Abandoning waterproof shoes

[Helen Avoca]

hi, I am starting from SJP on the 13th of April. I have been doing light training in Australia where it has been hit and humid. I have been getting a heat rash from my fabulous Salomon gortex boots. I have decided to abandon them for my Keens mids that aren't waterproof and use plastic bags between my socks and shoes when it rains. Has anyone done this? PS. I am getting pretty excited! Helen

 

[dougfitz]

@Helen Avoca, there is a discussion about this here. I personally wouldn't take the approach you are suggesting, and I wouldn't be blaming the boots, but looking for other causes. I occasionally get a mild rash at the top of my socks that goes away after a couple of days, but it doesn't appear linked to any particular footwear, more often that I have been doing longer walks than normal.

 

[jstorybook]

I don't think that using plastic bags will solve you rash issue but may actually increase the issue and surely will make you feet smell worse. I would say you need socks that wick moisture away from your skin--using a sock liner with another sock over it might help. Foot powder may also help. If you are wearing wool socks sometimes people with sensitive skin might get a rash--so synthetic sicks might help. By the way, waterproof boots are never completely waterproof anyway.

 

[Deleted member 22638]

I wouldn't think plastic between boot & sock would work out, and might actually lead to a more hazardous foot environment.

Salomons with gortex do seem to run hot ( I have a pair) but the Camino April/May will be unlikely to be as hot & humid as you have been experiencing in Australia and as Doug says a rash may not just be a result of heat. Your start is only a few weeks away, I would consider sticking with the Salomons.

If you do change to the Keens, and it does get wet, then conscientious footcare may well be sufficient even if the boots may not be waterproof ( a little old school I know but it was done for years before goretex, )

 

[CaptBuddy]

I would guess the rash is from your socks (or detergent) rather than the boots.
Cotton bad. Wool good. Change socks at mid-day.

 

[Evergreen]

Hi Helen,
I start from SJPDP on April 12. Maybe we'll meet along the way. I arrive in SJ PDP on the 10th.

I'm using Merrell Moab boots mainly due to weak ankles, 5 toe liners along with wool socks. I've had no problems at all on my training walks here at home in Seattle. Also bringing a pair of Chacos sandals for shower and evening shoes. I'm hoping they will come in handy on a nice warm rest day as well. The hard part for me is lowering the weight of my pack, a work in progress!

Best wishes for a Buen Camino Helen!

 

[jeffnd]

How long have you been training? Are you sure it's heat rash and not just irritation from breaking in a new pair of boots?

Like others have said, what kind of socks are you wearing?

Try a synthetic sock liner and a light wool hiking sock. After a day's walk, what are your socks like? Are they sopping wet with sweat, slightly damp, or dry?

 

[Con Palos]

Just another suggestion my family are very sensitive to detergents so it may be worth hand washing socks in a less aggressive detergent
I have walked two Caminos in Salmon boots and had no problems.
Socks on the other hand I had to replace the expensive doubles socks didn't work out for me.
Hope this helps a little, my brother and sister wore their Keens on dry days and shoes in the wet.

Buen Camino

 

[Helen Avoca]

I am overwhelmed by your responses. Thank you so much! To answer some of your questions, I have been double socking and using the expensive wicking under and over socks. I will ditch the plastic bag idea. I had not thought of detergent. I will try washing my trousers and socks in a gentle soap and see if that works. I spoke to a friend who said it would be cold and I would be glad of hot feet. This is a quandary.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Rather than blaming the shoes/boots, blame and test the socks. I just bought a well recomended pair of Injinjis: weakened the skin between base of toe and foot so much that it tore. Wright's something of other model, double layer, also kept moister in. Trial and error vs what others may have experienced.

 

[Helen Avoca]

I will pack my bag tonight and if I can take both pairs of shoes I will. If the Salomons work I will donate the keens, and if they don't I will donate them. I have a strong feeling that it is all about my feet. How is this a metaphor for life? Make sure you are able to keep moving?

 

[lovingkindness]

hi, I am starting from SJP on the 13th of April. I have been doing light training in Australia where it has been hit and humid. I have been getting a heat rash from my fabulous Salomon gortex boots. I have decided to abandon them for my Keens mids that aren't waterproof and use plastic bags between my socks and shoes when it rains. Has anyone done this? PS. I am getting pretty excited! Helen

...another possibility: Wear your gortex boots as far as Pamplona then, using Lista de Correos, post them ahead to somewhere before Galicia where you'll most probably need them eg Astorga or Rabbanal. I haven't used plastic bags but I have seen others do so. A couple with a donkey passed through Fuenterroble de Salvatierra(VdlP) mid winter. It was snowing. She lined her knee length boots with plastic bags. He was hiking in sandals, no socks. He said he didn't feel the cold, only when the donkey refused to walk through water and he had to push and shove it through.

Cheers

 

[Helen Avoca]

Hi Doug,
Thanks for directing me to that thread. Very enlightening. I will be cutting the top off a pair of my socks, rolling them over my shoes and seeing how I go.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

hi, I am starting from SJP on the 13th of April. I have been doing light training in Australia where it has been hit and humid. I have been getting a heat rash from my fabulous Salomon gortex boots. I have decided to abandon them for my Keens mids that aren't waterproof and use plastic bags between my socks and shoes when it rains. Has anyone done this? PS. I am getting pretty excited! Helen

Hi Helen , no plastic, instead use wool socks ( icebreaker ) they do fine for me . Wish you luck with your decicion . Buen Camino, Peter.

 

[Introibo]

Hi Hi.
I walked today from Belorado to San Juan de Ortega in a pair of Salomon Speed Cross trainers which have no waterproofing at all. It snowed continuously and about 2/3 of the way was over snow covered ground. My feet were more or less wet from the start. But, wearing merino wool socks they were warm and comfortable. The shoes and socks have now dried out ( on a radiator ). I would suspect that most of the people with me today will have had their "waterproof" boots soak through and give way and will be walking in wet boots tomorrow.
We also met a lovely gent called Ken, from Dublin, who reckoned that having wet shoes made his feet soft and therefore less prone to blisters. Good on you Ken. He practised what he preached by walking through the enormous puddle which is currently blocking the way on the approach to Belorado.

 

[dougfitz]

who reckoned that having wet shoes made his feet soft and therefore less prone to blisters.

He might have soft feet, but that is generally going to increase the chance of blisters, NOT reduce it. See this thread for a good reference on this. There is less friction when the skin is dry, unless the skin is very wet, when there are other issues to deal with.

 

[Introibo]

Merely passing on the comments of a BOD who's walked the Camino for many years. Horses for courses and all that
Some of the boots my runners have had to share shelf space in the evening would seem better suited to the Everest expeditions of old. "Oh for a whiff of dubbin now that spring is here" as someone once said

 

[joe g texas aggies]

Hi Helen,
I start from SJPDP on April 12. Maybe we'll meet along the way. I arrive in SJ PDP on the 10th.

I'm using Merrell Moab boots mainly due to weak ankles, 5 toe liners along with wool socks. I've had no problems at all on my training walks here at home in Seattle. Also bringing a pair of Chacos sandals for shower and evening shoes. I'm hoping they will come in handy on a nice warm rest day as well. The hard part for me is lowering the weight of my pack, a work in progress!

Best wishes for a Buen Camino Helen!

Hi Helen and Evergreen, My son and I depart SJPdP on 11 April, so I'll be just a day ahead of you. I, too, will be using Merrell Moab ventilators. I am wearing silk liners under wool socks. So far, no problems with my feet - knock on wood.
Question for Evergreen. What are toe liners?
I think we will catch a lot of rain and cold weather. Not sure there will be many warm days for rest - at least for the first month.

 

[marekiau]

hi, I am starting from SJP on the 13th of April. I have been doing light training in Australia where it has been hit and humid. I have been getting a heat rash from my fabulous Salomon gortex boots. I have decided to abandon them for my Keens mids that aren't waterproof and use plastic bags between my socks and shoes when it rains. Has anyone done this? PS. I am getting pretty excited! Helen

Hi - wet feet wont kill you and will soon dry in a warm climate, I use a mesh topped shoe and only if conditions are REALLY bad will I put on a pair of waterproof socks (your plastic bags would be fine for short periods). The truth is waterproof shoes let in water at the top, soon start to leak and trap moisture, all of which adds up to wetter feet..

 

[Evergreen]

Hi Helen and Evergreen, My son and I depart SJPdP on 11 April, so I'll be just a day ahead of you. I, too, will be using Merrell Moab ventilators. I am wearing silk liners under wool socks. So far, no problems with my feet - knock on wood.
Question for Evergreen. What are toe liners?
I think we will catch a lot of rain and cold weather. Not sure there will be many warm days for rest - at least for the first month.

Hi Joe.. The five toe sock liners are Injinji. I bought them at REI. There are several styles and weights. I arrive in SJPDP on the 10th and start walking in the 12th. May run into you and your son and Helen along the way!

Buen Camino!
http://www.rei.com/product/881305/injinji-liner-crew-socks

 

[Carol06]

Rather than blaming the shoes/boots, blame and test the socks. I just bought a well recomended pair of Injinjis: weakened the skin between base of toe and foot so much that it tore. Wright's something of other model, double layer, also kept moister in. Trial and error vs what others may have experienced.

I cannot see how Injinjis would do that. I swear by them and will buy more for my second Camino. My originals still seem okay but I don't expect to get two caminos out of them.

 

[dougfitz]

wet feet wont kill you

True, but there are immersion effects that are still undesirable, and keeping one's feet dry is always more desirable than walking with regularly wet feet. It's unlikely one will get trench foot, but maceration and the increased risk of fungal and other infections still need to be watched.

 

[Anniesantiago]

You do not need waterproof boots or shoes on the Camino.
I agree with abandoning the boots - for reasons I've mentioned many times.
Unless you are VERY used to wearing boots, and unless you have weak ankles, you do not need boots on the Camino.
Consider trail runners, lightweight, NOT waterproof.
They will be comfortable and if they do get wet, will dry by morning.
I've walked over 7 Caminos in trail runners - no problem.

 

[Dutch]

It is wonderfull to listen to all the advice given here, but that does not mean that it will work for you. Go out and test it all for yourself and find what works for you. You still have a few weeks.

re: the plasticbags in shoes. If you ask me, thats asking for trouble. Thats even worse than gore-tex shoes hahaha. Talk about a non-breathing, moisture building material

 

[Kathy F.]

I used Merrell Moab Ventilators. I was very pleased with them.
I would not use plastic bags. I suspect you won't remember to take them off when the weather is not so wet as you walk, moisture will be trapped inside, socks will retain, moisture, etc.
BAM! Blisters.
I didn't change my socks as often as I probably should have, next time I will change them more often, especially in wet weather.
One of the best things about the Ventilators (which are not waterproof) is that they, and the insoles, dried quickly and completely every night, no matter how wet they were.

 

[Helen Avoca]

Hi

Hi Helen,
I start from SJPDP on April 12. Maybe we'll meet along the way. I arrive in SJ PDP on the 10th.

I'm using Merrell Moab boots mainly due to weak ankles, 5 toe liners along with wool socks. I've had no problems at all on my training walks here at home in Seattle. Also bringing a pair of Chacos sandals for shower and evening shoes. I'm hoping they will come in handy on a nice warm rest day as well. The hard part for me is lowering the weight of my pack, a work in progress!

Best wishes for a Buen Camino Helen!

hi evergreen. I hope I do catch up with you. I am now comfortable with abandoning my waterproof shoes. It hasn't been an easy decision. My first instinct was to take both pairs, or not to decide, but that would lead to too much weight. Profound huh. I suspect that theses simple, but difficult decisions will feature on my walk. I will be behind you by one day, and stopping overnight in Orrison. Been camino pilgrim

 

[Helen Avoca]

Hi Helen and Evergreen, My son and I depart SJPdP on 11 April, so I'll be just a day ahead of you. I, too, will be using Merrell Moab ventilators. I am wearing silk liners under wool socks. So far, no problems with my feet - knock on wood.
Question for Evergreen. What are toe liners?
I think we will catch a lot of rain and cold weather. Not sure there will be many warm days for rest - at least for the first month.

I may see you on the Camino too. I am hoping for lovely dry weather!