Blisters and Gears Thought
It's not that gross, but heads up: blister pic.
I generally think that you should mix up shoe brands and styles to keep your muscles guessing and avoid injury. For the past few years I've typically used maximal shoes for longer races: Hoka Challenger ATR for mellower trails, Hoka Stinson ATR for steep or rocky stuff and the La Sportiva Akasha recently. I felt like I wanted these more maximal shoes for the sake of my feet not feeling like hamburger at the end of a long race, but lately both the Stinsons and the Akashas are giving me a weird side-heel blister (as shown). It starts as a deep tic-tac sized blister at the edge of the thick pad (the white part), and it spreads up the side as a regular thin watery blister you're used to.
So what's up with the heel cups in maximally cushioned shoes? Is the foam compressing and pinching/rubbing? This doesn't happen in more moderately cushioned shoes.
I assume this post is totally useless because everyone's feet are different, but it's bugging me.
Lastly, quick gear thought:
I bought and used folding ultra-light carbon fiber trekking poles for the first time at High Lonesome. I was immediately impressed and thought they were worth the money, compared to the cheaper Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Fiber Adjustable Trekking Poles 2 Pack [affiliate link] I've been using for a while. Those get the job done, but I think I'm on my third pair, having broken a couple shafts sticking it in a hole and tweaking it too hard or nearly drowning in Alaska. After a while the foam part of the handle starts to separate from the cork, and unfortunately the tips are now glued to the shafts, so it's hard to replace them like you used to be able to--the carbide part of the tips are definitely not long for this world, but the rounder steel/aluminum(?) part usually stays around.
By comparison, the Black Diamond have a narrower grip, which I didn't love, but was fine, especially with a glove on. The handle is also foam, which isn't as good as cork. The carbide tips screw in and out, so they're obvious replaceable. I loved the light weight, small size, and easy stowability. It's subtle, but when I'm running down a mountain, my balance feels off when I'm holding collapsible poles--they're too big, so I have to stop and stow them. But the folding ones didn't bother me--bomb down the hill with them in your hand.
I generally think that you should mix up shoe brands and styles to keep your muscles guessing and avoid injury. For the past few years I've typically used maximal shoes for longer races: Hoka Challenger ATR for mellower trails, Hoka Stinson ATR for steep or rocky stuff and the La Sportiva Akasha recently. I felt like I wanted these more maximal shoes for the sake of my feet not feeling like hamburger at the end of a long race, but lately both the Stinsons and the Akashas are giving me a weird side-heel blister (as shown). It starts as a deep tic-tac sized blister at the edge of the thick pad (the white part), and it spreads up the side as a regular thin watery blister you're used to.
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| Most maximal cushion shoes do this now |
I assume this post is totally useless because everyone's feet are different, but it's bugging me.
Lastly, quick gear thought:
I bought and used folding ultra-light carbon fiber trekking poles for the first time at High Lonesome. I was immediately impressed and thought they were worth the money, compared to the cheaper Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Fiber Adjustable Trekking Poles 2 Pack [affiliate link] I've been using for a while. Those get the job done, but I think I'm on my third pair, having broken a couple shafts sticking it in a hole and tweaking it too hard or nearly drowning in Alaska. After a while the foam part of the handle starts to separate from the cork, and unfortunately the tips are now glued to the shafts, so it's hard to replace them like you used to be able to--the carbide part of the tips are definitely not long for this world, but the rounder steel/aluminum(?) part usually stays around.
By comparison, the Black Diamond have a narrower grip, which I didn't love, but was fine, especially with a glove on. The handle is also foam, which isn't as good as cork. The carbide tips screw in and out, so they're obvious replaceable. I loved the light weight, small size, and easy stowability. It's subtle, but when I'm running down a mountain, my balance feels off when I'm holding collapsible poles--they're too big, so I have to stop and stow them. But the folding ones didn't bother me--bomb down the hill with them in your hand.
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