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Learn More About DeFeet

DEFEET

Durability, Comfort
and Style

DeFeet's famous AirEator socks combine CoolMax and Cordura
for optimum comfort and incredible durability.

Some things are just meant to be, and Shane Cooper making cycling socks and clothes is one of them. Ever since Cooper was a little boy, knitting machines and bicycles have fascinated him.

His father worked for a large British clothing company that had sent him from England to North Carolina - then the hub of the world hosiery industry - when Shane was four. The youngster played around the knitting machines in his dad's mills as he was developing another passion, cycling.

In 1976, when his 13th birthday coincided with the USA's 200th, Shane became an American citizen and got an AMF 24-inch red-white-and-blue ten-speed for Christmas. Later armed with an engineering background, Cooper made his first cycling sock in 1991 for his cycling team.

From the beginning, Cooper broke traditional molds. "UCI rules said that socks had to be white and have only the sock manufacturer's logo on it," he remembers, "but when we made the [blue and yellow] GAN sock for LeMond's team in 1994, people loved it, and the rules adapted."

He started with the same materials all cycling socks used at the time - cotton or wool with
nylon - but he reversed them. "It made no sense to me that cycling socks - and dress socks - were nylon inside and cotton or wool outside. Why not put the more comfortable material next to your feet and the more durable one against the shoe?" He found that he had to re-train long-time sock-knitting machine operators. "Everyone thought we were confused and tying the threads to the wrong side of the machine," he chuckles.

Soon after, DeFeet's famous AirEator sock was born. "We took the greatest yarn, CoolMax for the body and Cordura - backpack material - for the heel and toe, and made it into a cycling sock. Nobody else was doing that," says Cooper. "Of course, we also knitted colorful designs and logos into it. Beyond being fun, the AirEator is functional and durable."

While others have imitated its comfortable CoolMax knit, DeFeet is the only company to reinforce socks with Cordura. Chances are you're wearing AirEators right now that have lasted a long time.
DeFeet's colorful designs are unmatched,
as is their comfort and fit.
The DuraGlove provides cozy comfort all the way down to 40 degrees.
Part Two
DeFeet is an American owned and operated company started from scratch by Cooper and his wife, Hope Dixon Cooper. She earned some money as a Cat. 2 rider, but his income as a Cat. 3 came from making socks for his team. Everything DeFeet sells is made in North Carolina, where it employs 50 workers and will soon grow to 80.

"We manufacture on-site, and we support cycling because we love it," says Cooper. "Even now that we are making products for other sports, we are still plowing all our profits back into cycling."

On ;October 20, 2001, ;DeFeet faced its greatest hurdle, when the building housing most of its inventory burned to the ground. The fire also destroyed most of DeFeet's equipment in the adjoining building. Despite the enormous loss, the company brushed itself off and put its money where its mouth is.

Cooper recounts, "The night of the fire, I had a contract completed and signed with USA Cycling, waiting for the morning FedEx pickup. We had committed to being the clothing
supporter of the U.S. under-23 cycling team for the next four years, and after the fire, I didn't know if we could do it. But I realized that we can and should be doing it, and I sent that contract off. We always remember that, from the top, my wife and I are cyclists, as are our partners Paul Willerton and Greg LeMond."

DeFeet has risen from the flames with brand-new machinery and the ability to produce even faster and with higher quality. "We will use two resources - the Espoir [under 23] racing program, and design input from Greg LeMond - to help us add to our line of cycling apparel," Cooper says.

"When we add items to our line, you can be certain they are innovative and help make the experience more enjoyable for the rider - just as our arm warmers, socks, and undershirt base layers have done."
Made from MicroSupreme micro-denier acrylic fabric, the UnDShurt boasts terrific softness and wicking.
ArmSkins have a seamless, anatomic knit for fit, and handle a wide range of temperatures.
Part Three
What is innovative about DeFeet's arm warmers and undershirts? Even though they look retro, not being made of shiny Lycra, ArmSkins are the best arm warmers on the market. Just ask Jan Ullrich, who has used them in mountain stages of the Tour de France for three years, despite taking flak from sponsors for doing so and having to hide the logos.

DeFeet has earned a patent on the ArmSkin's seamless, anatomical design which, due to its incredible stretch, soft surface and circumference graduation up the arms, makes it the only arm warmer that stays up without safety pins, Velcro or rubber grippers. Pro roadies Ullrich and his teammate Bobby Julich will have fresh ArmSkins at the ready, as DeFeet is making them for Team Telekom with the Adidas logo on them. ArmSkins are invaluable when you head for the mountains or anticipate a change in temperature on your ride.

DeFeet's UnDShurt, so often seen on Julich's chest during his breakthrough third-place ride in the 1998 Tour, kept him warm on the descents by wicking chilling sweat away through its MicroSupreme micro-denier acrylic fabric.
Denier is a measure of the thickness of a single thread filament, with one denier equaling the thickness of one silk strand, and each MicroSupreme filament is about half the thickness of a silk one, giving it unparalleled softness and moisture-transport abilities.

The DuraGlove, which Telekom will be using as well, is comfortable down to about 40 degrees. It is tough Cordura outside and warm and soft CoolMax inside.

Finally, there is the Woolie-Boolie, DeFeet's warm, comfy wool sock.

Whether you're looking for durability and comfort, imaginative styling or warmth, DeFeet has you covered. You never can lose with DeFeet!