Not particularly sniping related I'm affraid, but sport/military related all the same.
I am sure all you ex-serivce personel will have various personal methods of avoiding/curing blisters, and I am sure you have also heard of many more which you never got round to using!
So, what do you find are the best ways of avoiding blisters, and what are the best ways of curing them when the inevitable happenes?
I know this is a tad boring a topic, but my reason for asking is that I have got myself into a bit of a pickle. Given that only recently I was telling Jeff via ICQ how to avoid blisters, I feel a bit of a hypocrite going and getting them myself! Basically, my unit participate in an infantry competition, yesterday we did a practice of one part of it - and my boots were not as broken in as I thought they were. :roll:
Preventative measures I have heard of range from pissing on your feet in the shower to toughen the skin, doing the boots up nice and tight (but not too tight round the ankle), wearing two pairs of socks, covering likely blister spots in zinc oxide tape, spraying feet with anti-perspirant, using cooking oil, using foot powder, to putting the boots in a warm bath to soften the leather.
Cures I know of consist of basically either covering the blister in zinc oxide tape, or puncturing it, cleaning and covering, along with the good old salt water soak.
I have not tried all of these preventative ideas, but normally I wear a thin pair of socks below my standard thick ones, and do the boots up tight, this normally is enough to stop me getting bad blisters, but I often get the odd small one or so.
Yesterday, thinking my boots were well broken in, I only wore the one pair of socks. (I felt a small blister forming about 3-4 miles in, and by the 8th mile I felt like both feet were on fire... when I took my right boot off after completing it, it was covered in blood from where the blister on my heel burst, as was the inside of the boot.) :roll:
I only really have myself to blame, but I thought I would see what you lot could contribute to my little f*** up, as to what you do. I have to do it again in 2 weeks.
In particular, I am interested in your opinion of softening the leather of my boots by sticking them in a warm bath - my reservation being that I am slightly concerned that it could cause them to shrink ever so slightly, causing discomfort.
Anyway, I much appreciate and of your ideas, from those of you who are armchair enthusiasts as well as ex-military...
I am sure all you ex-serivce personel will have various personal methods of avoiding/curing blisters, and I am sure you have also heard of many more which you never got round to using!
So, what do you find are the best ways of avoiding blisters, and what are the best ways of curing them when the inevitable happenes?
I know this is a tad boring a topic, but my reason for asking is that I have got myself into a bit of a pickle. Given that only recently I was telling Jeff via ICQ how to avoid blisters, I feel a bit of a hypocrite going and getting them myself! Basically, my unit participate in an infantry competition, yesterday we did a practice of one part of it - and my boots were not as broken in as I thought they were. :roll:
Preventative measures I have heard of range from pissing on your feet in the shower to toughen the skin, doing the boots up nice and tight (but not too tight round the ankle), wearing two pairs of socks, covering likely blister spots in zinc oxide tape, spraying feet with anti-perspirant, using cooking oil, using foot powder, to putting the boots in a warm bath to soften the leather.
Cures I know of consist of basically either covering the blister in zinc oxide tape, or puncturing it, cleaning and covering, along with the good old salt water soak.
I have not tried all of these preventative ideas, but normally I wear a thin pair of socks below my standard thick ones, and do the boots up tight, this normally is enough to stop me getting bad blisters, but I often get the odd small one or so.
Yesterday, thinking my boots were well broken in, I only wore the one pair of socks. (I felt a small blister forming about 3-4 miles in, and by the 8th mile I felt like both feet were on fire... when I took my right boot off after completing it, it was covered in blood from where the blister on my heel burst, as was the inside of the boot.) :roll:
I only really have myself to blame, but I thought I would see what you lot could contribute to my little f*** up, as to what you do. I have to do it again in 2 weeks.
In particular, I am interested in your opinion of softening the leather of my boots by sticking them in a warm bath - my reservation being that I am slightly concerned that it could cause them to shrink ever so slightly, causing discomfort.
Anyway, I much appreciate and of your ideas, from those of you who are armchair enthusiasts as well as ex-military...