NNN BC Heel Slip

[Eärendil]

As someone who have long struggled with blisters, I sympathize with all who have to endure this pain.

While other people praise Lundhags, my feet beg to differ. The notion that one should walk in a shoe or boot should , in my view, be discarded. At best they will become tolerable, but not comfortable, YMMV. The way boots are made now, they should feel comfortable from the beginning.

From my own experience what has worked is using tape/moleskin before the activity:

I actually prefer just one layer of socks as I tend to sweat a lot causing even more chafing.

For ski boots, I find my Alpina Alaska to work well with my feet. I sized up to 43 (normal 42) and that seems to work well. The boot feels roomy, maybe a bit of heel slip, but the boot does not chafe.

//Rickard//

[bauerb]

@Eärendil what is the moleskin tape? where do you buy it? does it stay stuck to your skin? I've been using the super sticky Band-Aid brand Tough Strips but they don't stick in sweaty socks, so I use athletic tape all around my ankles and feet, and that works. would be nice to skip a step...even though I buy athletic tape by the case...

[Severianin]

I also struggled to find a pair of boots that did not blister my feet. I have a low volume foot as well. I settled on using two insoles in the Alfa GTX BC/Perform. The Alpina Alaskas were so stiff that no matter what the size of the boot I tried, my heels lifted and were ripped to shreds. The one caveat that I'll mention is my feet get really hot with the wool insoles, which necessitates a sock change to avoid blistering after about 19 km.

Hope this helps!

[Stephen]

See:
http://telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f ... f9919f130a

[Eärendil]

@Eärendil what is the moleskin tape? where do you buy it? does it stay stuck to your skin? I've been using the super sticky Band-Aid brand Tough Strips but they don't stick in sweaty socks, so I use athletic tape all around my ankles and feet, and that works. would be nice to skip a step...even though I buy athletic tape by the case...

Google Leukotape. It seems to be available on Amazon and and certain pharmacies. This tape is very sticky and will stay put. The outside does adhere a bit to wool socks so removing socks can be a bit tricky.

Before switching to lighter hiking shoes, this was my lifesaver to avoid blisters.

//Rickard//

[fisheater]

BB, I am foot fortunate, I don’t have blister problems. Well I did something stupid and put a nice gouge in the skin in front of my ankle. I walked into a Rite Aid and I asked for moleskin, and there it was right beside the Dr. Sholles bunyon pads. If Rite Aid sells it I’m sure it’s available at all the corporate drugstores. I would imagine the mom and pop stores sell it as well.

[Inspiredcapers]

My wife introduced me to Vet wrap a couple of years ago. I think it’s similar to Leukotape. She swore by it (used it during her soccer career) so I gave it a try- it works! I always have a couple of different widths in my pack to play with. Great bandage wrap replacement too. Lots of different colours for those who are fashionistas.

[Tom M]

Heel slip is a major factor in causing heel blisters. I've found that adding a velcro cinch strap around the ankle at the top of a boot can help if your boot doesn't already have one. I've been using a 16 inch (41 cm) strap with my Alfa Skarvet and Greenland boots for the past couple of seasons and it has helped a lot, especially on my 75 mm boots. I pass the velcro strap through the loop on the back of the boot and cinch it up so that it locks my foot into the boot. With the strap, I can leave the boot laces a little looser and still have the foot locked into the boot.

[Inspiredcapers]

Tom M, that’s brilliant! Definitely one of those ‘why didn’t I think of that...?’ kinda ideas. I’ll give it a shot tomorrow.