hey all,

at the grand old age of 35, i will be attempting JSFGI for the second time this year, my first attempt being 12 months ago...

i actually came off last year with severe exhaustion in week 2 (schoolboy error, i just didnt eat enough before a night march and literally ran out of fuel), but after 2 miles of the ICFT on day 1 i was suffering with severe blisters...but theyve given me another crack so im off again...

im an experienced hiker with plenty of time slogging up and down mountains under my belt but id never suffered such bad blisters until selection...

i tried made to measure alt-berg boots and these werent all i thought they would be and made them even worse i believe than the various boots id tried before (pro-boots and the new boot ECW)...im currently using leather lined han-wags, which seem to be alot better, but a couple of weeks ago i was in the brecons and still developed some minor blistering which would almost certainly have worsened over 2 or 3 weeks...

i visited a podiatrist who told me that basically im blister prone and theres not really much i can do about it, so i have to manage them as best i can...

i know blister prevention and management is a very individual thing, but i was hoping someone may have a magic solution...one of the DS even recommended wearing sealskinz socks and nothing else...!!!

my current preparation is cover prone areas with duo-derm and tape over with a couple of layers of luenko physio tape...im considering covering that with some shiny duct tape to reduce friction (found that idea on a marathon walkers website)...

i know that blisters are an occupational hazard and a result of the sheer stress that im putting my feet under during selection, but they really slowed me down last time and although i wasnt the fittest guy there by a long shot, i was certainly holding my own...

any advice would be greatly appreciated and apologies if its been done to death already, if thats the case just point me in the right direction...

thanks in advance,

B.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I've always taped my feed up with industrial zinc tape, and worn a double skin running ankle sock (thin pair which is designed for runners, has 2x layers to minimise friction) under my normal army issue socks.

All the remedies in the word go to rats as soon as your feet are soaked. This is when the real blisters start.

Different solutions suit different people.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------helps you to pass selection would be well worth it.

Also wearing good quality boot socks and keeping your boots as tight as it is comfortable to do so worked wonders for me.

You can also harden the soles of your feet by applying surgical spirits to them every night. This caused some minor problems for me but I have a friend who swears by it! I prefer to harden the soles of my feet by walking barefoot on hard floors (mainly concrete) as often as I can---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Just a thought but have you still got the same insoles in the boots came with? They are usually useless - even if you buy Altbergs! I suffered badly with blisters and found a combination of surgical spirit on sore spots (once every couple of days is usually enough until they toughen up) and changing to "Super feet" insoles (the light green ones) worked well. I taped my feet using "stappal" strapping tape which sticks like glue, as long as you don't get any wrinkles in when you apply it. Then vaseline the whole foot (which helps when it's wet) use coolmax lining socks and a good quality (Bridgedale / Brasher) thick mountain sock.

Also look at "Sole" custom footbeds. They mould with heat then set and can provide additional support for your feet. I found they stopped my foot moving about as much in the boots and hence less chance of blistering, which suited me slightly better than the superfeet. They come in various thicknesses, red is standard and OK unless your boots are pretty roomy, in which case go for the thicker black ones. Both types of insoles are 'trim to fit', so go for a bigger size if in any doubt. Sorbothane is OK for reducing impact on the joints but I don't think it's much cop for selection and know a few that have had blisters with it (me included).

Finally, you can scrub the dead skin off your feet once you have a calous formed. Sounds counter productive, but the calous can stand too proud and rub, creating a blister underneath it, which is extremely painful. When your feet harden up, removing this outer skin with a foot file should still leave tough enough skin underneath to withstand general selection rubbing.

Hope this comes in useful, if nothing works, try copious amounts of pain killers!