duct tape

[davidlarson]

I have heard of duct tape use in place of bandaids. How do you avoid ripping the blister off after you place the duct tape over it ?

[brian]

I have heard of duct tape use in place of bandaids. How do you avoid ripping the blister off after you place the duct tape over it ?

How about placing a small peice of gauze (I love saying that word...gauze....wow) inbetween the cut and the duct tape. For blisters, try making a peice several layers thick and then cutting a hole in it, like you would in moleskin.

Brian
Future Thru Hiker 2013

[okpik]

All ya have to do is cut a piece of tape the size of the blister and reverse it and stick it to the bigger piece. No stick bandage and dressing.

[torch]

I actually use a piece of Dr. Scholl's "mole skin" under the duct tape. I cut it into a letter "O" and place the hole over the blister, then put the duct tape over it. Works like a charm.

[Glee]

Some people can have a bad reaction to duck tape. The adhesive on the tape can be absorbed into the skin. When I was dealing with my blisters I kept reading the warnings about using duck tape... I used it in a pinch and did not have any problem, but it was only for a day..

[Doctari]

Duck/Duct tape RULES!!!

I have used it several ways as a bandaid: reverse a small piece to cover the wound or blister, gauze, moleskin, bandaid (then cover with tape to secure)

I NEVER hike without Duct tape, which is a whole nother topic

Doctari.

[flyfisher]

Duck/Duct tape RULES!!!

I NEVER hike without Duct tape, which is a whole nother topic

Doctari.

Where do y'all store the tape you take?

I used to wrap it around the 20 oz soft drink bottle I used for water. Now that I use a Platypus, I wrap it around the upper shaft of my hiking pole, about a quarter inch thick in one spot. (Thanks to an unnamed section hiker at No Business Knob shelter that showed me that one.)

I used a lot of duct tape on my first section hike in May 2003... wearing Teva Wraptors without socks. I have used almost none since then.

[Youngblood]

Where do y'all store the tape you take?

What someone suggested to me a few years back was to wrap it around a pencil cut to the appropriate size. I just toss it in with my first aide kit.

Youngblood

[Uncle Wayne]

I've always done the same as Youngblood but I noticed last week our local Wal-Mart now stocks duct tape in 12 feet lengths in a very small and compact square package. Might be the way to go in the future. .

[Jaybird]

I have heard of duct tape use in place of bandaids............blah,blah,blah.....

On my 2003 section hike...one of our fellow hikers: "WalMart"....had hiked 3 days with us & by the time we hit Fontana Dam....had more DUCT TAPE on his feet...than i use in a whole year!......shoulda called him "DUCK-TAPE".


how do you remove the duct tape from your blisters?????????????

very carefully! hehehehehehehehe

[WalkinHome]

I just let it wear off. It will eventually come off in the shower. SHOWER! We don't need no stinkin' shower!!

Be Safe

[dje97001]

Duct tape is also good at removing warts.

[Doctari]

Where do y'all store the tape you take?

I used to wrap it around the 20 oz soft drink bottle I used for water. Now that I use a Platypus, I wrap it around the upper shaft of my hiking pole, about a quarter inch thick in one spot. (Thanks to an unnamed section hiker at No Business Knob shelter that showed me that one.)

I used a lot of duct tape on my first section hike in May 2003... wearing Teva Wraptors without socks. I have used almost none since then.

I got my last batch of DT from Big Lots, comes wrapped round a VERY thin piece of plastic. I still carry a plastic bottle for drink mix, so also carry some around that. I would never hike without the magic tape, it has saved quite a few trips: Pack strap broke, Blisters covered, leak in (tent, tarp, ground cloth, boots, etc.), sleeves torn off my rain jacket, etc.

Doctari.

[retread]

This is opinion okay...

I find that duct tape can prevent blisters but once they're there the duct tape only holds in heat and makes the blister worse. I use second skin on existing blisters and hold it in place with athletic tape or moleskin.

Also...if you don't like to make moleskin doughnuts just buy what are called bunion pads. They are foam padded, come in two sizes, and have a ready-made, built-in hole. Just peel off the paper and they stick right to ya.

[snuffleupagus]

Just to be informative......

I use to play in an organized football league. On one occasion, I came to practice with a very distended gut. Must have been something I ate. After practice, the very creative, and charismatic members of my team, found it in their hearts to rap me in a duct tape diaper (I suppose you could call it that).
Duct tape has the inherant property of being able to rip off every last hair on the human body, leaving it as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Baby oil can be helpful when removing the remains of residual goo left behind from such an ordeal.
Feel free if ever needed, to use this information as it pleases you.

"One persons sacrifice for another, is a vestibule for the greater knowledge of others". "snuffleupagus"

[Moon Monster]

I third the reversing a smaller piece to emulate a band-aid.

But, I'm also a big fan of puncturing (with flamed saftey pin or knife), draining, coating with Tea Tree Oil, and then air drying without any bandage over the top. The TTO helps to dry, ward off infection and heal. If you can do this at night, you have a good chance of having no soreness the next morning (assuming TTO works for you).

[masselli]

My experience with duct tape was that it was wonderful at preventing blisters, especially when hot spots were first detected, BUT...
I ruined a couple pair of Smartwool socks when the adhesive leached out of the tape and embedded itself in the sock. It did this with "real" duct tape (heating/cooling) and with plastic tapes.