Preventing Blisters

  When it comes to blisters on the trail, one should be aware that you are likely to end up treating the symptom, but not the cause, of the problem. In many cases the cause of blisters is a weak or undersized arch support and/or undersized boot. When you put 50 or 60 pounds on your back, the wieght will cause your arches to drop, making your feet bigger than they otherwise would be. The result of this is you end up with blisters with boots that felt fine on warm up day hikes. One can also end up with black and bruised toes.

   There are several preventive steps you can take.

• Boot selection
  • Consider buying boots that are a half or full size bigger than normal.
  • Avoid boots that have a sharp edge to the back heel.  A sharp edged heel increases the movement of the foot inside the boot and therefore promotes blisters.  The back of the heel should be rounded.
• I found that one of the ways to prevent some blisters was to pour a few drops of shampoo or dish soap on the areas where the blisters might show up. This provides some lubrication to keep the blister from forming in the first place. The soap will also speed up the breaking in of that section of the boot. I suppose vasoline might also work. However, soap mixes with water and sweat is still slippery at high dilutions.  Soap will also seep into leather of  a boot and over time may stretch that area to provide more room.
• Always check the arch supports in the boots. If they are thin and cheap, buy some good ones (Second Wind makes the ones I use).
  • You might get some real orthotics if you want to do it right. You might also consider, if the arch supports are weak, what else in the boot is weak...
  • Some boot makers, in the race to have the lightest boot, put the cheapest arch support possible in the boot to cut an extra ounce or two. They might otherwise have a nice boot, but beware.
• I like to wear some inexpensive 'fluffy' acrylic socks.  The socks will compress down and even wear away a bit where the boot is tight and rubs. Instead of blisters, you end up with socks that are thinner in a few spots. Basically, you end up with a sock that form fits itself to your boots. You can also easily monitor the hot spots before they show up as blisters by checking for thin spots.
• Change socks or dry them out mid day.
• If you are out on the trail and suspect your arch supports are failing you, cut a corner from your foam pad and duct tape it to the arch support to make a taller/bigger arch support.

   The problem with mole skin is that the cause of the blister is generally a tight fitting area that rubs. Adding some bulk to that area will generally only make it rub worse and create a larger area of wear.  Some people duct tape their heel to prevent blisters. The reason this works is they have reduced the friction that causes the blisters.  Most anything that reduces the friction will probably work.

   That is my two cents worth on blisters.  I haven't had one in years, since moving to well designs lighter wieght hiking boots.