Shoes, boots, socks, powder
Interestingly, I have rarely had blister problems with boots or shoes until just this last week. I was at a week-long Boy Scout summer camp and I packed well. I didn't take boots, as I wasn't going to be doing any rough stuff, but I packed two pairs of athletic shoes and lots of socks (some cotton, some wicking-stuff) because the weather was supposed to be hot and humid with a good chance of storms. I didn't pack any sandles for wet stuff, as open-toed shoes weren't allowed at the camp (too many kids shoving sticks into their feet running-around in sandles).
The first day was rainy, so I wore my old trail running shoes (which I had earlier designated as "wet shoes"). The second day was fairly dry, so I wore my Nike Max Airs, a pair I had originally purchased for running, but found to have little shock-absorbtion, so had worn casually for some time.
Only a few hours into the 2nd day both of my pinky toes were killing me! I applied mole-skin and changed socks and the extra pressure of the mole-skin just made things worse. At the end of the day I returned to my tent, changed my shoes, and haven't worn the Nikes since. Luckily I had brought some Gold Bond for my butt (hot wet conditions and going from walking trails to sitting over and over throughout the day), because I spend the rest of the week pampering my feet and making one pair of shoes work rain or shine (that's a lot of sock changes and foot powdering to dry things out).
As far as I can tell, it was the vertical nature of what I was walking that made the difference, cramming my toes into the toe box of running shoes that ran a bit smaller through the toes than my other, older pair.
The lesson is, don't assume that your feet will act the same as they always do, as any small variable may completely change your needs.
What did I add to my BOB?
I found a really cool and invaluable piece of kit. Wanting to ensure it didn't get damaged I stuffed it into a high tech airtight temperature regulated container and placed it in my BOB atop the tarp, extra boots, and billy can. It was kinda hard getting it in there but I managed. Then I weighed my BOB.
My BOB was so big, bulky, and awkward I couldn't read the scale, but could tell it was much heavier and seemed real top heavy. I actually had a real hard time just getting the BOB to stay balanced long enough to weigh it. So, not wanting to make my BOB weigh any more than it already is, I took the airtight container out of the BOB.
I then soaked the airtight container in varying degrees of air, light and water for varying lengths of time, pressure and intensity to test it, removed the item from the airtight container and it was still fully functional. I could still use it just the same as before I stuck it in the container. Not only did I find a most excellent piece of kit, but the high tech container was truly righteous in it's own regard. Bonus!
Even-though the container was already rather bulky and didn't fit so well in my already overstuffed BOB, I decided to fit a few more pieces of kit into it. I tried weighing the kit stuffed container by itself to see what it weighed, but again I couldn't get a good reading on the scale. I was quite worried this high tech container and invaluable piece of kit would take up too much room or weigh too much to be practical in my small BOB, which is just a cheapo day pack.
I struggled trying to figure out how I would determine the weight of my new found piece of kit and the container in which it was held. So, I researched, gathered information, acquired knowledge, applied the knowledge to gain experience as to how I would weigh this peice of kit and the high tech container it was stored in. When I came back to weigh the container I realized I had more stuff to put in it, but luckily it still fit in the high fangled container that I've spent so much money on. I guess it was worth the investment, not only is it an airtight, temp regulated container, but it expands to fit larger items. I'm pretty cheap and don't like spending money on stuff I don't need. Even after all the research, info, knowledge and experience I still couldn't position or balance the container well enough on the scale to get a good reading. It was starting to drive me nuts, having this container that was too big and bulky to fit in my BOB or weigh.
So, I started more research trying to figure out if there was a way for me to fit the overstuffed container into my BOB or where I might carry it instead. By this point I pretty much had given up on weighing it. Could I use a vacuum sealer on it? Maybe I could hang it from my belt loop with a carabiner or the like? I looked long and hard online using search engines and camping and survival type forums, talked to a local hiking group to see if they had any suggestions, etc. etc. The local hiking group just gave me some weird looks when I showed them my container and wouldn't even respond to such a question. I did find some info online about this type of container, but none related to the way it might be stored in a BOB or carried on person. There were lots of ads for container covers and stuff, but nothing specific to it's use. To make matters worse I suddeny realized that I had even more stuff to cram into this already overstuffed, out of balance and apparently unweighable/ unpackable container. AaaaRrrrGggg!!!
So, after searching long and hard and exhausting every known resource, I come here to most humbly ask; :blushing:
Would somebody please explain how you fit a seriously overstuffed and out of balance head into your BOB? and if you can't then would you please tell me where you store it when hiking, etc., and how you managed to figure this out?
It's really driving me nuts!
Thanks in advance! I really appreciate the help.
P.S. I hope this isn't a stupid question.:online2long:
