When I emptied my postbox yesterday, I was happy to find a speedy delivery of a pair of bamboo knee compression sleeves that I had ordered; hoping that they might be a softer alternative to the synthetic ones I've been using so far (not around the clock, but when for example out walking). I've not wanted to wear those directly on my skin though, so have either worn them with a thin tube bandage underneath, or on top of cotton leggings.
I've also experimented with using the cut off upper parts of a pair of super elastic 'diabetic' bamboo knee-highs (saved from an old pair where the feet got worn out) over a piece of tube bandage on the knee; as a lighter kind of support (at home and in the night).
The bamboo sleeves I ordered now turned out to be thicker and far from as elastic as the diabetic socks. But I tried keeping them on over night, and they did remain surprisingly comfortable. 24/7 use may not be recommended with these either, but I think they'll be a useful "middle" alternative to the others.
As soon as you start searching for anything like this online, though (and even more as soon as you actually order something) - it seems to trigger like half a million internet algorithms (for example on Facebook) to say to themselves: "Oh, look, she's interested in bamboo knee bandages! Hooray! Surely she'll not just want one pair! She'll want at least half a dozen - no, make that a full dozen... And all from different companies..."
And the thing with these bamboo knee bandages sems to be that no matter what company or distributor I check out, and whether they claim that the bandages are available in sizes from XS to XXL, or boldly state that "one size fits all"; and whether the sleeves are kept in stock somewhere locally (and may land in your postbox in a couple of days), or shipped directly to customer from China (in which case delivery is more likely to take two weeks) - I notice that every image of them looks the same. They all seem to be in grey and white, with almost exactly the same pattern. Just possibly marked with different labels.
Which makes me imagine one gigantic bamboo-knitting factory somewhere in China, producing billions and billions of these, and shipping them out to an endless number of retailers all over the world, who in turn do their best to sell them on to billions of people with knee problems... (Some of us possibly ordering some from different companies to compare - only to find them all the same??)
Not the most attractive items to wear but as long as they do the job that's all that matters. Definately designed to wear under trousers - imagine wearing a knee-length dress and trying to conceal them!
ReplyDeleteCarol, definitely designed to wear under trousers, I agree. I do usually wear trousers though, even in summer. Wide summer trousers were perfect to wear over my various kinds of bandages the first month before it got colder. The slow pace, slight limping + leaning on a walking pole still kind of a giveaway, though... ;)
DeleteI think your supposition is right, about a giant factory parceling them out! I am well aware of how, once you buy something, seemingly every website keeps showing you a lot to buy. I hope these continue to work well.
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