[philmont] blisters

Roy,

I respectfully disagree with your theory of "breaking in" your feet to accommodate your boots. I do agree that walking in new boots to toughen the soles of your feet is an important component of training for a trek, but if you have footwear with 300 miles on them, and still cannot walk two miles without developing hot spots, then they clearly are misfitted. I too thought that I needed to "break in" my feet and now regret it. My Vasque Sundowners were not properly fitted at the local shoe store, and put significant pressure on my heels; although I taped my heels on every hike, I subsequently developed bone growths on my heels so large that my regular shoes no longer fit properly.

Lesson: it's well worth the extra money to go to a good outdoor store where they can take the time to properly fit you in a pair of boots that won't wreck your feet.

Bob Schaettle
2005 805-D

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: R Fisher<mailto:ghotier@texas.net>
  To: philmont List Member<mailto:philmont@troop47.com>
  Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 8:04 PM
  Subject: [philmont] blisters

  Greetings All,

  I'm sorry, but I just have to chime in on this one. There are two
  reasons to wear your boots extensively before you go on a Philmont trek
  (or other hike for that matter). One is to break in your boots,
  especially if they are new; the other is to break in your feet.

  I have a pair of boots that is well broken in - two Philmont treks and
  well over 300 miles. But if I just put these boots on, regardless of
  the number or kind of socks I wear, and go hiking, I will be feeling hot
  spots inside of two miles, and blisters in three. The reason - they fit
  my feet differently than my everyday shoes. They put pressure in
  different places, they rub where the everyday shoes don't even touch,
  etc. But I find that if I wear these boots in gradually increasing
  increments over a couple of weeks, no problems. My feet are accustomed,
  i.e. "broken in", to the boots.

  Several posts have indicated that this period helps identify where to
  put moleskin, Second Skin, etc. but IMHO, that is just your feet going
  through the break-in process. And certainly the prophylaxis is one way
  to ease the process, but the process is still important to fewer
  problems later on.

  Anyway, that's the view from my chair.

  Happy Trails,

  Roy Fisher

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Received on Thu Jul 20 21:03:36 2006