What is your foot care regime?

[quicky]

Hi all

I'd like to know what people's foot care regimes are when on the trail. Of course a brief, one liner outlining the hiking conditions and footwear are important. For example:

Conditions:3 Season hiking, rain and hiking in 40F temps
Footwear combo: Inov-8 TrailRoc 245 Trail runner/Dirt Girl Gaiter & Wigwam Triathlon socks
Night time/before bed: Moisturiser (Vitamin E cream with socks)...or whatever
Morning: Hydropel/BodyGlide etc.
On Trail: Shoes off where possible, feet up etc.
Additional: Use of Leukotape etc. in high prone blister areas etc.

I'm curious about the various foot care systems being used by everyone. If you want to include why it works then that's ok too!

===========================================

So, I'm first up:

Conditions: 3 season hiking including high probability daily rainfall up to 60F/15C day temps (Tassie in the shoulder season)
Footwear combo: Inov-8 TrailRoc 245, DG Gaiter with Wigwam Triathlon socks
Night time/Before Bed: Vit E cream and socks
Morning: BodyGlide Liquified Powder (Hydropel is simply too expensive, and I can get BodyGlide easily in Aust.)
On the trail: Shoes off where possible, feet drying and elevated
Additional: No need for taping as yet

Im not sure if this combo is overkill (Vit E cream at night & BodyGlide). I know the BodyGlide is also a moisturiser, but I'm not sure on its effectiveness (as a moisturiser) over a simple, good old Vit E moisturiser, or whether the additional use of Vit E cream is useless.

Thanks
Jase

[TerraMer]

Zen liniment spray/rub for most conditions off the snow.
Spray directly in my boots so the alcohol stops the stink as well as keeping my feet cooler for a little longer in the morning.
At the end of the day I rub it into my feet and calves before putting on clean dry socks.
The liniment keep the soles of my feet hard and dry and when I break blisters I spray them to dry them out overnight and kill any infection in the broken skin.
Used to use plain old alcohol spray from the chemist that did the trick in steel cap rubber boots while working at sea.
On the snow or when I run out of Zen and can't find it locally I use pure tea tree oil and dry clean socks at night.
I wear through the soles of boots every 2-3 months/1500km but have found it important to try and keep the boot bacteria free.
NEVER let my feet touch the floor of a public shower.

[forest]

Conditions: Anything from Summer to the odd bit of light snow and -10°C weather (Haven't encountered major snow yet)
Footwear: Inov-8 295 Roclite Trail Runners, Short Montbell Stretch Gaiters, Injini NuWool Toe Socks (NRS Hydroskin Neoprene Socks over the thin socks if it's either below -5°C or really wet and my feet are in and out of cold water all day) Also if Also if it's a Tassie, NZ or heaps of off track and scrub I'll normally up the gaiters to OR Rocky Mt High Gaiters if I'm in shorts. The Rocky Mt's breath well as they are not waterproof, just offer protection.
Night's: Just a quick wipe over to remove dirt & grit then a bit of a foot massage, stretch the ligaments in the feet etc. Rinse my socks too if they are gritty.
Morning's: Bodyglide on my heels and before Injini Toe socks I used some on the top of my two outer toes (Weird shaped feet....) Toe socks are a bugger to get on if still wet from the previous day
On Trail: Walking Walking Walking
Additional: I haven't had any blisters at all after switching to highly breathable runners and the Injini toe socks, I like the NuWool ones as they don't get as funky over a week trip (They still reek though).

[taswegian]

Simple old fashioned lanolin or wool fat.
My first pair boots (Boylon's) had a hard edge around top of legs that caused occasional misery.
Then Scarpas replacement was free of any problems.
I always wear 2 pairs wool blend socks.
I rub lanolin on my heals and balls of feet before first sock goes on.

Fortunately don't suffer from the dreaded rotten potatoes smell that others do.

That has enabled me to have trouble free walking in our Tassie Highlands for yonks.
Snow, summer, wet, button grass slogs and rock hopping.

Always a boot lover, never felt comfortable with lower styles.
Occasionally take a pair very light slipons for camp.

[quicky]

Conditions: Anything from Summer to the odd bit of light snow and -10°C weather (Haven't encountered major snow yet)
Footwear: Inov-8 295 Roclite Trail Runners, Short Montbell Stretch Gaiters, Injini NuWool Toe Socks (NRS Hydroskin Neoprene Socks over the thin socks if it's either below -5°C or really wet and my feet are in and out of cold water all day) Also if Also if it's a Tassie, NZ or heaps of off track and scrub I'll normally up the gaiters to OR Rocky Mt High Gaiters if I'm in shorts. The Rocky Mt's breath well as they are not waterproof, just offer protection.
Night's: Just a quick wipe over to remove dirt & grit then a bit of a foot massage, stretch the ligaments in the feet etc. Rinse my socks too if they are gritty.
Morning's: Bodyglide on my heels and before Injini Toe socks I used some on the top of my two outer toes (Weird shaped feet....) Toe socks are a bugger to get on if still wet from the previous day
On Trail: Walking Walking Walking
Additional: I haven't had any blisters at all after switching to highly breathable runners and the Injini toe socks, I like the NuWool ones as they don't get as funky over a week trip (They still reek though).

How good are the Inov-8 trail shoes!! The TrailRoc 245's are my second pair of trail runners (earlier pair were La Sportiva Wildcat 2.0's). The La Sportiva's were great, however they rode up too high around my ankle.

Anyways, back to the OP topic, ever since changing to Inov-8 runners and light/breathable socks, I have had no issues with blisters too. Stream crossings/rain and the subsequent wet feet are now a welcoming pleasure (usually refreshing for me) as opposed to a threat.

[taswegian]

Curious what other factors at play here.
I walk a lot in my job, often in rugged places carrying gear.
If one sits in office most of the time and seldom walks to work etc I imagine the feet suffer more when put to extremes.
Just a thought.

[TerraMer]

Disclaimer- re my previous reply. Zen liniment shouldn't be use on broken skin. Say so on the bottle but it works for me so whatever.

[quicky]

Disclaimer- re my previous reply. Zen liniment shouldn't be use on broken skin. Say so on the bottle but it works for me so whatever.

Sounds interesting...I'll give it a try.

I'm a big fan of BodyGlide, but it's always good to discover and try something new...who knows!?

[icemancometh]

I find some kind of thin toe sock helps with blisters during the walking as your feet are more comfy and can breathe way better than traditional thick socks...lighter shoes are good and potentially thongs/sandals on the easier parts...happily walked hours of the overland (dry) in thongs...just be careful of snakes
wash them and clean them at night