elkstabber
WKR
This past season was really hard on my feet. Every couple of years I find that my feet hurt enough to limit the rest of the hunt.
This year I just pushed too far when packing out meat in steep country. I've been happy with the (Cabela's) Meindls with custom footbeds but either the boots have worn down and become softer/less supportive or I just pushed my feet too far. Either way, I've been to see my podiatrist and he says that surgery is next.
I have Tailors bunions on both feet. This means that I have a lump near my pinky toe that makes my foot especially wide. This makes it difficult to get a boot or even a shoe to fit. Either the fit is too narrow which compresses my bones, causing joint and nerve damage. Or, the fit is too wide, and then the rest of my foot slides around, especially when sidehilling. The surgery is to break the bone and then fasten it back at a straighter angle using screws. There are a couple of problems with this. The surgery is only 80% effective and even when it is effective it may be last more than a few years. I don't like the idea of having screws in my feet and always setting off the metal detector in the airport. Rather than face surgery I decided to try the Lathrop boot fitting system.
My hope is that the custom boot shape can accommodate the Tailors bunions and give my feet the width that they need. My feet are wide, but not freakishly wide. I'm hoping that custom fitted boots will eliminate the pain.
The attached pic is after the pack out. I took a sharpie and circled the painful spots so that I could show it to my podiatrist.
I'll be updating this thread so that hopefully others can learn from my pain.
This year I just pushed too far when packing out meat in steep country. I've been happy with the (Cabela's) Meindls with custom footbeds but either the boots have worn down and become softer/less supportive or I just pushed my feet too far. Either way, I've been to see my podiatrist and he says that surgery is next.
I have Tailors bunions on both feet. This means that I have a lump near my pinky toe that makes my foot especially wide. This makes it difficult to get a boot or even a shoe to fit. Either the fit is too narrow which compresses my bones, causing joint and nerve damage. Or, the fit is too wide, and then the rest of my foot slides around, especially when sidehilling. The surgery is to break the bone and then fasten it back at a straighter angle using screws. There are a couple of problems with this. The surgery is only 80% effective and even when it is effective it may be last more than a few years. I don't like the idea of having screws in my feet and always setting off the metal detector in the airport. Rather than face surgery I decided to try the Lathrop boot fitting system.
My hope is that the custom boot shape can accommodate the Tailors bunions and give my feet the width that they need. My feet are wide, but not freakishly wide. I'm hoping that custom fitted boots will eliminate the pain.
The attached pic is after the pack out. I took a sharpie and circled the painful spots so that I could show it to my podiatrist.
I'll be updating this thread so that hopefully others can learn from my pain.
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