How to Prevent Heel Blisters and Foot Blisters While Backpacking and Hiking

Blisters. Veteran hikers and backpackers have all learned how to prevent heel blisters and foot blisters, often after first having the fun of a hike or trek ruined when they ignored the rules of blister prevention.

Most hikers cringe at the thought of getting blisters on their feet because once you've allowed them to develop, you'll be suffering through the rest of your hike or trek.

The most common places for blisters to develop while hiking or backpacking are on the ball of your foot, on the sides or tops of your toes or on your heel. So, how do blisters form and what are the best ways to prevent them?

Prevent heel blisters and foot blisters by layering your socks

If you choose your hiking socks carefully and always wear thin moisture-wicking liner socks inside your hiking socks, you'll find that blisters are much easier to prevent. Heel blisters or foot blisters develop mostly from the friction of your skin rubbing against your hiking socks, so by using water-wicking liner socks that cling to your foot, you can transfer any friction to the two layers of socks and away from your skin.

The special moisture-wicking liner socks also work as the name implies and move moisture away from your feet and into the outer hiking socks, further preventing skin friction sometimes caused by a buildup of moisture on your feet.

Hot spots lead to blisters

If a part of your foot or heel is feeling a bit raw while hiking, then you should immediately stop and examine your foot for red areas. These red marks are called hot spots, and they are the base upon which blisters form. In fact, hot spots are a great way for your feet to warn you that a blister is on the way.

Friction causes the heat in that area of your heel or foot to separate the inner parts of your skin. Fluid then fills into these empty spots, surprisingly quickly, so take action right away when you feel a hot spot developing. If you have a hot spot, you should replace your socks with dry ones if at all possible, or at least move your socks around a bit to prevent friction against any wrinkled or bunched up parts of your socks that might rub you the wrong way.

Prevent heel blisters by taping your heels

In addition to the tips above, you can also prevent heel blisters by putting moleskin or athletic tape across your heels before blisters have a chance to form, especially if you have had heel blisters in the past.

You can help prevent heel blisters by making sure your hiking shoes or hiking boots are sized correctly when wearing your liners and hiking socks. Too large, and they can move up and down against your heels as you walk; too small, and other parts of your feet or toes can be pinched and more quickly develop blisters.

Preventing foot blisters with tape or moleskin

If a hot spot develops on your foot, first follow the tips above about changing, adjusting and drying out your socks and giving your feet a rest. However, you might also want to go ahead and apply a preventative layer of moleskin or tape across the red area as an extra protection against a blister forming.

Blister prevention using common sense

You can usually prevent heel blisters and foot blisters with a good application of common sense.

• Don't underestimate the importance of healthy feet when hiking and backpacking.
• Be extra careful when hiking over rocky trails, because your feet will experience more friction and stress.
• Stop at the first sign of hot spots or friction against your skin.
• Always take along some moleskin, blister plasters and athletic tape.

DAN: I did not get blisters until the last day of my first 11-day Philmont trek, and that was because I was jumping down off some big rocks after hiking all day along some very rocky trails. Because my feet were already stressed from the miles of hard trekking, I should have been more careful to prevent blisters from forming.

DAVE: Before heading out on our lengthy Philmont Scout backpacking trek, I invested in several pairs of wool socks and liners for both of us. However, I wish I had taken at least one pair of synthetic hiking socks because the wool tends to hold moisture and dry slower.

Summary

Be sure to carefully follow all of the tips above and you'll find that it's much easier to prevent heel blisters or foot blisters from ruining your hike. Take care of your feet and they'll take care of you!

Recommended Foot Care Products from Campmor:

Search this site ...

Use the handy box below to search all the pages of this site for the word(s) you enter.

Custom Search

Your search results page will include matching pages from this website, along with relevant commercial listings from Google.