Feet Care

[JNDEER]

For those who have very sweaty feet (and possibly hunt in hot weather), how are you takeing care of your feet?

I will stop when I feel my feet get sweaty and take the boots off and let the socks and liner dry out, but my feet still feel raw and are tender after that point. I spent 3 days out this past weekend and after day one my feet became very tender and sensitive. I never get blisters though, just sensitive feet. I bring the gold bond blue powder and put it in my boot everytime I take them off, but I wonder if this over sensitiveness can be prevented? Are there other powders that work better?

 

[Gman]

Can you describe everything on your feet? I.e. type and make of sock, liner, boot et al?

 

[Beastmode]

What boots and socks are you wearing? Usually by the end of a long day hiking my feet are pretty tender but by the next morning they are fine again.

 

[JNDEER]

I wear Vasque breeze GTX boots, blue BPS poly liners and BPS merino day hiker socks.

my brother and cousin have the same issues.

they had Merrel moab with the same socks as me and the other had the new UA speed freak with a cool max liner and the camofire Lorpen socks.


This has always been an issue for us hunting in the heat. We have always had this problem and this was the first year using the blue powder. It seemed to help, but did not fix the issue with the feet.

 

[JNDEER]

What boots and socks are you wearing? Usually by the end of a long day hiking my feet are pretty tender but by the next morning they are fine again.

They are about 90% normal in the morning, but I can still feel them being tender and red. The longer I hunt the worse it gets, by day two it is usually around 75% normal when I wake up in the morning.

 

[BMB]

how many miles are you putting on your feet prior to your excursions??? you can try a nobby foam roller and roll your feet. you may try going to just a coolmax type sock as well.

 

[JNDEER]

how many miles are you putting on your feet prior to your excursions??? you can try a nobby foam roller and roll your feet. you may try going to just a coolmax type sock as well.

I run a few miles 3-5 times a week or hike on my tredmill with my boots on 2-3 miles.

I had tried a coolmax liner with merino sock and that liner does not work for my feet. I have not tried a coolmax sock yet, but that is something I can try out.

 

[BMB]

just plan on trying a bunch of different socks.

 

[larryschwartz]

If sweating is what causes the tenderness problem you might want to try using an anti-perspirant on your feet to keep them from sweating. I know it sounds crazy but I have friends who do it and swear by the practice.

 

[JNDEER]

I am assuming the sweating is what causes the tenderness or I guess it could be like a mild athletes feet kinda thing.

never thought about putting deoderant on my feet, but wouldn't using the GB blue powder doing the same thing?


There may not be a cure for my problem, I am just hoping someone else has had issues like this and maybe found a way to prevent it.

 

[fillthefreezer]

replying to follow, i also have moisture issues with my feet except mine start to peel, almost like blisters but not painful, i work in boots and im in them atleast 12hr a day.

 

[Gman]

If you don't need the warmth of merino, I'd try synthetic socks. I love merino when I can get away with it but if the temps allow I use a coolmax sock by Darn Tough. I think you're creating too much heat in your boot with the liner, merino sock, and leather boot with GoreTex that doesn't dissipate the heat fast enough.

Also going with a sock rotation, remove the wet socks at lunch and put on dry ones and then put dry ones back on when at camp for the night seems to help quite a bit. I sometimes do this with the merino socks but don't really have issues with the coolmax.

 

[larryschwartz]

Ypu put the amti-perspirant on BEFORE your feet get wet.

 

[JNDEER]

Gman - I will give them a try. I really like the liner/wool combo as it is like stepping on pillows. With the coolmax sock, do you run a liner too?
I recently purchased a Cabelas Ingenius sock. I have worn it twice, but not a full day in the heat. I may give it a shot and see how it works out.

larry - I will give that a try, can't hurt.

 

[Gman]

I have ditched the liner and just use the cushion foot or extra cushion (whatever they call it) darn tough coolmax or merino (in cold weather). I had grown up believing merino socks for all seasons but a guy in a boot shop told me wool keeps you warm, no matter what. I imagine if you had super thin merino like we have for base layers it would have more of a cooling effect, but the socks they create heat. So in the warmer weather I've gone to the coolmax and have had great luck. I lost the liners because I liked the way my new boots fit last year without them and didn't notice any difference or adverse effects.