Guy,

With respect, I'm in no way saying you were. You wrote "save your money" and that walking in the woods is different than rucking in the Q. I agreed with you by saying that felllows have been doing this for years without getting pedicures.

They're not necessary; just nice to have. And as far as having nice smooth feet, mine are about as ugly and jacked up as they get and I'm not leaving this job.

Sorry for the confusion.

Books

Given how my nails grow, I can see the logic in a pedicure, not that I have ever had one but I have had my nail yanked off by a doctor because it was dead..and that was torture...took forever for him to pull it out..and even with the pain killer jabs (had 2 if I remember correct on the toe), it still bloody hurt...

Callouses Falling off
 

I have a 3 inch by 1 inch spot on the arch of my foot that will blister every time I run or ruck. After a couple of weeks the blister hardens and becomes a callous, which is great. But after about 2 weeks the callous falls off exposing new sensitive skin which blisters within a mile of the callous falling off. Any suggestions?

Thats not...
 

Thats not a callous. Blisters do not become a callous. If they flatten out they become dead skin covering tender skin. When it finally tears off the new tender skin is revealed.

Your need to stop before it becomes a blister, that way you can build a callous.

Thanks for the fast response Pete.

Yeah, I sure wish I'd been more disciplined on my first ruck. The day after I talked to my recruiter about transferring to the NG and starting the selection process I decided to throw on a 55 pound ruck and my LBE. I started cross country and moved to a bike trail, covering about seven miles. I would admit this as an accomplishment for a newbie if it weren't for the fact that I didn't let myself stop for a foot drill, even after getting my feet a bit wet trying to jump across a stream. the only stop I made was to retie a ruck strap, and I paid no attention to the hot spots on my feet. I was far too hard core in my own estimation. Bottom line is that all this got me were some fun looking blisters on my feet, a few of which got infected. Thanks TR and W-M. Your info is all written down in the notes section of my ranger handbook.

Excellent advice.
 

It may or may not be frowned upon by QP's and others, but in my experience rucking I've found that putting a white sock over your issued OD or black socks really helps cut down on the friction. I prefer to use plain, white cotton ankle socks over my issued OD's when I know I'm going for longer distances. My good buddy did this in SFAS and still does in SFQC currently. He hardly ever gets blisters.

However, nothing can take the place of boots that simply fit your foot well. I generally wear a 12.5R in desert boots and I will try on two dozen or more pairs if that's what it takes to find one that fits properly. Call me picky, but I've only got one set of feet and I don't like to cause them undue pain. Consequently, I find the best fits come from Altama brand boots.

Gentlemen, thank you again for the excellent advice.

I thought the only thing that you can use at SFAS was Army Issue boots and socks along with Moleskin in order to level the playing field for the canidates?

Short cuts...

I wonder what he will do when he gets to a team and finds himself in a situation where he cannot wear 2 pairs of socks or carry enough spares to supplement wearing more than one pair.

Guys, when it comes to socks and boots the best bet is to toughen your feet a bit. We dont always have the pleasure of wearing multiple pairs of socks or packing enough for that... Also, there are plenty of places it is counter productive to wear more than one pair. What then???

Crip

I actually just had my very first peticure/manicure on my toe nails and BOY did it make a big difference...the pains from running on the road with the in-grown parts of the nail rubbing against the skin are gone and my feet feel brand new (well, sort of).

I must agree it does make a difference, especially for those who have in-grown toe nails on those long rucks...

Wet cotton socks will probably do more damage than you think...Boy, I can just imagine the blisters now!

I use to get in-grown toe nails really bad. The last time I went to the doctors (before I got in the Army), they clip down the sides of where the nail grows next to the skin, and then added some type of chemical at the root where it killed the cuticle to prevent that part of the nail to grow agian. No problems since then.

Flat FEET!!
 

Im simply flat footed. I'm the 3rd generation in my family that has flat feet.
Grandfather was a 26 yr. Marine, and highly respected. He was flat footed, it didn't bother him then but does now. My Father was also a marine, only for 6 years, but same deal, feet didn't bother him but does now...
Their issues are common with flatfooted people, that have done alot of lifting in their time. Is there advice on feet by structure? Recommened boot mods for flat feet people? I run great, and ruck even better, and will be getting my tab, my feet aren't stopping me from that, but I am however looking for advice for the long run. Thanks For this site. VW

A year.....
 

I see you've been here a year. Long enough to rear plenty of threads.

Advice? Make your first post in the intro thread. Oh, wait, this was your first post.

Want to explain why you're "special".

im not...
 

why am I special?
Hmm. well I fly ultralights and own a "minimax 449cc" A buddy and I installed the wings before I flew I put one on and tightened it down, and he put the other on, (failing to bolt it in) do to getting side tracked for a coke. (the drink)
I flew that day for about 15 minutes and after landing the wing slipped off.. I consider it special im still alive!