coolhikinggear.com

  • Men’s
    • Best Hiking Rain Jackets for Men In 2021
    • Best Men’s Hardshell Jackets Of 2021
    • Best Hiking Pants For Men In 2021
    • Best Ultralight Rain Pants For Men
    • Best Men’s Daypacks For Hiking In 2021
    • Best Backpacking Backpacks For Men In 2021
    • Best Base Layers For Men In 2021
  • Women’s
    • The Best Hiking Rain Jackets For Women In 2021
    • Best Women’s Hardshell Jackets Of 2021
    • Best Hiking Pants For Women In 2021
    • Best Ultralight Rain Pants For Women
    • Best Daypacks For Women
    • Best Backpacking Backpacks For Women In 2021
    • Best Base Layers For Women In 2021
  • Hiking Accessories
    • Best Hiking Poles
    • Best Trekking Pole Monopod Camera Mount
    • Best Hiking Headlamps
    • The Best Hiking Watches In 2021
    • The Best Hiking Gloves In 2021
    • Best Hydration Bladders For Hiking In 2021
    • Best Compass For Hiking Our Top Picks
    • The Best Hiking Watches In 2021
    • Cool Hiking Gadgets
  • Footwear
    • The Best Men’s Hiking Boots In 2021!
    • Best Hiking Shoes For Men In 2021
    • The Best Women’s Hiking Boots In 2021!
    • Best Hiking Shoes For Women In 2021
    • Best Hiking Sandals
    • Best Hiking Sandals For Women in 2021
  • Hiking Guides and Resources
— Please note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also work with other affiliate networks and may receive compensation from some of the links on this site. More details here. —

Cool Hiking Gear.

Using Vaseline To Prevent Foot Blisters

I recently did a post on how to prevent and treat blisters while out on the trail so I was interested to hear this little tip afterwards on how to use Vaseline to prevent foot blisters.

To provide some background, I recently Climbed Mont Blanc in the Alps and did a bunch of posts on the trip. While I was in the Alps one of the guys I traveled there with give me a good tip on how to prevent blisters. Vaseline 100% Pure Petroleum Jelly, 3.75 Ounce (Pack of 3)

Basically, before setting out he would smear his feet in Vaseline and then just put his hiking socks on. Only one pair of hiking socks mind you, not two pairs which can traditionally be the norm i.e. one thin lighter lining pair that sits against the skin that doesn’t move, with a thicker pair on top touching the inside of the boots.

My assumption here is that the Vaseline acts in the same way as wearing two pairs of socks with the Vaseline taking the place of the inner lining sock. With the Vaseline any inner friction between your hiking sock and the foot is accommodated by enabling the foot to easily move back and forth against the sock as you hike.

The Test

So, the logical thing to do was to test this. There were three of us on the trip. there was my friend who had the idea, myself and another mate.

After a day or two’s hiking in the Alps climbing Gran Paradiso, it was clear that blisters could be a very real problem as walking across and through the snow meant a lot of friction was being generated on our feet in our hiking boots.

I think it was me who raised the subject of getting the beginnings of a blister on my big toe when the three of us were sitting around having a chat after climbing Gran Paradiso. One of the lads also then said that he thought he to was getting a blister too. This was when our other friend mentioned his tip about the Vaseline.

I had brought Compeed, blister plasters, with me so I decided that I would use one of those and stick with my two sock method, inner liner sock and an outer hiking sock. The other lad decided to follow my friends tip of using the Vaseline and one pair of normal hiking socks. Now I should add that this was not a conscious test per se, I just decided to stick with what I had been doing while my other mate didn’t.

The Result Post Mont Blanc

ME = 1 FULLY DEVELOPED BLISTER

MY TWO FRIENDS = 0 BLISTERS

Yes indeed, I stuck with the traditional two sock method and put a blister plaster on my initial ‘potential blister’, and it developed into an almighty big ass one! My two mates, one of whom was in the early stages of developing a blister like me, got on fine and had no blisters to report.

Now, there are possibly a lot of other factors involved in something like this. For example, perhaps my hiking boots weren’t as good a fit or something like that. We all had hired boots on as we needed to have crampon compatible boots, so all being equal, this could be said to apply to all of us. None of us reported our boots being uncomfortable though, quite the opposite.

I think the main thing with this was that two of us were in the early stages of developing a blister and we both chose two different roads. Me, I decided to leave the Vaseline option and somewhat paid the price (While the blister plaster enabled me to hike on, it took quite a while for the blister to heal once I finally took it off). My friend who followed the advice of our other mate and put Vaseline all over his feet before setting out was all good!

Conclusion

So there you have it. If you’re heading out on a long trek over difficult terrain, especially over multiple days, this could be a good tip to remember to help prevent the dreaded blister! It’s cheap and easy to implement too 😉

Have you tried this out when hiking? How did you get on? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

What are you looking for?

Copyright © 2023 · Cool Hiking Gear

Cool Hiking Gear is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

  • About This Site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure Statement
  • Contact
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT