Condition Your Feet Against Blisters?

[T.S.Kobzol]

Howdy. I've been a hiker for as long as I can remember but the last 4 years I have been seakayaking and seakayak camping much more than hiking and backpacking. I haven't had huge issues with blisters before but lately my 'baby feet' are giving me a headache after just a couple of hiking days. Given the fact that I am planning for another 17 day hike this summer I have been slightly paranoid about my feet. I started thinking whether I can toughen up my feet a little bit before the long hike when I found this post on about.com :

Tannic acid to toughen: Marathoners and long distance walkers may want to toughen the feet with 10% tannic acid or a tea soak. Apply the tannic acid to your feet, or soak in strong tea, twice daily for two to three weeks.

Has anyone tried doing this and if so ... was it effective and where did you buy tannic acid?

[Lyle]

Have never done it myself. Have heard of soaking in Tea over the years, it does stain your feet. Supposedly helps.

Have you gone to light weight trail runners? That move has virtually eliminated blisters for me, plus it's much less tiring. I do miss the several minutes when I take my shoes off at the end of the day. Just not the same intense pleasure with trail runners.

[Pedaling Fool]

I never used any lotion/ointment. I simply walked barefoot on pavement. In other words, I dealt with the blisters at home so I wouldn't have blisters on the trail -- it worked wonders.

[T.S.Kobzol]

Trying to resist. Resistance if futile. (all your bases belong to us)

Have you gone to light weight trail runners? That move has virtually eliminated blisters for me, plus it's much less tiring. I do miss the several minutes when I take my shoes off at the end of the day. Just not the same intense pleasure with trail runners.

[BrianLe]

I've tried rubbing alcohol to do this. Catch is, it's hard to know whether it was helpful or not, and if so, by how much. Can't do double-blind experiments when you're the lone lab rat!
I too think that the right footwear is a lot more important. Breathable shoes make a big difference.

[Franco]

Can't do double-blind experiments when you're the lone lab rat!

Not exactly but you could just do one foot and then compare....
In my early teens we used to rub alcohol on our feet. (we only had heavy duty leather boots for the mountain trails)
Franco

[Spokes]

.....

Has anyone tried doing this and if so ... was it effective and where did you buy tannic acid?

Yes, I have and posted about it many times on WB. It's an old ultra-marathoner trick and even written up in articles in Podiatry Today.

http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/291 (see page 2)

Tannic acid? It's in plain old tea. Get the cheap family size tea bags at your local Dollar Store, make a strong batch, then soak our feet for say 10-15 minutes a day. I did this about a week and a half out from my 2009 thru hike. Never got any blisters. I also used BodyGlide on my feet every day.

Cheers!

[moytoy]

Walk with your shoes on without socks every day. About one or two miles will do it. Do this everyday for a month and you will have much improved the toughness of your feet. If you insist on wearing socks then about 5-6 miles a day will do it.

[Oaks]

I'm going to do the tea soak as I have a tendency to blister in hiking boots. I think the bottoms of my feet are pretty good, it's that section right above the heel that gets it the worst.... Thanks for the link Spokes!

[MaggieMaeFlower]

I got horrible blisters my first 3 weeks on the AT, then I discovered Injinji Toe Socks. I use the lightweight ones as liners under my regular smartwool socks. I also switched from waterproof boots to trail runners and started "airing" my feet out at least twice a day during breaks. I never got another blister after that. I hope this helps.

[rbills]

I recently saw a product called "tuf-foot" which is made primarily for dogs, but humans can use it too. I'm going to give it a try and see what happens...

[Connie]

I overcame blisters with non-bunching sole and heel cushioning socks (three pair, two for day, one for backup and one fresh for night to allow my feet to rest in comfort) worn with well ventilated light-hikers with a narrow heel and a low sweat coefficient. That's my formula.

I think the heel fit was the most critical footwear discovery for me.

I think my toes don't get blisters because I select footwear reasonably straight-out from the transverse arch portion of the shoe and I have enough length for swelling in hot weather or foot-pounding hiking on hard surfaces. I also pull my foot to the back of the heel and lace up. That keeps my foot from sliding against my toes inside the hiking shoes.

I wear water shoes for water and mud: rinse, repeat.

Feet are different. In addition, foot volume is a factor in selection of footwear: narrow slender feet or bulky wide feet.

Be aware of your feet. Hot, take a break that involves removing your shoes and socks.