How To Look After Your Feet Outdoors

Man changing socks outdoors
Stopping to change wet socks, Photo by Henry Landon.

Taking care of your feet outdoors is vital and it’s worth learning how to look after your feet outdoors.

Whether you are hiking, climbing, canoeing, biking, skiing or snowshoeing if you can’t use your feet you are in trouble.

If you have ever had really bad blisters, or even a mild case of trench foot, you will know how crippling the pain can be.

In this article I will cover a range of products, prevention and cure methods and practices to help look after your feet outdoors, focusing on temperate environments and mild to damp conditions.

Man sitting under a tarp in the woods tending to his feet
Take the time to look after your feet in the outdoors, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Generally, as with any ailment, prevention is better than cure. Finding ways to avoiding blisters, twisted ankles or trench foot is better than dealing with the consequences of them.

Blisters

Blisters are one of the main potential problems you will have with your feet while on an outdoor trip. Blisters are pockets of body fluid which might be pus or blood within the upper layers of skin. Blisters on your feet they are normally caused by friction and continual rubbing that occurs when a number of factors affect your feet.

These factors may include poorly fitting boots, boots that haven’t be properly broken in, feet that are left damp for a long time and become softened, feet that are not in a good tough condition for the activity you are undertaking, boots with inadequate padding on the sole or heel, or socks that are not adequately padded, or too thin, or old.

Heels showing extensive bloody blistering
A bad case of blisters, Photo by Jamie MacDonald.

Blisters can ruin the enjoyment of any outdoor trip. Really bad blisters can severely degrade your mobility. If the conditions of your feet deteriorate to the point that you cannot walk out of a situation, you might end up in real trouble. It’s not just an issue of pain, either. In more severe cases blisters can lead to cellulitis or sepsis, especially if the skin is broken.

To pop or not to pop? That is the question…

The general rule with blisters is not to pop them as the bubble of skin helps to protect and keep sterile the new skin that is growing underneath. Therefore, padding the blister out and protecting it while the skin underneath is healing is the right solution. However, if you think that future activity will make the blister pop anyway you should think about popping it as a preventive measure. First clean the area, then take a needle and sterilise it with the heat from an open flame like a lighter, or by boiling it in water or by using some kind of antiseptic like medical iodine. Then make a small hole near the edge of the blister, drain the fluid, then pat it dry.

applying Compeed product to heel of naked foot
Applying Compeed, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Now that you have popped the blister it is best to protect the area from future rubbing and keep the area sterile and dry. Compeed blister plasters are very useful for this task. Be sure the area is dry and free from dirt, foot powder or any pus or blood. Remember that taking off the blister plaster may pull the blistered skin off your foot, which may be painful and may increase the risk of infection. To prevent this cut a small patch of tape or Compeed out the same size as your blister and place it non sticky side onto over blister before applying the Compeed, this will protect it when the Compeed is removed.

smoothing down the edge of a Compeed blister plaster
Smoothing down the edges of the Compeed. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

When you apply the blister plasters position them evenly over the centre of the worst affected area and smooth down the edges firmly until the there are no loose areas or creases.

Placing a strip of zinc oxide tape over a heel that already has compeed on it.
Protecting the Compeed with zinc Oxide Tape, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

You can also use zinc oxide tape to help protect your damaged skin, but remember to cut a small piece the same size as the blister out first and back it onto the blister.

smoothing zinc oxide tape onto the heel of a foot
Applying Zinc Oxide tape smoothly, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Once you have applied your Compeed you may have to carry on hiking, if this is the case add layers of zinc oxide tape over the Compeed to protect it and help pad the damaged part of your foot. This will aid you in carrying on by reducing the risk of further damage and lessening the pain of walking.

rubbing zinc oxide tape on a heel
Warming and rubbing down the Zinc Oxide tape to bond strongly with the skin, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Overlap each piece of zinc oxide tape and rub them down to remove as many creases as possible, the heat from your hands will help the glue dry on to your foot. Once you have finished this wait a few minutes before putting socks and shoes back on as this time will increase the quality of bond to your feet and lessen the chance of the tape coming off. When cutting the tape, make sure the edges are rounded; this will reduce the chances of the tape peeling off and sticking to your socks.

Trench Foot

underside of feet becoming white and wrinkly.
A case of trench foot. Photo by Henry Landon.

Having continually wet feet for a prolonged period of time can lead to the softening of your skin, increased sensitivity, swelling, pain and eventually to trench foot which is otherwise known as immersion foot syndrome.

Trench foot is a non-freezing cold injury (NFCI) that develops in extreme cases when your feet are wet for a long time. Originally trench foot got its name from the trenches of the First World War when thousands of French, British and American soldiers got the condition when they spent long periods with wet cold feet.

This condition can affect the toes or heels or the whole foot and sole, it can develop in as little as 12 hours to two days when your feet are continually wet. Eventually the skin will turn black and start to come off if you don’t or can’t do anything about it. This blacking is the indication of gangrene, this if left untreated can be life threatening.

Trench foot can be very painful and if not treated lead to real long and short term damage to your feet. Treating it out in the field is notoriously difficult as you need to stay off your feet and keep them dry for long enough for them to recover, making you immobile.

Treating Trench Foot:

  1. Rewarm your feet by bathing them in warm water for about 15 minutes, if you carry potassium permanganate in your first aid or survival kit add this to the water.
  2. Disinfect your feet by cleaning them well with soapy water and or iodine and dry them thoroughly with a clean towel.
  3. Try to keep off your feet, putting your feet in tight socks or boots will decrease circulation and therefore slow the natural healing of your feet. Lose down boots will help your feet to stay warm and not constrict them.
  4. When sleeping do not put socks on as this will constrict blood flow, instead add extra warmth to your feet by using an extra blanket or jacket placed over them at night. Do not elevate your feet as this will decrease blood flow.
  5. Repeat this process and keep your feet clean and warm for as long as it take to heal them.
  6. It may take a while for your feet to heal. In a mild case your feet may recover in a few days, but a severe case your feet may take months to heal.
down camp booties can help take care of your feet
Down camp booties can help take care of your feet outdoors. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Warm down boots are a useful and comfortable extra to take on trips, they are great in huts on ski tours or arctic trips in snow tents and can help your feet recover in the evening from long days on the trail or on the river. Down boots can help your feet recover from mild trench foot and prevent the aliment from getting worse.

Buy Rab down booties here.

Foot Care Kit

In taking care of your feet outdoors, prevention is better than cure. This is the value of learning how to look after your feet outdoors

Carrying a kit of well selected supplies to help take care of your feet goes a long way to keeping your feet in good condition while you are out. The aim is to stave off deterioration of the condition of your feet, despite the demands of your chosen activity or the current environmental conditions.

My personal kit for temperate regions contains nail scissors, Leukoplast Zinc oxide tape, Scholl athlete’s foot powder, a medium sized dry bag, thin liner socks, thicker hiking socks, a small bar of soap and a flannel.

soft fabric packing cube containing foot care items
My personal foot care kit in a clothes packing cube. You should assemble something similar for taking care of your feet outdoors. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

More details on the contents of my foot care kit are below…

1. Nail scissors

You can get a small pair of nail scissors from most good pharmacies; buy them with a blunt, rounded point to prevent damage to your other equipment. Use the nail scissors to keep your toe nails short and pay special attention to removing any sharp edges that might cut into the next door toe. Nail clippers work well too, but personally I prefer nail scissors because you can use them to cut other things like zinc oxide tape.

Buy round tip nail scissors.

some nail scissors
Nail scissors with a blunt point, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

2. Leukoplast

Zinc oxide tape is a very versatile product and can be used to prevent rubbing on your feet as a precaution before you start a big hike, or as a cure if you are experiencing hot spots or blisters. It is advisable to use zinc oxide tape in combination with Compeed over actual blisters where the skin has weakened, because when you come to take it off the zinc oxide tape it will pull off the skin of the blister; were as the Compeed is less likely to do this. You can also cut a small piece of tape the same size as the blister and apply it to the inside of the tape sticky side to sticky side and position this over your blister to prevent the tape tearing off the damaged skin. This tape can also be used as a preventative at the beginning of a hike to lessen the chances of you twisting or straining your ankle. This product is expensive and there are cheaper options out there, but please take my advice and buy the pricier good quality type it will save your feet in the long run.

Buy classic Leukotape.

three rolls of medical tape
Three different types of Zinc oxide tape of varying qualities, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

3. Athlete’s foot powder

Anti-fungal foot powder is a good way to help keep your feet dry and free from fungal infections. I decant as much as I think I will need for a trip into a small bottle with a dispensing insert lid that I can use like a salt shaker. I shake a small amount out into a dry bag and put my feet in the dry bag with the powder, this helps me conserve the amount of powder I use and stop me leaving a lot of powder on the forest floor.

Buy athlete’s foot powder.

two bottles of foot powder
Athletes foot power bottle on the right, foot powder decanted into a smaller bottle on the left, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

4. A medium size dry bag

This is to go with the food powder to help me powder my feet. I shake out a bit of foot powder into the bag and then put my feet one at a time into the bag and rub the bag over my foot. My foot powder shaker lives in the bag to keep the two together and the bag is labelled for easy identification.

Buy medium Exped drybag.

small dry bag rolled up
My foot powdering dry bag, used as part of my daily foot care routine. See further down the article for more details. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

5. Compeed blister plasters

These self-adhesive plasters if applied correctly can prevent and help cure blisters, I tend to carry a pack of the large size and cut them down as needed for the blister that needs to be protected. The box that they come in helps to protect the plasters but the box is quite big for the amount of plasters you get in each box. I tend to buy two boxes and then put both sets into one box to conserve space. When you apply the Compeed be sure that your feet are completely dry and free from moisture, dirt, dust and foot powder when you apply them, work the edges of the plaster smooth against your skin. If I am breaking in new boots or going for a hard hike I put them on as a precaution at the beginning. Putting a layer of Zinc Oxide tape over the Compeed after will help to protect the plaster.

Buy Compeed blister plasters.

a box of Compeed blister plasters
Compeed blister plasters are a must have in your foot care kit, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

6. Liner socks

A set of thin liner socks can help to stop the rubbing between your feet and your boots and help keep your feet dry. I like Bridgedale liners and tend to carry as many or more liners as I do thick socks. If your feet start to get damp with sweat or wet from rain or going through rivers or deep mud; stopping to change your liner socks and or thick socks can make a big difference to keeping your feet blister free and prevent trench foot.

Buy Bridgedale liner socks.

thin socks
Bridgedale thin liner socks help to protect your feet from rubbing and keep them dry, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

7. Thicker socks

Good quality thick socks that help to provide padding, warmth, and help keep your feet dry are worth their weight in gold. I like Bridgedale explorer socks for cold conditions; they are high legged so you can pull them up over the top line of your boots which prevents rubbing in this area and you can tuck the bottom of your thermal leggings in to them if it is very cold.

Buy Bridgedale Explorer socks.

Hiking socks
Bridgedale Explorer socks have served me well for many tough outdoor adventures, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

8. A small bar of soap and a flannel

This old yet simple method of washing is highly effective. In my opinion it is superior to more modern solutions such as wet wipes (see below for more on this) and lasts longer. Keeping clean in the outdoors is very important, especially your feet and privates. Fungal infections can develop quickly, which if not treated can start with sore skin and lead to full-on infections.

Buy flannel washcloths.
Buy mini travel soap bars.

Also note that there are many sources of soap in nature, such as the leaves of birch trees, Betula spp., sweet chestnut trees, Castanea sativa, or horse chestnut trees, Aesculus hippocastanum to name but a few. All of these tree species have a type of the chemical compound saponins in their leaves and when scrunched up with water can produce and effective natural soap. So, even if you lose your little bar of soap on a trip or run out there are still options on how to keep yourself clean in the outdoors.

[And if you’d like to improve your tree and plant identification, check out our Tree and Plant Identification Masterclass online course.]

A small bar of soap on top of a flannel
Soap and a flannel are the simple solution to staying clean outdoors, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

What About Wet Wipes for Outdoor Foot Care?

An alternative to using soap and a flannel is to use wet wipes. Wet wipes are a good option if you do not have access to a lot of water or you if you are in a fixed camp and just want to have a quick wash, or if you are trying to go super lightweight with your packing and take dehydrated wet wipes with you to save a few grams of weight while hiking.

I find the packs that they come in are not the best for the outdoors. This is because the sticky flap that you use to take the wipes out quickly becomes less sticky and gets covered in leaf litter and dirt. Using a good quality Ziploc bag is a better option as you can take exactly as many wet wipes as you need for your trip and you can keep them clean in the bag.

However, wet wipes are in no way a match for the flannel and soap method; they don’t clean as well as a flannel, they are a one use product and require you to throw them away after. If you heat the right amount of water for the type of wash you intend to have and use a flannel and sparingly use the soap you can have many washes.

wet wipes, both the original packet and some transferred into a translucent Zip-Loc bag.
Wet wipes are an option for keeping clean, transfer them into a good Ziploc bag. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Evening Foot Care Routine

Assembling your own foot care kit will definitely help you to take care of your feet outdoors. You have to use it, though. In this regard, looking after your feet outdoors is made easier by having a good daily foot care routine.

Every evening in camp I like to give my feet a good clean before bed with a bit of water and some soap on a flannel.

At the end of a long day in my boots they tend to feel hot and sweaty even if I have just been walking around the woods. I like to air my boots out when I go to bed, cutting two long tent pegs and knocking them in near my bivi bag under my tarp allows me to put the boots upside down on the pegs to dry out overnight.

This is an old jungle tip and stops creepy crawlies from getting into your boots at night while they dry out. This method also saves you a bit of space under your tarp and stops any rain splash from going in your boots if they are near the edge of your tarp.

hiking boots, inverted and suspended by two small stakes in the ground
Cut two long tent pegs for your boots to help them dry out. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

When I take the boots off I like to leave my socks on while I carry out other tasks like brushing my teeth, this gives the socks a chance to dry off using the heat of my feet before I hang them up. Putting a hanging line under the ridge of my tarp is a great way to stay organised and dry kit out, I put my socks on the hanging line to dry out overnight, and with a little foot powder you can extend the time that you use your socks without having to wash them.

man hanging socks on a line under a tarp
A hanging line under your tarp is useful for staying organised and drying your socks out. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

When you come to powder your feet at the end of a day or when you change your socks during a hike using a dry bag as a foot powder bag really helps to powder your feet evenly and conserve your powder supplies. I shake a little out of my small foot powder bottle into the bag each time I want to powder my feet. This method is preferable to just having a lot of loose foot powder in your foot powder bag, as every time you put your feet in especially if they are very wet you will ruin the effect of the powder.

foot powder being shaken from small bottle into a dry bag
Shake a little athlete’s foot powder out of your bottle into your foot powder bag. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Once you have put some foot powder in the bag put your bare foot in the bag and rub it around with your hands. Then put your new socks on or just get in your sleeping bag, pop the bottle back in the bag and roll it back up to keep any foot powder left in the bag dry. This bag can then be clipped onto your hanging line for the morning.

Before you go to sleep take off any zinc oxide tape or Compeed and be careful not to rip off any skin; leaving anything on your feet over night is not a good idea. Let your feet dry out and recover at night. Remember that if you are applying Compeed or zinc oxide tape to your feet to wipe off any residue of powder from the area as this will stop them from sticking.

Dry bag with a foot inside it.
Put your clean and dried foot into the foot powder bag and rub it around with your hands. This trick is a great way to help take care of your feet outdoors, as well as avoid wasting your foot powder. Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Keeping your nails in good condition is part of taking care of your feet outdoors. Tidily trimmed nails can make a big difference to the comfort of your feet. Sharp nail edges rubbing against your next door toe or ingrowing toe nails can be very painful. I try to keep my toe nails cut short but not so short that they might become ingrowing. You will find out what works best for you.

On a longer trip or expedition, you are going to have to cut your nails while you are out. But even before a day hike you should check your nails are not going to cause problems. Spend a little time trimming your nails with scissor or clippers, and remove sharp edges or corners with a file. Basically, do whatever works for you, just don’t forget to do it; otherwise within a few miles the discomfort might remind you.

Person cutting their toe nails
Cut your toe nails before a trip and take care to remove any share edges that might cut into your next door toe, Photo by Martin Tomlinson.

Taking Care of Your Feet Outdoors is Worth the Effort

In conclusion, taking the time to care for your feet can make all the difference between a successful outdoor adventure and an uncomfortable, possibly risky ordeal. By following preventive measures and carrying a well-equipped foot care kit, you can protect your feet from blisters, trench foot, and other common ailments such as athlete’s foot.

Prioritising cleanliness, dryness, and cushioning with the right socks, blister treatments, and protective techniques will help maintain foot health outdoors. This will enable you to fully enjoy your outdoor activities.

Remember, a few simple steps to prevent discomfort can go a long way in ensuring a safer, more comfortable experience in the wilds. Prevention is always far better than cure!

Have you had problems with your feet outdoors? Did you learn anything about how to take care of your feet outdoors from the above article? Are there other things you do instead of, or as well as, the advice above? Let us, and other readers, know in the comments section below…

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Henry is a Frontier Bushcraft Instructor. He joined the team in 2011. He has enjoyed the outdoors since he was very young. With family in Scotland and Sussex, every holiday while growing up was spent in one of these places. Continuing his interest in the natural world and embracing travel, Henry has spent time in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Henry is a keen canoeist and climber. He is a Canoe Leader (Open Water and White Water). He also holds the Single Pitch Award and the Mountain Leader Award.

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