Coupon Code: blog15



You can also ‘like’, follow, and share your own thoughts and stories at CEP’s facebook page: www.facebook.com/cepsportswear and their blog: http://cepsocks.blogspot.com

 

[Second Wind]

 CEP Compression

CEP Compression Shorts



CEP was kind enough to send me a pair of their brand new compression shorts. Wow. From the very first impression to the last run I used them on (this morning), the shorts just scream Quality. For the first time, I feel confident enough to say that these are hands down the best compression shorts I have tried. The fit is perfect (truly), good compression while not having any tight spots, excellent attention to detail in the “zones” that they have crafted within these shorts (having separate levels of compression based on the area of the body and how you utilize those muscles). The attention to detail is superb. They stayed in place, they fit in such a way that you could wear them without focusing on their presence, they glide perfectly, and offered (anecdotally of course) the best level of performance and recover of any short I have tried thus far. The multiple ventilation panels work well and are positioned just right for me. Another small but very nice feature can be seen in the 2nd picture – that black rainbow in the center of the butt is actually the cover flap of a seamless pocket that will hold a key (which is what I used it for) but would even hold a small billfold or MP3 player. Again, I just honestly can’t overstate how impressed I am with this short.

 

[Second Wind]

 CEP Compression

CEP Compression Socks



With these compression socks, like other compression socks I’ve tried, I used them in 2 ways: I did run in them in a pair of minimalist shoes (normally I run in VFF’s so no socks) and then I also used them in tandem with the sleeves: used the sleeves on the run and wore the socks post run and slept in them for recovery. On the run the socks held in place perfectly, no tugging or adjusting required. I want to specifically address the “padded foot soles”. The bottom of the socks are a different color (grey) making the leap in one’s mind to the grey (carbon injected) pronate/suppinate pads in shoes. I was worried about this idea of “padded” socks at first but I can say that it is only slightly thicker (I would say more tightly woven) on the soles. It was not a turn off for me. What I will say about it is that it felt as though they had increased the elasticity in that area which I actually really liked: it made the sock fit around the foot much more glove-like than a normal sock which made sure that the sock never shifted, slid, or bunched up during the run.

Compression level was good throughout and, just like in the sleeves, the material felt very soft (again, almost cotton-like) against the skin while wicking moisture away and drying very efficiently.

Another small point, CEP has actually created a YouTube video on how to put on compression socks. Sounds a bit silly, but I will say that I have people talk about the difficulty of getting them on while not stretching them incorrectly (I am not a tri-athlete but I would imagine this be much more of an issue if you were trying to put them on wet). The video is actually really good and shows a great technique for getting them on (and on consistently in the same way): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdgT6-bc9Zk&feature=player_embedded

 

[Second Wind]

 CEP Compression Calf

CEP Compression Calf Sleeves





The CEP Compression sleeves were absolutely top notch. The calf sleeves, as I’ve mentioned before, are the piece of compression gear that I was most interested in. The fit was fantastic – good solid compression, but not too much (where it would inhibit performance by cutting blood flow too much), and they stayed in place through the entire run, not once did I have to adjust them (or even think about them – which is the most important thing to me). Another think I liked about the CEP sleeves as opposed to some of the others I’ve tried is that they are cut just a little bit shorter in length so they didn’t come all the way down and cover my ankles. This isn’t a huge thing, but for me, it makes them more comfortable (and makes sense to me as there’s no benefit for coming down over the ankle bones).

The CEP sleeves material was also very nice. They are listed as 85% Polyamid, 15% Elasthan but they have a very soft (almost cotton like against the skin) feel to them. They breathe really well (a huge plus for me running in 90+heat already) and dry very quickly. They wick moisture as well or better than anyone else on the market leaving your skin underneath dry and comfortable (and eliminate the risk of bacteria and stench). I certainly feel that they did, in fact, reduce my post race soreness as well as DOMS, allowing me to recover quicker, and be ready to run again.

 

[Second Wind]

**NOTE:  CEP has offered all

**NOTE: CEP has offered all readers of these reviews the ability to get 15% off all of their products at SportsCompression.com by entering the Coupon Code: blog15