moleskin

[W.E.G.]

A common theme here seems to be the "forced march."

Most of us don't do this too often. So, blisters are a concern.

Moleskin has been mentioned. I didn't know much about moleskin. Especially the technique of applying it. So I googled it and came up with this"

Originally posted by "manimal" at http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=33109.15




BLISTERS AND MOLESKIN.

moleskin is for when you get a hot spot. that nice burn that tells you in a few steps you're going to have a nice open blister to deal with.
i doubt you can stop and put it on during the march.

but moleskin can be used effectively to prevent blisters too. you put the mole skin on, cut it round, not corners helps to prevent it from being pulled up by a unstuck corner. then you get same medical paper tape, this stuff seems like it would fall and with any amount of moisture, and it will!

but what you do, it tape with paper tape over the moleskin, long strips, about 3-4 times the length of the moleskin, and make sure you cover above and below the moleskin with the tape. then you take an alcohol swab or cottonball with alcohol on it, and wet the tape. go over it a couple times, then take your fingers and press and smooth it out over your skin.

let it dry, and roll your socks up over it. it will last for days! i have one on my foot know, it's been there for a week, i've been swimming with it on, worked three 12 hour shifts walking....it will last.

[JoeLad]

A guy I work with was a Navy corpsman. He said they used moleskin on all forced marches. His biggest problem was keeping enough of it in his bag.

JoeLad :D

[mosbysmen]

i buy it at wally world , once i open the package and use some on one trip i replace it with a unopened pack in my gear..
a good set of polypro socks with wool socks over that and good broke in boots.
i dont get blisters often .

[Sig220]

How would ya'll compare moleskin to "second skin"?

[JoeLad]

I only used it once. Whilst intoxicated in Norway, I was hit by a car just below my left knee. Corpsman used moleskin on the bottom of my heel and wrapped my ankle with an Ace bandage. It sure took the pressure off my knee.

Why I was hit by the car is a whole other story...

JoeLad:D

[762 shooter]

Mole skin is superior. It can take rough use if applied correctly. I use the same technique Gary posted. I have tried the second skin a few times and every time is would degrade within an hour in my boot. The mole skin should be applied before the hot spot gets too hot. It will stop a blister from forming if applied in time.

[Mike in Seattle]

Re/ Boots & feet;

Please see my post of 17 Sep over on Arfcom.

Long distance hiking (http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=123&t=390718)

Mike
:fal:

[Wadman]

Originally posted by JoeLad
I only used it once. Whilst intoxicated in Norway, I was hit by a car just below my left knee.

Why I was hit by the car is a whole other story...

JoeLad:D

Were you shouting racial epithets at the car?


I feel for all the moles who had to give up their skins. Poor moles.

[Opie]

What I've done in the past may help out:

1. wear a good pair of boots that are broken in and comfortable. Have them laced fairly snug around the top of your foot, and a little looser from the ankle up. I use a (I think) granny knot to keep the bottom part of the boot tighter. Doing this should allow for better blood flow to your feet. It's made walking long distances a little more comfortable for me.

2. wear a pair of thin dress-type socks on your feet and have a good pair of thicker socks over them. As your foot moves around in your boot, the two pairs of socks rub back and forth instead of your foot and the sock.

3. Have a couple of extra pairs of socks handy as well as a second pair of boots if you are going to be out awhile. Keeping your feet as dry as you can definately helps out a great deal.

I used to get small blisters all the time, and using the dress socks helped me.

[lew]

Sock liners available at almost any sproting goods/outdoor store will function the same as the dress socks in your example, Opie. They are usually thicker than a dress sock, and will last longer. Most breathe and wick moisture away better, too.

I usually hike in tennis shoes, so I only wear one pair of socks. However, if it's colder, I'll wear boots with sock liners added in.

One of the most important aspects of foot care is tough (but not overly tough) feet. I have pretty tough feet, and, after two excursions to Philmont, NM and numerous hikes in addition to, I've never had a blister, let alone a hot spot.

[Stranger]

I use rabbit, not mole, and find them very comfortable. My feet are too big to fit inside a mole's skin.

http://www.onlyslippers.com/products/nix/ns034.jpg

[J. Armstrong]

Doesn't it struggle when you try to put your foot in it ??? :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Opie]

Originally posted by lew
Sock liners available at almost any sproting goods/outdoor store will function the same as the dress socks in your example, Opie. They are usually thicker than a dress sock, and will last longer. Most breathe and wick moisture away better, too.

Very true, but I'm a cheap bugger and dress socks are free for me...:biggrin:

[lew]

I hear you on that.

[Enquiring Minds]

Originally posted by Mike in Seattle
Re/ Boots & feet;

Please see my post of 17 Sep over on Arfcom.

Long distance hiking (http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=123&t=390718)

Good on you for going the simple route, and NOT taking the dreaded oral anti-fungals... Wow, liver damage to cure toenail fungus... only Big Pharma could offer that with a straight face.

[Mike in Seattle]

Enquiring Minds;

I'm a bit confused, here.

?? oral anti-fungals ??


:confused:

[gunplumber]

Having survived quite a bit of ground pounding in Ranger and Special Forces units, I have a differnt take on moleskin. I used it as a preventative, as the blurb above points out. But I removed it and applied fresh every day. Long term wet contact with moleskin would soften my calouses and make blisters easier.

Wearing stockings under socks was useful for reducing friction, but the added heat generated by the nylon was unfomfortable in the summer - but just fine in the winter.

I also wore my socks inside out. So the seams were away from my foot.

I have flat feet so its hard to get properly sized boots. The wide part of my foot is further forward than those with higher arches. So once I got a pair broken in, it was traumatic to part with them.

(Sorbithane?) insoles make a huge differnce, as do (Vibrin?) sand soles, which I put on all my boots. I resole even new ones.

Tincture of Benzoine is another "secret". After you get a blister, you use a small sterile needle to drain the blister. Then fill it with tincture of benzoine. This will hurt far more than pouring alcohol on it. I've seen 6'6" Ranger monsters wimper like a little girl (hey, I did too . . .) But once the tincture dries, the "blister" is now a calous.

Others would paint their feet with the tincture before putting on the socks. this would essentially glue the socks to the feet and prevent the shifting of the sock material that is the cause of some blisters. I have not had great success with this method.

Finally, change socks frequently.

I usually had a pair tied to my LCE to dry out and tried to switch at least 2x a day.

After a few 26 mile forced marches, with painful, bruised, but non-blistered feet, I figure this technique is perfected, at least for me.

Finally, there is no substitute on forced marches for practice and conditioning.

Your stride is important. stretching out to take an extra few inches per step really adds up over 25+ miles.

High tech super-magnums and similar boots are really comfey p[laying ninja-waririor. Mine lasted only a few weeks humping 80#s of ruck and equipment. They simply aren['t made to provide the necessary ankle support for heavy rucking.

Body position is important. Keeping your head up and on the horizon encourages a longer stride and more air in your lungs. Staying unched over with the head down causes less air and shorter steps.


Priactice. You should be able to EASILY maintain a 4 MPH pace with a 10 minute brake every 4 miles and a light 35# ruck. I'd say thats the most reasonable continuous road speed. Then move up to a 45 # ruck . Then 45 pound plus weapon and ammo. Food and water don't count as part of the weight. Your bug out bag may start to shrink when you have to carry it on your back.

Use aquariuym hoses so you can drink from a canteen on your rucksack without taking it off. Eat drink from your ruck FIRST. In a run like hell scenario, you are going to ditch your rucksack. your most essential equipment stays on your body and you never ditch your weapon or webgear.

[J. Armstrong]

Mark, Thanks for a great post. I guess most of us "know" most of what you suggest, but speaking for myself, I sometimes need to be reminded to "do" what I "know".
Thanks again !

[Bwana John]

I think that moleskin only works AFTER you get a blister. I cut a do-nut out with the inside diameter larger than the blister, then tape over the top. The donut keeps pressure off the blister. I think applying moleskin BEFORE you get a blister will give you one for sure.

[gunplumber]

Originally posted by Bwana John
I think that moleskin only works AFTER you get a blister. I cut a do-nut out with the inside diameter larger than the blister, then tape over the top. The donut keeps pressure off the blister. I think applying moleskin BEFORE you get a blister will give you one for sure.

I can tell you from hundreds of mile of personal experience that moleskin as a preventative works great.

HOWEVER - you can't just apply it randomly, you have to already know where you get blisters with that pair of boots before you can apply as a preventative

[Mike in Seattle]

I can tell you from hundreds of mile of personal experience that moleskin as a preventative works great.

Yup,, what he said.

Normal places to expect them is back of heel, and side of toes.

If you start feeling "heat " somewhere, and stop NOW and apply moleskin, you can prevent blister from happening.

[gunplumber]

I read the ARF thread and disagree with the stream crossing thing.

If you are out on a pleasure hike and want to keep your feet dry, then by all means change to sandles for a stream crossing.

But leading patrols in dinosaur land, having a bunch of soldiers daintily pussyfooting around to try to keep their feet dry is a good weay to get killed.

Streams, roads, and other linear terrain features are DANGER AREAS that should be crossed as quickly as possible. if you are trying to maintain a low profile.

Establish far side security, near side security, then boggie across as fast as you can and to hell if you get your feet wet.

Your eyes should be in your sector of fire, not looking for the next dry rock to tiptoe onto.

of course, situation dictates, but it seems to me in any kind of survival situation, the goal should be to remain as unobserved as possible - whether its fedgov troops wanting to put you in a relocation camp, lizard men who want to eat you, or merely disadvantage youths who want to rape and pillage, water obstacles are a great place for an ambush.

[Hot Diggity]

I've gotto agree with what Mark said about moleskin as a preventative. But that only works if you know where you're gonna get a blister. For us old guys who can't remember where we used to get them, or just don't know, I have a solution that served me well through 20 years of Marine Corps service. I was a Motor Transport guy, and like all Marines we ran PT a lot, but we didn't walk anywhere unless somebody made us walk, so my feet never got toughened up from constant forced marches. We did it for training and as unit competitions, so when we did walk, it was often at a blistering (pun intended) 5-6 MPH pace. (that's a run for a short guy in the rear with a 60 lb ALICE pack, or a big guy with a 240G.)

The solution? Grease your feet!

Vaseline works great, and you really can't put too much on. I'd slather the stuff on in a nice even coat, ease padded GI socks over my feet and slip into my boots. Feels kinda squishy for the first 100 yards, but after that it's absorbed by the feet and the socks and you're friction free. Never a hot spot, never a blister. Never needed to reapply it after a mandatory sock change either. Just did it at the start of each forced march from 5 miles to 22. Sounds goofy, but it works.

Again, like Mark said: training, training, training is the only way to test any survival skill, even one as simple as walking. We train as we fight.

HD
3510 USMC (Retired)

[Bwana John]

Tincture of Benzoine is another "secret".
While I disagree with GP on how to properly use moleskin I totally agree with the use of Tinture of Benzoine. Another trick is to powder the area with Talc after applying the Benzoine. Keep reapplying Benzoine, dry untill tacky, and reapply talc. This will create a "hoof" which is totally antiseptic, the skin gets very thick, and the friction experanced where the spot the blister is will go way down.

Applying lumps of thick moleskin into your boots before anything is wrong is just asking for blisters. If you need to mitagate the friction someplace on your feet before it starts Id rather do it with thin athletic tape. But perhaps shitty GI issue boots require different methods than good Danners or Italian mountain boots. I certianly would never buy "Hi-Tecs" and expect them to hold up to serious backcountry use.

I believe that one other important part about river x-ings should be pointed out. Rivers themselfs are dangerous, even without the ambush aspect. I recomend taking off your socks, and putting back on your boots for river x-ings. When you get to the other side safely you can redon the sox, and usually in two changes of sox your boots are mostly dry.

[xcpd69]

Originally posted by Hot Diggity
I've gotto agree with what Mark said about moleskin as a preventative. But that only works if you know where you're gonna get a blister. For us old guys who can't remember where we used to get them, or just don't know, I have a solution that served me well through 20 years of Marine Corps service. I was a Motor Transport guy, and like all Marines we ran PT a lot, but we didn't walk anywhere unless somebody made us walk, so my feet never got toughened up from constant forced marches. We did it for training and as unit competitions, so when we did walk, it was often at a blistering (pun intended) 5-6 MPH pace. (that's a run for a short guy in the rear with a 60 lb ALICE pack, or a big guy with a 240G.)

The solution? Grease your feet!

Vaseline works great, and you really can't put too much on. I'd slather the stuff on in a nice even coat, ease padded GI socks over my feet and slip into my boots. Feels kinda squishy for the first 100 yards, but after that it's absorbed by the feet and the socks and you're friction free. Never a hot spot, never a blister. Never needed to reapply it after a mandatory sock change either. Just did it at the start of each forced march from 5 miles to 22. Sounds goofy, but it works.

Again, like Mark said: training, training, training is the only way to test any survival skill, even one as simple as walking. We train as we fight.

HD
3510 USMC (Retired)

Yup. That one dates back to the "Great War" from what I've read. Petrolium jelly, is what I remember being specified. Supposedly helped prevent trenchfoot as well.

Sorry, can't remember the exact source, since I've read litterally thousands of books and articles over the last 40+ years.