Then wait for blister to re-fill with fluid as you ruck off into the hinterland! At least that's what I've seen every time it was done.

Of you could use tincture of benzoin. Here's a tip from a professional runner:


Blister Care

I don't think I have ever once seen a moleskin job work well in the long run, unless the soldier was able to be taken off normal duty (foot patrolling, marching, etc.) and was allowed to prop his feet up without any foot gear on them at all.  This helps prevent fluids from re-filling into the blister, which is usually a separation of the epidermis from the stratum corneum and stratum lucidum.






Really bad blisters will actually separate the epidermis from the dermis, and expose lipid, muscle, and bone tissue.  I saw a candidate at Camp MacKall whose entire heel came off, and was left in the hut floor with a puddle of pus in it. He drove on and got selected without uttering a peep. Went to 7th Group.  He was a Cav Scout before going 18 series.

Also very good points on the toenail trimming. I too have road marched off at least one toenail on this very 18 mile ruck march:

 








 

Great thread


11 year infantryman tag

Young grunts listen to this man!!!  Titties and beer is awesome until your feet are killing you on a force march.  Use some of that cash burning a hole in your pocket to buy some high quality boots and socks (do some research first!!!) while you're living in the barracks with no bills to pay.

I dont know much about much, but i do know healing during training is near impossible. You must get out infront of foot care.

Dress socks (or thin, nylon type) under quality wool socks are a must if you are prone to blisters.

Get insoles. And get insoles with a cushion layer.

If your toes chafe, wrap each toe with a few layers of medical cloth & tape it on.

Concerning ruck marches: proper breathing is critical. Get with someone who knows how to pack their ILBE well and do as he does.

And of course, mindset is everything.

 

Good Stuff, and a tag.

Belleville minimils.

http://www.bellevilleboot.com/video-mini-mil.html

Learning is occurring.  


If someone has nearly perpetual ingrown toe nails, with proper trimming, is surgery the best option?

As one of those very people- YES.

Tag to read tomorrow and see what I can/should add.

Former 03 here.  The pictures of the blistered feet on page 2 are exactly what my feet would look like after hikes.  Every damn time!  My problem was that my boots were too big.  Not length wise but the width.  Went to a 9.5 regular and most of my problems stopped.  I never had much luck with using moleskin on hot spots because it always seemed to thick.  Duck tape works for me.

Proper fitted footwear prevents the majority of foot problems, especially during childhood.  I try to stick with boots with a wide toe box, such as corcorans.  Tight fitting footwear will overtime alter your feet, changing the direction and angle that your toes grow and causing problems for the rest of your life.

Awesome thread. The mods need to find a place to tac this...

 





















 
 

There is hope.....

The Romans wore socks with their caligae.  By the way, the construction of those pictured is modern and you need to make sure that the soles are not too wide lest your feet will slide and blisters will result.  The straps should wrap around your feet.

Here is a new pair on my workbench:



and how to make your own:

How to make roman caligae

I've seen some pics of caligae with what appeared to be sheep wool insoles. Do you know of any historical or archeological support for this?

It's something that I didn't realize happened until after leaving active duty.  My basic leathers and jungle boots fit great until I got out and moved on to hiking shoes and barefoot running.  Now I can't wear those old boots for more than 4 miles under load without hot spots between toes and my big toes going numb on the outside edges by the toenail.  My toenails grow at an upward angle now and eat socks like crazy, and big toes are prone to ingrowns; bellevilles 390s are the only issue boots I have left that I can wear comfortably.

 

We have documentary and pictorial evidence for socks, but I wouldn't put it pass some desperate legionary to employ whatever worked.

LPC...Cool

 

Been doing it all wrong.

Tell them about the sole stitching.

It's a requirement on a boot for me now.

Regarding the use of PJ (Vaseline) it also works magic on the inner thighs and buttcrack for long hard marches.  Powder will do for some, but the most rigorous require a generous slathering of PJ to prevent chafing.  Once your thighs and crack get chafed, there is nothing that will save you from the suffering to come.  

We used PJ for the Nijmegen marches every year when I was in Berlin.  We fast marched (extremely fast) the route every day just so we could say the Berlin team came in first place. Even though there are no offical "places". PJ was a gift from heaven.

http://www.4daagse.nl/en/

+1.  This.  I had a pair of Vietnam era Jungle Boots when I was in.  Probably the best boots ever designed.  In the winter I wore Mucks.  Once again I felt they were the best I ever had.

Excellent thread

I'll bring it up. I'm reading the thread, now. It's a lot of info and I'm writing my post as I read it, in hopes that it will be somewhat logical and not seem like the drunken ramblings of a pissed off grunt. OP took some time to put this together. We should bring him in.

Any of you guys deal with haglunds?

What did you do to make it?

Great thread.

Boots should have a sturdy sewn on sole with a decent compound and tread pattern. I use Rocky S2V's. I've seen glued on soles come off during extremely long movements. Those guys were not happy. Some of us wear boots like Nikes or other sneaker or minimalist style boots, but under a heavy load, your feet will pay the price for the lack of support. Compound and tread pattern is a little more personal, but certain rubbers are better than others on frozen terrain or rocks.

Socks. A good fitting sock is as important as the boots. I find the best is a medium weight wool sock. Some on the market are designed to be thicker on the bottom than the top. I like these. OP was absolutely right about the seams in socks. Anything with a thick seam will cause friction and friction is bad. Using a polypro or nylon liner sock can work for some people, but when I tried it, the liner ended up bunched up in the boot. No bueno.

Foot powder can extend the life of your socks by a day or two. I can wear my socks for a day, take them off and powder the fuck out of them, and then put them on the opposite feet for another day. I don't like to start out a movement with powder on my feet, but it works for some. Get powder with menthol. Use it on your groin and it feels like ten thousand baby angels blowing on your balls.

Movement technique. For walking, we teach guys to stretch their stride out as long as possible. Even little guys can walk at 4mph under a heavy load. With practice, this will be their resting pace for going uphill. With enough practice, you can maintain this pace cross country and up mountains, but it really, really sucks. For running down hills and flats, most guys find their shuffle pace. It ends up being a pace that matches their stride. The end result is one that keeps the ruck from bouncing too much. With the new rucks, it get's into a rhythm end with the enough endurance, you can run all day. Squea-ky, squea-ky, squea-ky, squea-ky, squea-ky.....

Just saw the post about glued on soles being an upgrade. Go for it if you dare. Having the front half of your sole flopping around for 20 miles fucking sucks.

And walking to toe heel on a grade with a lot of weight is a good way to tear your ATFL when you roll your ankle.

Be extremely careful if you're going to try to tape your feet for a long ruck march. 20 miles will do a lot to your feet. I've seen the tape peel skin off with it. That guy went home. This goes for medical tape and duct tape. It can work for some, but hardening your feet ahead of time is the preferred method.

I ignore the tried and true method of cutting toe nails straight across, but I'm a horrible example to follow, in this regard.

Yes, for colder temps, you'll need a larger boot. A sneaker in rubber boots also works, , but that's a pretty specialized thing that'd I'd only do in a training environment.

To clarify, you want the center of gravity as high as close to your back as possible. I wear my ruck high and try to put the radio (usually the heaviest thing I carry) right between my shoulder blades. Also, USE THE FUCKING WAIST BELT ON THE RUCK. If you don't (or can't, you GWOT Marines know what I'm talking about) your spine will feel the effects for the rest of your life.

The boots that the batt boys use on missions are great for short durations. Humping around in the mountains or desert for months on end with no way to get new boots will destroy them, though.

Blisters suck. It's best to avoid them at all cost by toughening up your feet and taking care of them on mission. Tincture of benzoin isn't something I see used these days. Basically, don't get blisters. If you do, the OP's techniques will work.

Foot care. Don't be stupid. Get a pedegg. That cheese grater thing is like sex for your feet. It allows you to grind off thickening calluses to prevent them from splitting open.

I don't put vasoline on my feet. Sounds like a good theory, but I just keep going and walk my boots dry. Having wet feet does suck, but even if you swim a river, you can walk them dry (or as dry as they were before you crossed) in a couple hours. I do put vasoline on damn near everything else, though. Spots wear the waist belt rubs you raw, between the thighs, butt cheeks, everything. Again, practicing rucking will toughen up the skin in these areas, but a long enough movement will build up salt in your clothes and you'll have a problem.

Ok, so cutting and pasting to quote each post was going to be a huge pain in the dick, so I just responded as I read the thread. As always, ymmv.

What is considered "heavy"?

80 pounds is getting there, for training. In country, 120-150.

Okay. Then I agree.

The biggest part of all of this is the mentality. OP touched on it, but it can't be said enough. No matter the distance and weight, I will make it. That's easy to say, but reality is a cruel bitch. Broken, wounded, out of water or food, it doesn't matter. I. Will. Make. It. You can't stop me. Completely torn knee or ankle tendon at the start of a 400 mile course movement? Don't fucking care. Blisters so bad you can't sleep? Fuck it. Sole of your boot flapping in the breeze? Sucks to be that foot, but it keeps your mind off your sore ass back.

Proper prep will help, but your mind is what will get you there.

Truth about the mental game. I suffered greatly on my first 2 to 3 marches my mentality wasn't right physically I was better than many others.  Once my mind got right it got easier and after that it got to where I loved that shit.  The rougher faster harder hotter colder wetter just plain suckier it was the more I looked forward to winning another battle of will with a shit eating grin on my face.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...let's not get carried away, here.

I was in Berlin Brigade at the time, it was cold and wet 90 percent of the time.  Freezing rain seemed to be God's preferred method of watering the earth there.

Morning of Day 2 of the Best Ranger Competition, my brother getting his feet worked on by his Ranger buddy after the night road march.  The competition ended about 38 hours later, including marching everywhere, waterborne operations, and a run.  



 

11B here. I've never worn an issued boot that I liked.

We get issued these to use. I wear them a lot for general training and when I'm planning on rocky terrain. Comfortable, but a bit heavy.
Salomon 4d GTX's


For relatively flat terrain, Nikes are the boot to beat.


Generally have no problem turning in a sub 2:30 12 mile ruck in them. They don't last as long as the issued ones, but it's worth the extra money to me.

My secret to embracing the suck is Slayer.  When others are sucking so bad, you can see it in their faces, I have this playing in my head so loud, I can't hear the tinnitus anymore...

This band plays it how I hear it, BTW.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-i6J03j6Bo&feature=kp


I shared this mental technique with some Recon Marines at the Sniper Adventure Challenge in New Mexico last year.  They won the sprint class portion of the competition, and told me,

"Dude, that Slayer technique works!"

When I was in the 82nd, there was a Private in our Platoon who was dragging ass on a movement to one of the ranges during a field problem.  He was a chain smoker and had spent his adolescence in a paint shop, so not exactly a healthy lung function candidate.  The Platoon Sergeant kept threatening him with some kind of dire consequence, so I finally saddled up next to him.  I knew he was a big Ozzy fan...

"Hey man.  You know what I do to stay motivated on these things?"

"Huff, huff, huff...what Sergeant? Huff huff"

"I have tunes playing in my head...like I don't Know, for example."

At that point, I busted into the intro of it, with my M4's rail panels as the fretboard, and started singing the first verses.  He brightened up, and was at the front of the formation with his squad within a minute.

Music is a powerful weapon for motivation.  Anyone that has gone to the gym with their workout music can tell you how it makes a big difference in performance.  Same principle applied to the Vikings rowing their ships from objective to objective.  You think they weren't singing songs about plunging axes through the skulls of their victims?

I discovered that during basic -- early on I use to occupy my time thinking about previous sexual exploits but that just left me frustrated. Then one day I was thinking about how I missed music and realized I pretty much had all my favorite Slayer songs memorized. But I'm younger than you, most of my internal playlist was Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All.

Pretty much I just play Slayer albums in my head for any movement since then.

I always get heel blisters.  I've got a narrow heel, and with anything that has a stiff sole I get enough movement to cause blisters. I've tried different boots, two pairs of socks, one pair of socks, wool socks, synthetic socks, etc. The only thing that's sort of worked is a flexible sole, but that's not very good for rough terrain.

Any advice?

Go back and read through what I covered on boot modifications.  See that pic above of the guy in Best Ranger Competition?

The boot inserts that were shared with me by SSG R____ in F Co, 52nd Infantry Corps LRS eliminated that possibility for me, and I upgraded them with a nylon covers.  I would sew the covers together inside out, reverse them, insert the padding, then sew the end.

This is the type of padding:



Also, major + 1 for the patroleum jelly on your chafe points.  Runners know this for the nipples, because of sodium loss through perspiration. Salt-water sweat in clothing forms a microscopic layer of sand paper basically, and thrashes the crap out of your epidermis.  Ever heard of nipples bleeding?  Now try it with LCE/vest, and a ruck on.

Groin, gluteal cleft/fold (buttcrack), inner thighs, hips, etc. will become chafe points for a dismounted soldier.  There are also some other products out there like Udder Butter that are specifically designed to keep skin from cracking.  Most of the US uniform sewing patterns are totally worthless and counter-productive when it comes to chafing, constriction, and freedom of movement.

The best uniforms for comfort I have seen and own are special clothing for Spetsnaz, but are lacking in other areas. They are very roomy, without any constriction areas like the rigid BDU's and ACU's.  100% Cotton BDU's oversized were good before the Pentagon got a hold of them, and removed the bends in the elbows and knees so they could be starched and pressed better (total violation of the directions, 670-1, IR treatment, comfort in the field, but who needs uniforms for combat?)

If you are on extended duration foot marches, another + 1 for the waist strap. In every unit I was in, it was SOP to tape it up and out of the way at the base of the ALICE Pack frame, but the waist pad is a life-saver for anything past 12 miles.  I also used Tactical Tailor Ruck Straps, and knew Logan Coffee personally when I was at Fort Lewis. Good dude.

BTW, when I put my Darn Tough socks on this morning, I looked closely at the seam over the toes, and it's basically non-existent. If it's there, I can't feel it.

 






 

When I went to Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island in 1990, half my platoon (including me) were issued these really thick, white wool socks with lightweight blue poly pro socks to be worn underneath. The other half of the platoon was issued the standard green wool socks. I never, ever got a single blister wearing those socks, while most everyone wearing the green socks got blisters. I continued to wear them for years but never saw any other Marines wearing them after boot camp. That was a good sock system, but I don't know if it ever caught on. Anyone else get those?

Also, I always found the standard issue leather combat boots to be way more comfortable than jungles boots but most guys preferred the jungles.

I've never needed it (or any skin lube) but cycling, running and hiking friends love Chamois (shammee) Butt'r, Body Glide and other anti-chafe specialty creams.  I've known lots of dudes to put bandaids over their nipples to avoid the blood lactation.