Aside from breaking in your boots properly, is there anything that you do to toughen up your feet before a hunt?

Thanks.

One thing I found that helps a whole lot is the use of liner socks. Poly pro liner socks under your boot socks and make sure there are smooth on the feet.

Wear liner socks and carry a small sheet of moleskin. When you start to feel a hot spot, stop and put a piece of moleskin on it.

As a bird hunter who walks a lot, go into a shop and get a pedicure a couple days before you leave for a hunt. They will sand off any skin you don't need. Ingrown toenails can be real tough on a walking hunt and take all the fun out od it. You may feel a little weird the first time,but trust me you will like it. I tell my buddies I like to get intouch with my femine side before I go kill stuff.

Hey Larry,

If you'll remember from my hunt report this past October in Zim, I continue to have issues with blisters, even with properly broken in boots as well as wicking liner socks with ultimax main socks. Of course, much of my issues come from the excessive heat of hunting the Zambezi in October and you will not have those issues to deal with on your sheep hunt.

The one thing that absolutely saved the day for me this year was liberal applications of Gold Bond Powder throughout the day. Each time we took a lunch break, or if I felt a hot spot developing, I would stop, hit it with powder, and apply medical tape around the toe. I found moleskin would bunch up and often make the situation worse so the tape with powder over it to help it slide, seemed to do the trick for me.

Hope this helps.

I routinely use waterproof adhesive tape - duct tape in an emergency - at heel, achilles tendon, and bottoms of great toes.

Hope this helps.

I'm not sure I'd drag myself to get a pedicure, but removing calouses or dead skin is something I do before a hunt with a lot of hiking. You don't want to do it right before a hunt, but a couple weeks before so that the fresh skin you expose has a chance to toughen up a bit. You don't want thick calouses that might crack and split, but you also don't want fresh pink skin.

If you get blisters from the friction of your foot moving around in your boot, the cure is air your feet often during the day and change socks. Also, use body glide to minimize the friction.

When I did my Moose hunt in AK some years ago that was the biggest set back, seems blister would start after your feet get perspired and after fatigue where you feet moving around more and aren't supporting as well as it did earlier in the day. I did have moleskin which minimized the blisters but I would say the green bottled Gold powder and water proof bandages would be of great help
A forest worker one time told me to sook your boots in water then walk around with the wet to get them to form to your feet, then let them dry and reoil.

quote:

A forest worker one time told me to sook your boots in water then walk around with the wet to get them to form to your feet, then let them dry and reoil

Use to do that with all leather boots. but with the nylon and leathers not sure if it would work.

Before I went off to do my army thing, someone told me to wipe my feet with methylated spirits after showering, and let them air dry. Never got one blister. Maybe I am fortunate in that blisters have never been too much of a problem.

You should hike all the time in your boots which will help, but honestly I have yet to get a blister with my plastic boots. Hopefully you'll have the same experience.

Brett

before i went to Alaska I walked on blacktop barefooted for two months with a fifty pound backpack worked for me

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Originally posted by ace:
before i went to Alaska I walked on blacktop barefooted for two months with a fifty pound backpack worked for me

Either you had incredible foot and ankle strength at the end or a raging case of plantar fasciitis!!!

Brett

Superfeet.

I'll say it again.

Superfeet.

I used to have the most horrible time with blisters. The arch of the boot (any shoe really) would never fit my foot correctly. As a result my foot would move around inside the boot. No amount of padding, moleskin, socks, liners, or otherwise would fix this problem.

Go hiking for two hours? That was good for a blister on the heel. Go for a full day? Blisters on the toes. Go out for five days and 40 miles? Yeah, I'd lose the entire heal and ball pads on both feet.

Out of raw frustration one day I bought a set of superfeet and stuck them in my Danner Sharptails before a long day going after chukar. It was a revelation.

No blisters. No sore feet. No arch issues. No rolled ankles. I couldn't believe it.

$40 changed my hiking entirely.

If anyone had told me that getting an appropriate arch support would fix heel and toe blisters I'd have called bs. But it worked for me.

Today I hike in one thin pair of synthetic thorlo "everyday socks". That's it. No moleskin or anything.

I also think superfeet has an unconditional guarantee. Full money back stuff. Buy em at Rei or whatever.

Anyway, it absolutely changed my outdoor life.

quote:

Superfeet.

what is this superfeet? I see that they are an insole but tell me what you know about them since that is an investment in comfort in my opinion

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Originally posted by raamw:

quote:

Superfeet.

what is this superfeet? I see that they are an insole but tell me what you know about them since that is an investment in comfort in my opinion

It's a replacement insole that uses a plastic arch support.

Just pull out the factory insole and replace it with the Superfeet insole.

The SF insole has a plastic arch (covered with a light padding, etc.) that completely supports the arch.

They come in different sizes and thicknesses. I have a couple of boots that were a bit tight so I used the low-volume (blue) SF insole in that one. My Danners are so old and stretched that use a "high volume" insert in that boot to take up some of the extra space.

What actually happens is that instead of my foot slopping around in a shoe a bit and creating pressure points (that turn into hotspots and blisters), the superfeet perfectly positions my foot such a way that my weight (*a whopping 180...) is now dispersed across the entire bottom of my foot/arch.

It's all about the arch and supporting the entire sole of the foot.

For the record I have no affiliation with SFeet whatsoever. I'm in hospital software sales. I've simply become such a huge fan of their products that I can't help but talk about them. I use them in everything except my wingtips anymore. Running shoes, hikers, tall boots: first thing I do is rip the useless insole out of the shoe and replace it with a superfeet.

YMMV, but for me it was the best $30-40 I ever spent on my feet. No blisters, elimination of rolling over my ankles, better balance and stability.

Oh, and they are darn near impossible to wear out. I've recycled my original SF's from 10 years ago into several shoes now.

Side note: the foot is an amazing piece of architechture. The way the bones all line up...the cartiledge and ligaments - the whole foot is one big, massive shock absorber.

Take your socks off and look at your feet on the floor. As weight is applied to the foot the whole arch flexes down, toes spread out, ankles roll one side and the other. The whole foot elongates as much as half a size.

Lift the foot up and the whole foot springs up: toes squeeze back together, the arch flexes up, ankles return to a straight line. The length of the foot shrinks (measured from toe tip to heel tip).

Minimizing (more accurately, controlling and guiding) the overall movement pattern reduces the overall flex of the foot and guides the arch into proper alignment. Toes don't spread out as much. The arch doesn't collapse as far. The foot doesn't slide around in the boot as the slippage is now controlled by the arch - kind of like a speed bump or wheel chock preventing a vehicle from moving forward.

Downhill walks are awesome for me now. I used to smash my toes into the front of the boots because my whole foot would slide 1/2" into the toe with downward forces. Now? The arch is locked into place and my foot doesn't slide forward.

Anyway, everyone's arches and feet are different. I have higher than normal arches. I don't know if they would work for people with flat-feet. A "low arch" option migh be needed.

Another alternative to the Superfeet is called "SOLE" - it's a heat moldable insole. They work good too and are a tad more comfortable...IF you get the heat molding right. If it's right, it's basically an exact match to your footbed. I got one set right...and screwed up another set royally. After than I just stopped messing around and stuck with the Superfeet.

I ordered one thanks info extremely helpful

You guys have no idea what your missing
The Pedicure is the best way to keep your feet in condition plus a daily application of Aquaphor.
My feet never get blisters
Main thing also keep feet absolutely dry.
TRY IT YOU WILL LIKE IT
Larry

As Scriptus has posted, a daily rubbing with methylated spirits toughens up the heal or any other area where the soft skin can blister especially if your feet are damp from river crossing or sweat.

quote:

You guys have no idea what your missing
The Pedicure is the best way to keep your feet in condition.

You're just an old Homo :-)

Biebs
You have been looking in the mirror again.
Larry

Soak your feet in Epson Salts for a few nights before you go on the hunt. It will toughen them up. Use a silk liner under your sock. No cotton allowed, and always, always carry moleskin. New skin and tape works as well but, Epson Salts to begin with is a must.