I did it! I finally taped my heels in a way that held up against hours of tramping and a couple river crossings! Ever since I got major blisters during my first week in New Zealand, I’ve been paranoid about wearing my hiking boots. Don’t get me wrong, they are great when it comes to overnight tramps or even moderately difficult day hikes, but the feeling of boots rubbing on socks rubbing off layers of skin and then rubbing against tender, raw skin beneath is hard to forget. An experienced kiwi tramper recommended taping one long strip of kinesiology tape from the bottom of the heel to above the ankle. That way, friction would be between the sock and the tape instead of the sock and the skin. Of course, this was to be done as a preventative measure (also I was not about to put something sticky on recently ripped blisters) so it didn’t exactly help me right away. However, I went out and bought a roll in anticipation of tramping trip.
Two weeks after the initial incident, I tried the technique only to be dismayed when the familiar sensation of the hotspots popped up during an overnight tramping trip. Removing my boots, I peeled off my socks and found the tape scrunched up, sticking to itself and the sock, but not my heel. No choice but to try again, I let my feet dry, re-applied a single strip to each heel (this time the pieces were longer), and set off. It worked….for the final half of the tramp, but overall, I was frustrated. Stopping every 2-3 hours to re-tape my feet isn’t practical! I thought, But I also don’t want to spend over a hundred dollars on another pair of boots! Maybe I bought the wrong kind or a low-quality brand? I’m pretty sure the strips were long enough…
The next morning, I put three strips on each heel, hoping that would do the trick. It worked better, but once again, a familiar sight of scrunched up tape greeted my eyes when I took off my socks for the day. One the bright side, the tape didn’t cause different blisters to form by moving around.
Wow, that was quite an introduction, but it brings us to last weekend when I went on my second overnight tramp. The level of difficulty and time spent walking was similar to the first trip, but this tramp would include river crossings. That’s right, having water proof hiking boots doesn’t matter when you slosh through water deeper than six inches. In fact, it just keeps the water inside your boot for a longer amount of time. I was worried about the affect of water on the tape because sweat seemed to ruin the adhesive no problem. Still, three strips on each foot more or less worked on the last tramp so I gave it a try this time…and it might have worked again if it weren’t for the river crossings. The tape just couldn’t handle super wet socks. That night at camp, I thought long a hard about what I was going to do for the hike out. (well, it was more like a five-minute brainstorm) I knew my boots weren’t going to dry by morning and we would be going through knee deep water again so my feet would be wet almost the whole. Kinesiology tape is stretchy, so it flexes well with the ankle. I also knew that so far, the tape didn’t cause blisters or major discomfort when it balled up inside my boots, so using more tape might be worth it.
In the morning, I did the classic three-strip technique, but this time, I added a fourth strip that wrapped from my arch to the top of my foot (holding the strips at the bottom of the heel) and then a few times around my ankle and lower calf (crossing over the vertical strips). Now that I think about it, I probably looked like some idiot trying to fashion Roman gladiator sandals out of tape, but I reeeaaalllllllly wanted to end the day blister-free.
And as you read at the beginning, it worked! No hotspots the whole time despite my boots starting off damp and escalating to sloshy. When I sat down in the parking lot 3-4 hours, I was amazed to find the tape 90% intact!
So in short, I now feel pretty confident about taping my feet and wearing hiking boots. My next goal is to avoid blisters without the use of tape because the whole process would get quite burdensome on longer tramps. What have I learned? For one, it’s crucial to test out footwear before leaving the state in which you bought the product. I got the boots at REI and they have a great return policy where I could return them if they felt bad after actually hiking in them. Failing to thoroughly test my boots means I now have to spend more time and money trying to mitigate the bad fit. On a more positive note, I put my problem-solving skills to the test, combining knowledge of friction with creative thinking to eventually find a solution.
Okay, that was a lengthy post. If you made it this far, I’m impressed! It’s not the most interesting story and I can’t believe I managed to write so much about blisters… Until next time! Jess
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