Foot care and water crossings

[Mutley]

At the risk of this topic degenerating into another boot thread, I would like some opinions on foot care strategies.

Okay, so lets say I am faced with a multi day hike, heavy pack and some water crossings. I am wearing leather, goretex boots, with 2 pairs of socks. The boots are strapped properly to avoid excess heel movement, I may even have blister tape on the heel. All this preparation seems to fall apart when faced with a river crossing.

Option one is to remove boots and socks, and use camp shoes/crocs for the crossing. I then have to completely dry my feet, and put socks and boots back on, which is very time consuming. If I had used heel tape, this should also be replaced, as wet tape could promote blisters. If my feet aren't completely dry, then the chance of getting blisters is increased. (River crossing day one resulted in massive blisters for next six days as my feet weren't properly dried). Another concern is the safety of wading a river with an uneven bottom, in crocs, with a full pack on your back.

Option two is to just tramp through the river crossing, then letting your feet dry throughout the rest of the day. In this case, non waterproof ventilated boots could be used. If there are multiple river crossings this may be the best idea, but I would have thought that wet feet will greatly promote blisters and the idea of my feet sloshing around in a wet boot all day is not very appealing.

I have read about foot treatment, which may waterproof your skin, to stop it absorbing water and "pruning up". This may be an effective method of blister prevention, if option two is chosen.

I would be very interested to hear some foot care strategies that work for this scenario

[norts]

If there is creek crossings I just walk through and continue to walk. Never had any problems with blisters. I use Darn Tough Socks. I dont use goretex lined boots, just leather- hard to find these days. On cold days I will do a bit of searching to see if I can get across without getting wet feet .

Roger

[gayet]

I wear open sandals and sealskin socks. Great look I know but... Water simply flows through the sandals, the socks don't absorb it, my feet stay dry. They may get cold in the crossing but warm up again quickly. Works fine for depths less than sock height. Anything deeper I take the socks off. I walk everywhere in sandals - light pack, heavy pack, flat or steep, grass or rock. No blisters, no prune feet and no pressure on achillies from the boot. It won't work for everyone but it does for me.

Once in camp I swap the sealskins for thick warm wool socks and sandals for camp booties

[wayno]

i use "liner socks" underneath heavier tramping socks, they are thin with a smooth surface and cling to the feet well... they tend to slide against the outser socks more than the skin minimising risk of blisters
i also heavily pretape my heels with tape. that runs right round my foot in a loop to avoid the end peeling back, never comes off.
try different types of tape til you find one that works. as broad as possible and even overlap the tape with a second layer.
are your boots really fitting properly? maybe a differnt brand of boot? some brands my heels just dont hold well in them

[Mutley]

i use "liner socks" underneath heavier tramping socks, they are thin with a smooth surface and cling to the feet well... they tend to slide against the outser socks more than the skin minimising risk of blisters
i also heavily pretape my heels with tape. that runs right round my foot in a loop to avoid the end peeling back, never comes off.
try different types of tape til you find one that works. as broad as possible and even overlap the tape with a second layer.
are your boots really fitting properly? maybe a differnt brand of boot? some brands my heels just dont hold well in them

All good things to do. My boots could fit better and could be lighter. But you only really find out if your boots work for you, once they are broken in. I'm still curious as to how you handle water crossings with blister tape, 2 pairs of socks and boots.

[Mutley]

If there is creek crossings I just walk through and continue to walk. Never had any problems with blisters. I use Darn Tough Socks. I dont use goretex lined boots, just leather- hard to find these days. On cold days I will do a bit of searching to see if I can get across without getting wet feet .

Roger

Sounds like the easiest method. What are your feet like though, after a day soaking in wet socks ?

[Mark F]

For me it really depends on the trip and weather. I always walk in light shoes (TNF Hedgehogs at the moment) without a waterproof membrane - they are just swimming pools for the feet - and thin synthetic socks. I find the quickest way to a blister is hot and/or wet feet.

In warm conditions I just splash through - the shoes drain and dry out quite quickly. In cooler conditions I usually switch to my croc copies and cross - take a break on the other side to dry my feet and put on my shoes. If there are several crossings close together I may just walk on in the crocs with socks.

[wayno]

with time the waterproof boots eventually develop holes in the waterproof membranes, which is actually a good thing for drainage, arguably better not to wait and stick a hole from the inside throgh the membrane yourself..... the only real advantage is in snow in keeping your feet warmer.

[norts]

"Sounds like the easiest method. What are your feet like though, after a day soaking in wet socks ?"

Always dry my feet off at the end of the day. Touch wood , never had a blister. I think alot of it has to do with good socks.

Roger

[wayno]

some people use libricant like vaseline in the blister spots

[Maelgwn]

"Sounds like the easiest method. What are your feet like though, after a day soaking in wet socks ?"

Always dry my feet off at the end of the day. Touch wood , never had a blister. I think alot of it has to do with good socks.

Roger

I use Rogers technique and find it less likely to give me blisters. I figure the water provides a bit of lubrication to reduce friction.

[nq111]

Agree with the above. Feet will get wet either mildly (sweat), a fair bit (sweat in the tropics) or soaking (Tassie).

Can't say i've never had a blister. But I seem to be much better off since using a good synthetic liner sock - either by itself when warm or with a wool sock over the top in cold. The coolmax business socks have been great and currently trialing some Under Armor Heat Gear socks and they have been very good too. Something very thin, skintight, wicking and smooth.

Just speculating, but i suspect they do two main things:

1. Slide nicely against the boot or other socks, so the friction is on the sock, not the skin;
2. Wick sweat very well, so whilst the feet are wet, it is an 'even' moisture. This has no basis (pure speculation again) but perhaps evenly wet/softened skin is less likely to lead to problem blister spots.

Otherwise I am in the school of 'walk straight through boots and all' but lament the poor range of non-lined boots with the features I want.

Lastly a good foot wash and dry at the end of the day is not luxury - it is an important part of maintaining your feet. Ammonia and other nasties can build up and add to the problems.

[quicky]

G'day all

For me, the ultimate set up is to wear trail runners that are UL and ultra breathable such as Inov-8. I use Wigwam triathlon socks that are completely synthetic and highly breathable/quick drying.

so...I'm set for simply walking through the water...anytime, as many times, until the end of the day. My runners usually dry within 30 mins of exiting the water anyways, and if they don't, they remain warm until such time when I stop.

To care for my feet, I:

1. use Body Glide Liquified Powder (or now called Skin Glide)...it acts as a barrier to minimise water penetration into my feet
2. remove my shoes every time I stop and let my feet breathe
3. dry my feet at the end of the day, dry completely, apply cream, and almost always wake with happy feet!

For around camp, I slip on some Rocky's gore-tex socks (over thick woolies or thing socks depending on temp) if I need to put my feet back in wet'ish shoes.

Best approach I've ever discovered.

[madmacca]

There are so many ways your feet can get wet:
* immersion (sometimes just from mud being deeper than it looks)
* water running down your legs from rain, or brushing against wet bush/grass
* sweating from the inside out on a warm day

Not even the most comprehensive goretex boot and gaiter is going to completely defeat these last two if there is enough moisture about. So while waterproof boots may hold on a dry day-hike, my working assumption is that for a multi-day hike my feet are going to get wet no matter what I do. And from this perspective, I prefer shoes/boots that are going to drain, rather than those that are "waterproof" and will leave water sitting on the inside.

Shoes do drain, but wet socks take a lot longer, so I tend to take them off before creek crossings. I have got more efficient at doing this than I used to be. I figure I am going to be filling water bottles and the like at a creek crossing anyway, and if the timing is right I'll take a break/lunch at the same time. So putting socks back on doesn't take a lot of extra time.

While band-aids do fall off if wet, good tape should survive a dunking. I've had tape survive 3 days without replacement.

I also find that walking poles make rock-hopping and crossing a creek dry much easier.

I've heard that treating feet a few days before your hike with Vaseline or the like makes them more water resistant. Hydropel is supposed to be the best, but I have heard it has been discontinued??

[sthughes]

I wear heavy leather boots, well sealing gaiters and a pair of Injinji merino socks (and add a pair of warm socks over the Injinjis in cold snow conditions). I also stick some tape on my heals just in case - just a single piece that unless particularly wet will last days.

I just walk through creeks as quickly as possible, avoiding water going over gaiter height if possible. If I can manage that my feet only get damp (sweat/slight seepage etc). If for some reason lots of water gets in I might take them off and wring out the socks, maybe. But generally just walk on and get over it. Don't get blisters.

If you take off your boots for every water crossing down here in winter you might as well not bring them, as they won't spend much time on your feet. But on particularly long river crossings I will take boots off if they are still dry and otherwise have a good chance of staying that way, and if I have some crocs or whatever to wear instead.

[Vern]

It probably depends alot on where and when you're hiking. If it's like Tassie and the boots are always in mud and water then I'd stick to the more waterproof boots and gaiters and that should be fine. You're feet will eventually get wet anyway with sweat etc as mentioned above.

If it's hot and dry with a few creek crossings then the boots will probably dry out anyway after some time. I don't find that socks make that much difference for me. Although doubling up the socks like Wayno said is a great idea. Also, there's nothing quite like putting a pair of dry socks on at the end of a wet day!

Having said that, if the crossing is quite high and likely to go over the top of the gaiters I also opt for the cheap crocs idea. Overall there's probably differing ways of doing it dependant on the weather and the walk itself. Sometimes I look back at years gone by and wonder with all these options and advanced equipment if we've just gone a bit soft

[wayno]

i've never herd of new zealanders taking off heir boots for water crossings, never knew about it till i heard of people overseas doing it...
possibly because like tas often there so many water crossings its not worth stopping all the time to remove your boots. . nzers just tend to put up with wet boots, its just part of the experience and you're used to it....
some days almost all you're doing is crossing rivers repeatedly...