How To Prevent Blisters While Hiking: The LOWA Guide

Make Sure Your Boots Fit Perfectly 

It goes without saying that wearing boots that fit perfectly is one way in which you can prevent blisters. Wearing boots that are too big can cause friction in the space between your foot and the boot. Whilst wearing boots that are too small leaves no room for your feet to expand and mould into the shoe meaning that the boots can become too tight, in turn rubbing your feet against the inside of the boot as you walk. It’s commonly recommended to go up half a size or a full size to allow your feet room to swell on your hike, that’s a great tip on how to prevent blisters right there. 

Break Them In Around The House 

Do you remember being told when you were a child to walk around the house in your new school shoes to break them in? That’s because, it’s fairly common for new shoes to rub and cause you blisters, but by breaking them in you can take them off before they become uncomfortable and give your feet time to get used to the new footwear. 

This rule still applies and, as with any footwear, we recommend breaking in your LOWA boots. This will help the boots soften while enabling your skin to toughen, and, in the long run, maximise the comfort of your feet during your hike.,

Tape Up Your Hotspots

Hotspots are a warning sign that you are about to get a blister if you don’t deal with them quickly. As soon as you sense any discomfort from your boot, it’s important to take your boots off as soon as you can to deal with the hotspot forming before it turns into a painful blister. Whether you are taping up with bandages, athletic tape or simply duct tape, this provides a near-frictionless surface creating a barrier between the hotspot and your boot. 

Wear Clean, Dry & Breathable Socks 

If you’re new to hiking and are looking for ways on how to prevent blisters while hiking, a great tip is to take a few spare pairs of socks with you. These may not be required at all on your hike but if you find yourself walking through a stream or your feet, a clean pair of socks will come in handy to avoid blisters as a result of the moisture in your socks rubbing against your feet. Most LOWA boots are waterproof but changing your socks throughout the day will help to keep your feet fresh and avoid blisters forming. One thing you could try is to take a number of zip loc bags stuffed inside each other with a mixture of mycota and talc for use on your feet at night. 

Black, Coyote OP & Desert LOWA Boot Socks

It’s also important to bear in mind that all socks are not created equal. Hiking in socks that are ill-suited for anything other than ‘casual’ use will almost certainly lead to heart-ache (well, foot-ache but you know what we mean). On the other hand, socks that have been specifically designed for walking in comfortably - such as LOWA Socks, Bridgedale Socks, or Sealskinz Socks - will go along way toward helping to prevent blisters

Use Supportive Insoles 

Another way tip on how to prevent blisters while hiking is to invest in a pair of supportive insoles. Whilst, you may have taken every precaution of wearing dry socks, breaking your LOWA boots in around the house etc, if your boots could do with some extra grip and support to avoid your foot slipping around and causing blisters, insoles are recommended. Although, with insoles, it’s important to have a separate pair for each pair of your LOWA boots, as every boot is different. Whilst they may be the correct size to swap in and out of your boots, blisters can be caused as a result of them not fitting into another pair of boots correctly. If you’re suffering from blisters and could benefit from a pair of insoles to increase your comfort whilst out hiking, check out the range of Insoles available from LOWA Military Boots

Take Care Of Your Boots

Last but not least, if you take care of your boots they will take care of you. By maintaining the quality of your boots using the correct products, you can increase the lifespan of your boots and ensure the maximum effectiveness of the features that these hold.

For example, maintaining the waterproof features of the boots, will not only keep your feet dry but will also help prevent blisters from forming as a result of moisture entering your boots. 
We have a range of products to help you take care of your LOWA boots and are happy to advise you on the best options for your boots, check out our range of products here and get in contact with us today if you’d like some advice on the best way to take care of them for maximum comfort and effectiveness. 

Whilst we may be biased, LOWA boots are the best on the market for hiking boots, military boots and more. But we can’t guarantee a blister-free boot for everyone, so it’s important whether you’re prone to blisters or not to read up on how to prevent blisters whilst hiking to ensure that you aren’t caught in the middle of Dartmoor with sore feet. We’ve covered the basics here, but if you have any other tips on how to prevent blisters, we’d love you to share these with us on Facebook or Twitter