lateral heel blisters fix?

[bojangles808]

i had a question about blisters. just got back from a 2 night backpacking trip on the kalalau trail on kauai. it was 11 miles in with 5k elevation gain and same on the way out. on the way in i got a blister on the inside on my right heel from a hotspot where the insole rubbed into the heel. i had gotten this hot spot before hunting in the past but never this bad with a blister (also never hiked 11 miles in a day). 2 days later on the way out i got the same blister on the inside of my left heel. probably with how the terrain was on the hike had to do with more pressure on right foot on the way in and left heel on way out . my question is is this a footwear issue, insole issue, or sock issue? i wore my irish setter vaprtreks with the normal insoles, which ive never had blisters before. had for over 2 years, its a good light weight boot for this climate also wore bass pro redhead ultra silver hiking socks (polyester) instead of merino because i thought they'd dry quicker if we got dumped on. i wonder if merino wouldnt have been as "slippery" in the boot as a poly sock and i wouldnt have gotten the blister. Luckily i Leukotaped my heels which helped manage the pain but wondered has anyone else had this type of heel blister before and what worked in preventing it going forward? cut down the insole? different socks? different boot?

some pics for good measure..

 

[Frito]

Anything Redwing/Irish Setter will give me blisters with very little hiking. It seems like everything else besides a select few pairs of boots do the same with prolonged hiking. 2 years ago I bought a pair of Danner Mountain Light II's for moderate hiking and ended up wearing them for all my hikes and hunts because they will absolutely never give me blisters, no matter what. They aren't very warm, aren't the least bit water proof to anything deeper than 2 inches, and don't have the best ankle support, but because of the deep heel cup my feet are better for it. A lot of guys on this forum wear some really nice hiking/hunting boots and probably can give better advice, but that's what I've found. It's a bit hard on your feet walking along the side of an incline like that for long distances though.

 

[5MilesBack]

I carry leukotape and tape any hot spots as soon as they appear, and then it doesn't seem to be an issue. But any kind of side-hilling is going to put pressure on the sides of your heels and the area just behind your toes that's the widest spot. Extended hiking like that will just continue to rub and get worse. Not sure there's a solution to that other than taping.

 

[Frito]

I carry leukotape and tape any hot spots as soon as they appear, and then it doesn't seem to be an issue. But any kind of side-hilling is going to put pressure on the sides of your heels and the area just behind your toes that's the widest spot. Extended hiking like that will just continue to rub and get worse. Not sure there's a solution to that other than taping.

I just stumbled upon Leukotape today looking at some game bags on Amazon. I always end up using the hell out of moleskin. I will probably be getting some tape.

 

[gelton]

x2 for the leukotape

 

[5MilesBack]

I always end up using the hell out of moleskin.

With any sweat or moisture at all, moleskin just balls up or comes completely off. Leukotape stays on until I take it off. Sometimes I'll use two or three layers if needed.

 

[Frito]

With any sweat or moisture at all, moleskin just balls up or comes completely off. Leukotape stays on until I take it off. Sometimes I'll use two or three layers if needed.

Yeah, that's my experience. It will give me some relief for a while but it often rolls off. With the Danners I'm wearing now I don't have to worry about my heals anymore but after 3 or 4 days worth of hiking the tops of my toes will get raw, which isn't as debilitating as bleeding heals but still sucks. My wife likes to wear running shoes for a lot of our little hikes and she will often get blisters so she will appreciate the Leukotape as well.

 

[dieselgenset]

I got some danner boots for my CO archery elk trip last year. We hiked 96 miles and these boots rubbed my heels really bad. my heel slipped no matter how tight I laced them or how many pairs of socks I wore. there was also a hard spot on the boot that would rub my heel when it slipped as well. I had huge blisters on the second day of an 8 day hunt. luckily I also took a pair of hiking shoes with me, they felt great but didn't have the ankle support or thick soles like my boots so my feet got tired from them as well. I ended up switching between the two every other day.

Now that I'm back home ive been hunting deer and pigs on local public land walking 4-6 miles a day. I came across an article somewhere about lacing your boots up differently depending on types of discomfort they were giving you. I tried lacing mine for the heel slip and WOW! problem solved. I was about to chunk these $200 boots in the trash and keep looking but now I'm good. After putting more miles on them I noticed discomfort on top of my foot as well. At first my heels hurt so bad I didn't even notice the discomfort on top. Not wanting to just loosen my laces to resolve the pressure on my foot I tried another method of lacing up my boots, and again it worked perfectly.
The last couple hunts I didn't think about my feet once. I just kept hiking looking for pigs.

 

[Muley Buck]

I carry leukotape and tape any hot spots as soon as they appear, and then it doesn't seem to be an issue. But any kind of side-hilling is going to put pressure on the sides of your heels and the area just behind your toes that's the widest spot. Extended hiking like that will just continue to rub and get worse. Not sure there's a solution to that other than taping.

I honestly believe that leukotape is a gift from the gods! Well, actually I got it from fellow roksliders. I started using it 2 seasons ago, I never leave home without it. It is fantastic and has alleviated all of my foot issues.

 

[sneaky]

If you're not on the Leukotape train you're missing out

 

[TwoTikkas]

How exactly do you use leukotape?

 

[Muley Buck]

How exactly do you use leukotape?

Put it where typical hotspots start to prevent blisters from forming. If you get anymore discomfort or hotspots later on down the trail, take off the boots and put it where it hurts. Simple and extremely effective.