Blister woes

[Sean Passanisi]

Hello.  I’m preparing for a big 2 week hike and have run into some blister problems.  For the last 2 years, I’ve hiked in Altra Lone Peaks.  I knew these were near end-of-life, and after posting on the forums here, selected a more robust La Sportiva shoe for offtrail hiking.  After trying many models at REI, I found the La Sportiva Bushido to be the most comfortable of the bunch.
<div>I got some bad blisters after my first big test hike with the new shoes this past weekend, and I’m hoping to get some feedback on next steps (I don’t have a strong history of blisters, just an occasional issue on long hikes).  The obvious answer would be to change the shoes, but I don’t think the shoes are necessarily the problem.  Why?  Because I also got bad blisters on my last big hike in the Lone Peaks.  I attributed that issue to the fact that my Lone Peaks were nearly dead.</div>
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<div>I’m now thinking the blister issue is related to my socks (an old Injinji model that I already replaced but didn’t receive in time to try on my hike) and/or to my “soft” feet (I’m fortunate to only wear shoes 3 hours per week when climbing, the rest of the time I wear Luna sandals).</div>
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<div>Regardless, I have about a week to make a plan to prevent blisters.  I’m thinking about the following:</div>
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<div>(1) Thicker socks.  I normally hike in Injinji performance socks, which are a medium weight.  I also own thicker Injinji trail socks that I stopped using because of longer dry times.  Since I’m hiking in a dry environment, I’m not sure if dry time is an issue.  Is there any downside to thick socks?</div>
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<div>(2)  Pretreating hot spot areas before I even start Mile 1 with Leukotape and/or mole skin.  I’ve only used Leukotape– do I use mole skin in conjunction with or instead of Leukotape?  Is there any downside to pretreating before I hike, other than carrying the additional weight of these products?</div>
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<div>Changing shoes is of course an option, but based on my blister issue in my last hike in the Altras, I don’t know if that will solve the problem.</div>
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<div>Thanks for the feedback.</div>

[David Thomas]

If the blisters are somewhere on the front of your feet, those are usually due to pressure on your foot from the shoe – i.e. the shoe is too narrow or the toe box is too small for your foot.  To prevent them or to treat them, place a donut of thicker material like Moleskin around the blister to distribute that pressure to the surrounding, larger area and keep it off of the “hot spot”.

If the blisters are on the back of your heel, those are from the shoe riding up and down on your heel and indicate the shoe is too large or too long for your foot.  Those can be prevented / delayed by covering with adhesive knit or luekotape prior to developing the blister so the tape takes the friction rather than your foot.  Bulkier socks might also help if they minimize the slippage.  Treatment on the trail is tough.  The blister is probably going to pop and then you should get it as clean and dry as possible and then put luekotape or adhesive knit over the area and leave it on for the duration of the trip.

Other considerations:  If your feet are wet (due to river crossing or sweat) for extended periods, that softens your skin and makes you more prone to blisters.  For hot weather, a cooler sock or a shoe with more ventilation could help.  (Not very UL, but) you could take more than one pair of shoes or at least camp shoes / flip flops so you’re not in the same pair of shoes for as long.

You’re not limited to thin, medium and bulky socks.  Some socks have thickness in the heel and/or toe and not in the body.  You can also assembly your own custom configuration.  If you need toe-box volume but are slipping in the heel, you could put on a thin sock first and then put on a bulkier sock with the toe/mid-foot cut off.  Then your heel would be padded and bulkier without adding volume to the toe box.

40 years ago, we were all told to hike with two pairs of socks – an inner liner sock and an outer bulky sock.  Generally, I don’t recommend that, but when there’s excess slippage at the heels, wearing two socks can help – some of the slippage can occur between the socks, rather than on your skin.

If you struggle getting the shoelaces tied in a way that works for your foot (holding your foot back against the heel and preventing it from sliding forward on a downhill, while not overly compressing the front part of your foot), then use one lace for the front three eyelets and another lace for the upper three eyelets.  Then you can tie the front and top of the laces at different tensions to get front and back inner volumes that match your feet more closely.

[Bean]

I remember being the guy people worried about in the group before we even got to the trailhead. As I’d stop 10 times a day to deal with my feet, and usually had to bail out early because my blisters got too out of hand. I’ve tried Injinji toe socks, and they helped with between toe blisters, but being a pain to take off and put on, I was more reluctant to stop to change socks when feeling a hot spot; resulting in other blisters.

Skip ahead a few years, my wife and I just did 14 days in the Sierra Nevada averaging over 20miles, and were basically blister free. Used and gave away most my blister supplies to people I met suffering on the trail.

Our recipe:

• Tincture of Benzoin and Q-tips
• Leukotape
• Medium weight merino wool based ankle socks (done with synthetics)
• Very breathable non-gortex trail runners
• Only wear Dirty Girl Gaiters if totally necessary

1. Before I even drive to the trailhead, I will apply the Tincture of Benzoin to almost my entire foot and then pre-tape the usual problem areas. This combination can last a week on your foot, even if you’re swimming daily.
2. On the trail I stop and soak my feet in some water at least once a day (if possible) and switch out my socks. I’m using ankle socks and no gaiters to promote a bit more airflow. Gaiters go on only in situations where rocks/sand in my shoes are obviously going to be a problem.
3. If I feel the slightest twinge of a hotspot, I will stop dry out my feet, apply Tincture of Benzoin and tape up anything at all concerning and switch to dry socks.

Somewhat unorthodox: If I’m dealing with lots of water crossings or spring snow melt, I’ll intentionally walk in the water whenever I find it. It cools my feet down fast, and I’ve gotten use to the squishy feeling. Dry pair of socks in the morning right before getting on trail, and I don’t even notice that my shoes are still damp from the day before. *I have regretted this approach at camp during colder/wet conditions when I neglected to bring a vapor barrier for my feet and had to cannibalize my groundsheet for this purpose.

 

[Bean]

… forgot.

Second skin gel pads are amazing to treat blisters and keep walking. I usually tape them down with Leukotape and Tincture of Benzoin. Important to not give the gel an opening out the side of the taping, or it can be squeezed out while walking.

They also dry up after a day, and can adhere to wounds… so you want to change them out often. If it happens, getting the area wet can make removing it a lot easier.

 

[J R]

Instead of thicker socks I’d suggest trying sock liners. They become an additional layer to dissipate some of whatever friction and rubbing is going on in there. And I second pre-treating known trouble spots with leukotape.

[Brad Rogers]

Lots of good info here, but depending on where the blisters are, pre-taping is an excellent method to prevent blisters.  Leukotape(sp) seems to stay on for a week at a time and even stayed on for 11 days in Alaska this past summer.

[Roger Caffin]

You did not say where the blisters are. (Well, I could not see that anyhow.) If they are at the front of your foot, your shoes are too small, probably too narrow. Measure your feet on a Brannock device, and do NOT buy any shoes which are narrower than your measurement (no matter how recommended or cheap or good looking). And buy shoes which are at least 1/2 a size larger than the measurement too. Your feet swell while you are walking.

Cheers

 

[Sean Passanisi]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

I did forget to mention the location of the blisters.  At the bottom of the big toes on the side near the second toe (mostly right foot).  On the pinky toes (most left foot).  And on the lower inner ankles.  While it seems the obvious answer is that my shoes are too narrow, I did get blisters on my last big hike in the Altras, which have a very wide toe box.  That time, I got blisters on the outer portion of my big toes (near the shoes, not the second toes).  I assume that I did not get blisters this time because I now have callus in that area.  I believe that virtually any shoe will have a narrower toe box than the Altras…

[Jennifer Mitol]

make sure to take Johnson and Johnson Tough Pads on your hike in your first aid kit.  They are hydrocolloid dressings and you will use them to cover whatever blisters you get (drain them first, then cover with the dressing).  This particular version comes in larger squares, but you can cut them to fit the area you need.  They’ll stay on for days at a time – and act as a padded second skin that will both allow your blister to heal under the dressing and to protect it from further injury.

Sometimes I’ll cover the tough pad with some leukotape to make sure it stays put (depending on where the dressing goes – you can peel it off inadvertently with whatever stresses are causing the blisters in the first place).

I literally never go on any hike without these guys now.

 

[Clifford Deakyne]

+1 on Jen’s suggestion.  These sell in precut as well in other brands (bandaid for instance).  In Europe they are sold as Compeed.  I got blisters on blisters on my little toes on the second day of my Haute Route hike years ago, and these allowed me to keep hiking the two weeks of the route.  My first aid kit always has a few.

[David Chenault]

Weird locations for blisters.  I almost wonder if your shoes are too wide and/or your socks are too slick, making your feet slide sideways.  Blisters in the inside bottom of your big toes sound like you are gripping with your toes to keep your feet in place.

Thicker socks might be worth trying, as well as a thicker insole.

[Sean Passanisi]

Hi David,

Interesting observation.  I think I might have a tendency to grip my toes, something that started when wearing Vibram FF shoes.  I also think the curled toe position might be reinforced with climbing shoes.  I’m even noticing that I enjoy curling my toes in sandals.

I found your review of the Bushidos and tried the shoe without any insole.  I feel less pressure on my blisters, particularly at the inner heal (I think the insole was rubbing on it).

Again, it would be easy for me to take them shoes back to REI and swap for the Lone Peak 3.0, but because I recently got blisters in my Lone Peak 1.5s (for the first time), I’m really hoping the problem is with my (very) old socks.  I’m hoping a fresh pair in conjunction with the blister treatments described in this thread help alleviate the problem.  I’ll probably take 4 pairs of socks — 2 thick and 2 normal– to see which work better.

[Sean Passanisi]

Thanks again for all of the suggestions.  I have stocked up on benzoin, Johnson and Johnson Tough Pads, Moleskin, and Luekotape.  Is there a general rule as to how long one should leave on something like Luekotape?  Is it a best practice to change each day?

[Lester Moore]

Sean – good luck on your trip, you have some excellent foot care options in your kit. Lots of good suggestions above. Similar to your situation, I sometimes used to get small blisters on in the inside bottom of my little toes, and also on the heels.

One additional thing you can try is to simply loosen your shoes. This Spring I began lacing my trail runners really loose with good results. The few times I did tighten them normally, I began feeling hot spots. Keeping the shoes just loose enough to slip on and off with minor effort while laced seems to have ended the blister problem on several recent backpacks up to 4 days long and long day hikes.

[Larry De La Briandais]

“40 years ago, we were all told to hike with two pairs of socks – an inner liner sock and an outer bulky sock.  Generally, I don’t recommend that, but when there’s excess slippage at the heels, wearing two socks can help – some of the slippage can occur between the socks, rather than on your skin.”

The only time I had an issue with blisters this is what fixed it for me,  I got so use to wearing these thin tight fitting “under socks” that I wear them all the time.  Even though I don’t need them anymore.  The blisters were from boots that did not fit correctly that I just had to have…

 

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