Help keep my feet from turning into hamburger!

Sorry! Don't know what I was thinking…

Rick, what were you using for socks?

If I wear thick socks, I have no problem. If I wear medium-thin socks of the same brand, I get blisters. Go figure.

–B.G.–

I wear Darn Tough CoolMax mesh socks. Those are the thin socks they make, but also the ones I trained with. I'm moving this discussion to the gear forum. Appreciate your input!

Rick

Rick,

Ouch, when on the trail I plan for foot care by bringing the following:

Lancets. Used to drain blister.
Zinc Oxide tube. Place on an open blister before taping.
Kinesio Tex tape. Used to prevent and cover blistered feet.
Hypafix Tape. Used between the toes for hot spots and blisters.

My 54 year old feet need more service than in my younger hiking days.

If you have time to ready up on foot care, I could recommend a book by John Vonhof – "Fixing Your Feet"

Last year I hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim for the first time. My feet were hamburger when I limped to the top of the South rim. I would second "Fix Your Feet". For me it took a lot of experimenting and I have finally settled on duct taping my heels and big toes, then i wear Injini lightweight toe socks covered with REI liner socks.

I recently hiked the Arizona highline trail in two days with only a single hot spot when I finished using this method. It may be difficult to find something that works but its well worth trying different things. It may not even be an issue with shoes at all assuming they fit well. My worst and best case scenarios came while wearing the same pair of shoes.

+3 on "Fixing Your Feet". One of the takeaways is the very wide varieties of measures used by different athletes to address their foot issues, and especially blisters. In other words, there is no one consensus approach for foot/blister care that emerges from the discussion. Some people are fine with wet feet; others blister instantly when their feet are wet. Remedies for some people cause blisters in others. There's a wide variety in choices for socks among the athletes who are interviewed. And so on. But the book offers an overview of approaches to foot care, some of which will help any individual with their problems.

Rick,
A common problem that I have found is wearing ones shoes to tight. If you loosen up your shoes then you will have less friction, which means less chance to blister. I would say to evaluate how tight you tie your shoe, and how snug it is on your foot. This may not be an issue for you, but this is something that I have found to be very common. I was a Medic in the Army and this was the biggest mistake I found my men making. Also, I have found that wearing sock liners can help some people a lot.

Another thing I suggest is taking care of your feet at first sign of hot spots. AKA, loosen your shoes, put some tape on the hot spot. Whatever method you have found that works for you apply it early before you blister. As you found out, if you can't walk you can't complete you're hike. Putting padding in your shoe can have a detrimental effect for some people, but I have found some people who swear by it. Figure out what treatments work for YOU. Hope I was able to help.

-Blake

> Blisters under the ball of each foot, under toes, between toes, on the sides…
Very typical for ill-fitting shoes.

Did you know that your feet will swell 1/2 to 1 size by the end of the day? Upsize your shoes by a full size, wear thick wool (NOT cotton) Darn Tough Vermont socks, and try again. Do not lace tightly!

New Balance allow you to search on size AND width, and last. Use it

Cheers

I use Body Glide on my feet every day when hiking. Keeps hot spots, blisters away. There are similar products out there.