Pac boots and heel lift (blisters)

[ajtiv]

I am wondering if any of you who use pac boots in the winter have a problem with heel lift. I hiked the Blackhead range and got blisters on my heels because of too much room in the heel. I cant seem to lace down the boots to stop this.
Any ideas I dont think it is poor fit just not enough support?
Also some people have told me they use duct tape when they get blisters, been too embarrassed to ask howit is use.
Do you put tape on skin, liner sock, inside back of boot ???
I had warm feet but ouch

 

[Tahawus]

Once while hiking the Great Range through Basin I started to develop blisters early on at Bear Den I put on moleskin but it didn't help much. I hiked through the pain but the next day i was contemplating hopping to the trail head. A fellow camper lent me some duct tape, i put a xl bandaid over the blister and then covered it with the tape worked great. I could have hiked another day.

Another good remedy that I found are those colloid type bandages, if you put them on early before the hot spot gets too big they work great. I forgot i had the bandage on until 3 days after the hike. They blend right in with the skin.

 

[rambler]

My daughter has narrow heels and prone to blisters there. Before going on a hike she used to cover her heel with duct tape. Now she uses the bandages mentioned by Tahaus. She heats them in her hand then applies them. They blend in with the skin and stay in place for a long time. It solved her blister problems. With the Pac boot try wearing a thick sock to help fill up the space, but not cramp your foot. Smartwool makes a thick boot sock. Hunters wear them in wading boots.

 

[KZKlimber]

Try Gellin'

Try using a a heel lift or pad. The lift will take up the gap between your instep and boot so your heel will not lift as much.

This fixed the same problem I had with my plastic winter mountaineering boots.

 

[jbreen]

duct tape...

I needed to use this method twice. The first time iwas when the blister had already formed, and since duct tape was all I had, I put it directly over the area -- once at home, I pulled it off and took a bit more off with the tape than wanted. I will say that it did not stick to the blister spot itself since that area was quite moist.

When I put in on a 'hotspot' (red, no blister yet), it actually made me forget about the chance of a blister for the rest of the hike. So, I guess the secret is using it early enough, and placing it right where it's needed.