Going on hiking ventures requires the best pair of hiking boots that take you to heights and on steep surfaces without any trouble. Having a dirty and muddy pair of hiking boots means you have had the best time hiking the terrains of your life. To ensure that your experience remains the same as before, you must take care of your boots and the hygiene of your feet.
Hiking boots are an investment, and you spend so much time deciding the best pair for yourself. Also, you spend a fortune to get the best of them, so why be lazy when taking care of the boots?
The same goes for keeping your feet healthy enough so you can go on hiking any day you like. How to make your feet tough enough to hike? Well, most hikers make their feet strong and tough enough by hiking more frequently and making their feet feel the friction from the hiking boots. Getting calluses on the feet will toughen them up, and you will not feel small injuries or bruises on the terrain like before.
If your feet are not toughened up before the long hike, you plan to take. There are higher chances of getting blisters, which will be extremely painful. How to make your feet tough enough to hike? To prevent blisters from forming and causing damage to your feet, we have curated some tips that will help you prevent foot injuries.
Tips To Make Feet Tough Enough To Hike
Tip:1 Carry Load On Short Hikes
If you are going on a short day hike, the faster way to toughen up your feet is to load your backpack a little bit heavier. The feet will feel stressed and will try to adjust the weight while also trying to keep you moving without any trouble. The ideal weight to carry on the hikes is about 5lbs to 15 lbs, but it can be more depending upon your endurance.
If you are a beginner, taking an extra 15 lbs weight will cause blisters on your feet. In the beginning, you need to try short hikes without a backpack. That’s the best way to train the feet for longer hikes without any injuries. Then after that, try to take 2lbs to 5 lbs of weight to create endurance in the feet or, in other words, make them tough enough for a hike.
Tip:2 Try Walking Barefoot More
One of the factors that will help you develop strong feet for hiking is that you try to walk barefoot. Our ancestors didn’t wear any socks or boots. That’s why they must have had very tough feet that protected them against hot or cold weather.
To train the feet to walk without socks or boot support, try walking in your home without any crocs or slippers. Of course, you’ll feel slight friction between your feet and the floor, but it will help toughen up the feet. You may develop calluses because your feet are in contact with the ground elements.
Gradually, start walking barefoot in your garden or your garage to develop more strength in the feet. Some people suggest taking this barefoot walk outside the house and trying hiking on the rocks with no boots on, but it’s all up to you and how much friction you can sustain.
Tip:3 Increase Speed, Feel Friction
When you walk barefoot on the grounds, maybe in the park or at the sandy beach, try jogging or running on these surfaces. Increase the walking or running speed to create endurance. After training your feet without any support, try wearing hiking boots or footgear. You’ll be weathering while going out.
Start walking or jogging on steep surfaces and sometimes take stairs to help build the endurance to help you climb the mountains without any hurdles.
Tip:4 Cut Your Toenails
It is important to cut your toenails before hopping on the hiking venture because the grown toenails can cause pain in the feet and can sometimes be cut off during the hikes. Cutting the toenails before hiking or jogging, especially at long distances, reduces the chances of injuries that can also cause infections or blisters.
If the toenail keeps getting pushed by the hiking shoe or boot, you will eventually start feeling pain in the nail, and it can fall off or cause infection in the nail, which can be dangerous.
Tip:5 Keeping The Feet Dry
Another factor that can make your feet tough is to keep them dry while walking or hiking. Many athletes and pro hikers use several tips to keep their feet dry and fresh so they can run or hike long miles. To not get the feet wet or all sweaty, use the alcohol pads and rub them around the feet.
It will cause dry skin around the feet area and make the heels and toes stronger for barefoot walks or hikes. Moreover, use soaked tea bags and place them on the feet to create dryness on the skin so that you can hike easily without any infections or blisters.
The same applies when you wear boots while hiking. To keep hiking for long hours, try using powders that wick moisture away from the feet and keep them dry and fresh.
To use the alcoholic pads, use 2-3 pads three times a week, while you can use four tea bags or soak the feet in concentrated tea bag water to get the best result. However, don’t overdo the remedies; otherwise, the feet will become extra dry and cause shedding of the skin.
Tip:6 Use Leuko-tape As Band-aid
To avoid blisters on the feet, you can use leuko-tape and wrap it around the toe fingers so that there is little to no friction between your feet and the boots while hiking. You must not overlook this step at any chance because it may seem easy peasy initially, but it is a big deal when your feet start to hurt due to friction.
Moreover, if you are not into wrapping up the feet in the beginning or before the hiking, you can also use them after facing friction and apply them to the affected areas.
Also, wrapping your feet in the tape before going on the venture may seem vague, and if you still don’t know where it will hurt the most ( if you are a beginner), then you must carry the tape in the backpack and apply it whenever you feel pain during the hikes. It becomes frustrating when you have to stop the hike and apply the tape repeatedly, but it is really important for your feet.
Tip:7 Wear Anti-Microbial Socks
Although the success behind the blister-free feet is mostly given to the high-quality hiking boots, the socks and lining also play a huge part in making the blister-free hikes possible. Investing in good quality wool anti-microbial socks will eliminate any odour or sweat that is caused in the feet and cause infections.
The socks are good at minimizing the friction between the feet and the boots while keeping the bacteria away from the feet. While purchasing the socks, make sure not to buy the cotton or nylon ones because they are not very good at absorbing the sweat or minimizing the odour. Instead, buy wool fabric socks because they are thick, which means less foot friction and wick out moisture quickly.
Tip:8 Choose Hiking Boots According To Feet Analogy
All of us have different types of feet. Nowadays, companies have made hiking boots considering the analogy of the different feet. While buying yourself a good pair of comfortable hiking shoes or boots as per your preference, there are some key points that you should remember:
The first is to look for breathable footwear. The breathable boots make the air flow easily through the boot so that the feet can be dry on the terrains and sweat or bad odour doesn’t remain inside the boots.
Waterproof hiking boots are good for keeping the boots from getting wet in rainy or muddy weather. Still, they are not sweating resistant rather, you can’t use them in the sunny season, and it is advised by pro hikers to switch to trail runners for breathability.
The second is to look for lightweight and comfortable hiking boots. Comfortable hiking boots will adjust according to your feet analogy and keep you lightweight by bearing the pressure or stress from the ground through their outsoles. Moreover, the cushion insoles will add to the comfort level by providing padded support to the heels and feet.
Last but not least, the shoes or boots should fit the toe. It must neither let the feet wiggle inside nor must they feel too tight for the feet such that you feel your bones cracking( just an idiom). Moreover, try breaking in the hiking boots instead of going straight to the hike to avoid blisters, and to toughen up the feet, try on at least three different pairs of shoes or boots.
Final Thoughts
How to make your feet tough enough to hike? Many hikers have this question in mind, especially if they are new to the adventure. For rigorous outdoor activities, your feet must be trained so that they don’t get blisters or start to develop excruciating pain while you are enjoying your trip.
In the guide, we have listed the tips that can help you cure your feet from any blisters and train your feet with proper remedies so that you can have zero blisters while hiking, even for miles.
Make sure to clean the boots after hikes to remove any extra debris that may hurt the feet. Also, after hikes, try placing the feet in hot water and participating in stretching exercises to relax the feet.