Blisters? - Not this time, Sue tries Injinji hiking socks with success

Blisters, hot spots and sore feet, Sue's hiking curse!

Ever since we have been hiking together Sue's feet have caused her problems. She has an odd shaped little toe that curls under her fourth toe and she always gets blistering and severe pain. Following one long walk, the skin on one little toe "de-gloved" to her dismay, and it took several weeks to heal. She has tried many solutions to prevent this problem including visiting a podiatrist, taping, padding, vaseline and bandaids. She has also replaced her boots twice to see if different styles might help. These have been successful to varying degrees but can be time consuming and , unless she was vigilant, she often received blisters anyway.

Franks's feet at the end of a recent hike - blisters, dirt and tape

One Sunday she was reading "Great Walks Magazine" magazine and saw an ad for Injinji socks that make the claim of reducing blistering and sore feet for not only hiking but runners, athletes and other sports people.

The blurb on the website describes the Outdoor Series tetratsok :

as an interface system specifically designed to perform and adapt to any type of terrain. Engineered with AIS:technology and constructed with Injinji’s exclusive natural wicking Nüwool™, the tetratsok provides exceptional comfort and performance unlike any other athletic wool sock.

She immediately tracked down Paul, the Australian Injinji guru by phone , and subsequently ordered a pair by email . They arrived in time for our November trip into the Walls of Jerusalem. The socks are quite a wierd configuration, more like toe gloves than socks.

They were invented by two brothers in the US. Again, from the website:

In 1999, the Romay brothers set out to redesign the basic structure and shape of the regular sock. Their intentions were pure and simple: “We wanted to create the best possible interface that allowed the entire foot to perform naturally and freely inside our shoes, just like being barefoot. There had to be a way to combine the comfort and dexterity of bare feet with the protection of a seamless sock. Everything about the conventional tube sock works against your feet’s natural form and function.”
Consider the difference between gloves and mittens: Mittens keep your fingers together to create a warmer, oven-like environment, while gloves offer less warmth but more dexterity. The same principles can be applied to our feet. Conventional socks force your toes to work together as one unit, creating unprotected friction, heat and moisture build up, and constricting the circulation of the foot. Have we been wearing mittens on our feet all this time?

So, what was the result? Excellent according to Sue. No blisters. No taping or padding. Just the tetratsok's and her normal boots! A VERY satisfied customer.

These wierd looking injinji tetratsok's on Sue's feet after walking from the carpark up to Wild Dog Creek platforms.

With an incredible coincidence we met some other hikers from Queensland on that same walk. Howard and Jo BOTH wear injinji socks!! They have been using them for a while and were very happy with them. Pictured below are Howard's feet in the socks. Howard reckons they are great, and have saved his feet from blisters and soreness on many occasions.

Howard's feet resting at Wild Dog Creek just outside the Walls of Jerusalem.

So two positive testimonials on the same socks, they sound like a winner to us!

Paul, from Injinji socks ,is offering a 10% discount to "Our Hiking Blog" readers when purchasing by email, so check them out, and if you order any use the promotion code "Franksblog" to receive the discount

Paul was also kind enough to agree to advertise on "Our Hiking Blog" so, as much as we love the socks, we are also received a small donation for the advertisement.

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