Help Customers Take Care of Their Feet

Your feet are two rather small points of contact between your body, what is sometimes a large amount of equipment, and the ground. They move up, down, backwards, forwards, side-to-side, and around or over obstacles, and they are often the main mode of transport to, from, and during your excursion. 

In other words, they are really important.

Whether it’s due to cold toes, wet feet, blisters, fungal infections, or a lack of comfort, there is one thing that tends to bring a swift end to any hunt – problems with your feet.

It’s very difficult to hunt or participate in any of the traditional field sports without using your feet. Even inside a canoe or kayak, the point where your feet contact the hull create the stable platform that allows you to propel the boat forward.

When I was a wee lad, my hunting boots were a pair of double-layer Northland “insulated“ rubber boots. Wearing them was a case study in miserable times afield. Because rubber does not breathe, any activity caused my feet to sweat and the boots to become clammy. In below-freezing weather, there was often ice inside my boots. On one particularly cold hunt in Montana when I was 12 years old, we had to remove my boots and build a small fire next to the duck blind just to warm my feet and dry my socks.

As time went on, more and better footwear became available for youth. My children got nothing but the best winter boots, as their childhood was spent in Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. It was probably some of the best money I spent, because quality boots last, and we passed boots down across four different kids, then gave them to relatives for their children to use.

While quality, comfortable and waterproof footwear have definitely allowed hunters to do more than ever in ever-greater comfort, they are not the only important part of the equation.

How your customers care for their feet can play an equally important part.

Which Boots??

With the plethora of quality manufacturers, huge advancements in waterproof/breathable technologies, and ever better and more knowledgeable design teams, much of today’s footwear can be utilized out of the box due to their marriage of quality and comfortable materials that make even some new boots feel like slipping on a pair of old tennis shoes.

Matching the footwear to the type of hunting or outdoor recreation activity your customer will be participating in can make or break a hunt.

For example, while a pair of -100°F winter pack boots or 1,600-gram insulated neoprene rubber boots might be perfect for sitting in a treestand and walking short distances in below freezing weather, they would be highly uncomfortable hiking eight to 10 miles per day on a sheep or elk hunt in the mountains. Conversely, a pair of supportive, lightly insulated all-leather mountain boots would feel right at home crossing a loose shale field with a heavy pack on, but they would likely not be a wise choice for a late-December duck hunt.

Rubber: Starting with the simplest types of boots, the single-piece rubber boot has been a staple of the outdoor world for years. Fortunately, these boots have evolved tremendously to include ultra-wicking liners that move moisture away from the  foot and out the top of the boot. Combined with some of today’s most modern rubbers and polymers, the fit of the average hunting boot has improved dramatically over the last 50 years. Today, buyers can order these boots in many different specialties, from lightweight uninsulated boots, some that even include laces for a better fit, all the way to 2,000 grams and greater levels of additional insulation for keeping feet toasty on stand. The best use for these types of boots is for short walks to somewhere the hunter will be sitting in place for a long time. Lacrosse boots have been a gold standard for hunters for many years, but newer companies such as Muck, Bogs, Irish Setter and Rocky have joined the club.

Pac Boots: An upgrade to a traditional rubber boot, these boots typically (though not always) are comprised of a rubber bottom that is attached to a leather upper, with a wool or synthetic insulated “pack” liner that is removable from the boot. Ultra cold-weather activities and even some activities requiring a moderate amount of walking or hiking are where this boot shines. The ability to remove the liners from the boots make drying them and the boot itself easy and fast. Still-hunting Northwoods whitetails or walking snow-covered ridges in search of elk are great places for this boot. Likely the most well-known brand in this category is Sorel. LaCrosse, Baffin and Kamik are some others. More specialized boots that give better support for hiking come from brands like Hoffman.

Hiking Boots: As the name suggests, this boot was originally designed for hiking and backpacking. They come in many shapes and sizes, from low, to mid to high upper options for varying levels of ankle support. They are typically uninsulated, and buyers will have a choice between waterproof/breathable and non-waterproof. These are great boots for early-season hunts with light packs that require a lot of walking, desert hunts, and anywhere you’ll be hunting in warm conditions. Use care when helping a customer select the right amount of ankle support and match it to conditions if you want to avoid injuries. Typically, the steeper and rockier the country, the taller boot and the more support they’ll want. Kenetrek has a great new hybrid boot in this category called the Corrie 3.2 that has an excellent blend of hiking and hunting features. Almost every major boot company makes some form of hiking boot, in addition to some more “mainstream” (i.e. non-hunting) brands like Columbia, Keen and, yes, even Nike.

Insulated Hunting Boots: These are the Swiss Army knife of the boot world. Usually ranging in insulation levels from 200 to 2,000 grams, this is the boot your customer should choose if they can only pick one pair. They typically have moderate to strong levels of support, and the varying levels of insulation can tailor them to many hunting situations. They are typically comfortable to hike long distances in, most come with some sort of waterproof/breathable membrane such as Gore-Tex, and most are a blend of leather and nylon to allow excess moisture out from those long hikes. Choose a brand here that works for your assortment (there are many) and is popular enough to be known or obscure enough that you will have a corner on the market in your area.

Mountain Boots: These are the all-terrain vehicle of the outdoor world. Mountain boots are designed to be rugged, often with rubber armoring around the bottom area of the boot instead of just the toes and heels, stiff insoles, and stiffer, highly supportive uppers that completely stabilize the foot even under loads.

I have a pair of Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots that fit me better than any other boot I’ve tried, but other brands like Scarpa, Crispi, Lowa and Meindl are worth looking into.

Between the Foot and the Boot

Insoles: Despite massive advancements in boot comfort, one of the areas that can be easily improved upon are the removable insoles. The human foot contains 26 bones, 30 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, all of which work together to provide support, balance and mobility. Unfortunately, boots are designed to fit the “average” person. They do not take into account things like high arches, low arches, pronation or supination during gait, different foot shapes, widths, higher low insteps, etc.

Due to a misaligned hip, I walk with my feet pointed out, which causes over-pronation of my foot, with the outside of my heel striking the ground first and my foot rolling obliquely rather than straight. For years, I spent thousands of dollars on visits to specialty podiatrists who crafted custom orthotics to be placed in my shoes. That meant that many hunting boots of the day did not fit me properly. Today, there are numerous providers that address problems like these with specialty insoles made to line up the foot properly, provide arch support, heel support, and even comfort and cushioning beyond the generic insole that comes with your boot. One of these companies is Form insoles. Form offers several different types of foot support devices, all of which are semi custom form-able to the wearer’s foot. Form insoles can be ordered online, or as an addition to the selection of footwear and footwear products in your store by purchasing wholesale in bulk directly from the company at www.forminsoles.com.

Socks: Whenever somebody walks into your store and buys a new pair of boots, you should always ask important questions and attempt to also sell them at least one pair of high-quality socks. A good sock can make or break a hunt.

The good news is, with today’s advanced materials, technologies and designs, there are many choices to allow your customers to choose the type of sock that’s best for them.

For light hiking, a single wool or synthetic blend sock that is well-fitting with adequate cushioning will typically do. For long hikes, traverses deep into the wilderness, and hiking long distances over uneven terrain, you should sell your customer at least two pairs of socks. One of these should be a thin liner made of merino wool or polypropylene, the other a wool or synthetic blend sock as described above. The old saying “cotton kills” doesn’t specifically apply to boots, but wet socks, cold feet and foot injury can place your customer in varying stages of discomfort all the way to significant danger . Skip the cotton except for wearing back at camp.

Darn Tough, Rivers West, Smartwool, Kenetrek (yes, the boot company), Bombas, Carhartt , and many others all have high quality socks for hunting, hiking and everyday wear. Once you convince your customer to try a pair of high-quality socks, they likely won’t go back.

Proper Foot Care

Just how important is proper foot care?

The term “trench foot” first appeared in the winter of 1914 during WWI. It was characterized by lower foot swelling, numbness and pain. It was quickly recognized as a serious problem by military medical authorities, but not necessarily their leaders. There was some debate over whether it was caused by frostbite or some other condition, but it was quickly accepted as a specific disease. The major reasons proposed were exposure, diet and infection. The opinion emerged that it was caused by circulatory changes in the foot caused by cold, wet and pressure. Predisposing factors included poor dietary balance and nutrients and fatigue. Trench foot became a serious problem for the Allies, leading to 75,000 injuries in the British and over 2,000 in the American forces.

That’s right — almost 80,000 soldiers were laid up as “wounded” because of improper foot care and inadequate boots for the weather. Some simple steps can ensure your customers don’t join them.

Encourage customers to keep their feet dry and use clean socks or, at the minimum, socks that are allowed to air out for a day between wearing them in the field. Make sure their boots fit well and are well broken-in before the hunt. Address issues like hot spots, chafing, blisters or even pinching of a boot at the earliest possible time. Customers should wear the right boots for the conditions they will be hunting in. Finally, they should always carry a foot first-aid kit that is easily accessible in their pack to help with issues along the way.

My foot first-aid kit includes tweezers for removing splinters, wraps and elastic bandages to immobilize the ankle in the case of a fall or sprain, an aircast or splint, instant cold packs to reduce swelling, moleskin or blister pads and scissors to cut them, antifungal ointment to treat athlete’s foot, and a nail clippers to trim a toenail that might be rubbing against the boot or another toe. Finally, I added an item to my “camp” foot care arsenal that became an absolute life saver on a recent hunt — a large bag of eucalyptus Epsom salts. My hunting partner and I both had foot issues on that hunt. I twisted my ankle, ironically, by having the wrong boots on and being too lazy to take them off. He had two blisters. Soaking our feet in a hot Epsom salt bath in the evening had them back to new inside of two days. Plus, it felt absolutely decadent.