 Morning All,
So far I've been lucky enough during my travels not to suffer from the above mentioned unmentionable however I went out on Sunday to continue the process of breaking in my new 4 season boots and low and behold I have developed a big blister on each heel.
They were fine over short walks before xmas so I wreckon 2 months of not wearing them has softened my feet again.
What are peoples favourite blister treatments and how long should I leave it before trying the boots again.
Cheers
Ben
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 Apart from the usual pre-emptive liner socks / 1000 mile socks and plasters over the affected areas before the walk, once the blister has struck I use compeed. It's the mutt's nuts.
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 Meths applied to the blisters. Bit extreme as it stings like nothing has ever stung before but hardens the skin right up, good if you have to do it during a trip say and of course you need to have some meths handy.
I have one pair of running shoes that always give me a slight blister, always slap on the vaseline and use two very thin socks. Got a couple of pairs of 1000 mile socks but find them a hassle to get on right.
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 Or surgical spirit. Rubbing it into your feet morning and night will toughen the skin up and might be an answer, smells slightly nicer than meths also.
Vaseline works well with running shoes, never tried it with boots though.
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 All hardening your feet with spitit solutions does is gives you deeper and more painful blisters. An age old method is using moleskin patches when you start to feel a hotspot forming.
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I vote with Mr Corteen on that one - tried the surgical spirit thing and managed to develop a nice bit of callous which I thought would stand me in excellent stead - until it split. Never again. Far worse than any blister could be and untreatable.
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I'm a bad person to give advice on blisters - I fortunately very rarely get them, even when boot testing. I generally carry Compeed, but always end up giving it away to other people. Works very well, but follow the instructions carefully and cover with zinc oxide tape to help it stay in place.
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Cheers.
Will try some of the above. I was lucky on Sunday to be doing a figure of eight walk around the car as I could stop half way around and put on a pair of trainers. Also very lucky that the latter part of the walk was relatively dry.
Thanks again.
Ben
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 as a pharmacist, i would never recommend using any kind of spirit on skin as it will remove all the natural oils making the skin much weaker and increasing the risk of deep seated blisters.
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Self-inflicted occupational dermatitis of the feet? B*gger! No wonder it hurt like a b*st*rd!
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 I've been taking a good long look at whether 4 season boots are really necesary and decided - not very often. I've seen far too many people who don't get out much who insist on wearing the toughest boots for a 3 mile afternoon stroll in the Lakes. Needless to say, they practically need hospital treatment after a half mile.
This is especially true for school/scout groups when a dozy, halfwit teacher who learned his hillcraft some time back in the late Cretaceous has insisted the little mites all get kitted up in Scarpa Mantas or whatever, just for the weekend. Next thing you know the kids are practically getting choppered out and will never leave concrete again. These kids would be better off in their Nikes, believe you me.
I'm certainly going to be taking some kind of approach shoe for my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail this year, probably Montrail Storm GTX. I expect to get through more than one pair but who cares? I know the agony of blisters.
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 "These kids would be better off in their Nikes, believe you me."
Yes i'm sure they would if they fancy breaking an ankle, the secret with 4 season boots is to get a pair that fit correctly. Having said that i've never had a blister when walking but then i do work in boots all day so i suppose my feet are conditioned for it. ;o)
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 personnally blisters is a thing that eny one can get due to the way you walk , or due to wet feet or new boots , or treverseing for long distances puttting pressure on your feet , what ever the reason there is a remedy , harsh but it works even if you have just doned the stiffist boots in the world 1 were one pair of socks , 2 walk whith your legs not your feet , ie walk light , 3 if you feel it comeing on if you can stop and treat whith very thick stickie tape , if not wait till you camp wash your feet dry them take off skin apply iodien scream for thirty seconds appy tape and the relief is great you can go on treking.treat all blisters every day if you can if not make sure there taped and they will heal and hard fresh skin will replace the blister and your problems will be over oh and experiment how you lace your boots and tie them firm happy treking , put your foot kit in your first aid kit
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 Everyone is different so everyone has their own take on blisters, some people like Jon are lucky gits and never have to worry about them..
Personally I just had to get a warning order for a tab and I would break out in huge, weeping, angry red blisters.... (ok, slight exageration but I have suffered in the past!)
My 'personal' anti blister measures;
1. Always use athletes foot powder, its so easy to pick up this little fungal B'stard in gyms etc that spending a couple of quid a month on foot powder is a small price to pay - athletes foot softens the skin and makes blisters much more likely.
2. I never harden my feet, tried it and it didnt work for me, just sent the blisters deeper. Instead I use a foot file regularly and use a moisturiser to keep the skin in good nick.
3. If I had a big walk coming up, especially the type where stopping and treating blisters was not going to be an option I would 'tape up' the night before with white zinc oxide tape. Its important to do it the night before so the adhesive gets a chance to bond, otherwise it might roll up and cause agony later. After I applied the tape I would powder my feet again and wear a thin pear of socks to protect the tape while I slept.
4. I always wore one pair of socks and made sure they were in good condition, if possible change your socks daily - take two pairs and wash them in rotation.
5. If blisters do start then compeed is a winner, as Jon said tape it afterwards or it might roll off too.
6. If all else fails and the blister forms when you get chance sterilise a needle and cotton and 'sew' the blister.. just one stitch in one side and out of the other. Then cut the cotton leaving two dangling tails, these allow the fluid that is produced to drain. If you simply 'pop' the blister the skin will heal and the fluid will build up. Its vital you keep your hygeine as good as possible when you are doing this as infected blisters are a real giggle to walk on..
7. Grit your teeth, they're only blisters.... ;)
MarkyB
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 Rick,
If you can guarantee dry ground and no rain.
If the route is on smooth paths, with no risk of turning an ankle etc.
Then maybe the kids WOULD be better off in trainers.
Having said that, I've never seen a bunch of Scouts in Mantas. All in walking boots, yes. Mantas, no.
I must go to the wrong sort of area.
Si
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 Just a small point, if you read the guarantee on 1000 mile socks it warns against putting vasaline on!
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On what?
<rustling noise of coat being put on>
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In this instance feet but as i have said before........
What ever turns you on.
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 My own preferred blister treatment is to pop the blister using a Swiss Army Knife thang I have that seems designed for the purpose, draining, drying, then applying a compeed. To get the compeed to stick well, the foot needs to be clean and totally dry AND warm (which is a pain if you're camping out in subzero temps). And the plaster needs to be warmed in the hands first, as they recommend in the instruction leaflet, too. Powder or vaseline will stop it sticking. I find if I tape my blisters up well, I have no problem carrying on walking straight away. Which is just as well, as I usually get them halfway through a 3 week trek and miles from anywhere.
For prevention, you could try a different type of sock (I like using inners and outers myself). And footbeds and/or inserts might help, by slightly changing the position of the foot within the boot.
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The daft thing is that having had them fitted by F&T and been given one of their certificates on a months money back trial they seemed fine. Before Xmas I'd worn them whilst out walking the dog and had got up to doing four miles in them without a problem. Then, over Xmas I stopped wearing them for a variety of reasons and this time out I had a hotspot within 20 mins but nothing with me to deal with it.
I'm now armed with the mighty compeed plaster and will sort it. Am going to try them again tomorrow on a site visit for work which will only involve 15 mins of walking.
Oh yes, where do I get zinc oxide tape, Boots didn't have any.
Cheers
Ben
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