the cause of foot ailments

PACK BOOTS

Periodically someone will write to me wanting to know if I still make pack boots. Obviously the answer is no. I did make them and they were the best on the market because they utilized the Sunwalker inserts that I had been making for several years prior to making the pack boot itself.

There are numerous pack boots available from probably $50.00 and higher that are not very good at keeping the wearers feet warm regardless what is published on the hang tags. Why (?) because all of these pack boots regardless if they are made in Asia or Canada or in the USA have an insert that is made from felt. The felt is cheap and can be made easily, but ALL of them regardless of how expensive the pack boot is function exactly the same way; they absorb and retain all of the moisture that comes out of the hundreds of thousands of pores located in your feet.

Once the moisture is absorbed it will very quickly cool and now you have a refrigerator around your feet. If you are in the arctic regions of the world it can freeze. In this case you now have a freezer covering your feet.

This is a situation that can be corrected quite easily, if you have pack boots replace the felted inserts with the tall Sunwalkers which will not absorb any moisture as the felt does. I also recommend that you also wear the tall (13 inch) Lamilite socks. This combination has demonstrated for years that it will keep feet warm as low as -50 F.

Take the felt inserts and trash them.

For those looking for pack boots my recommendation is that you buy the least costly pair you can find pull the inserts and also trash them and replace them with the tall Sunwalkers as well. You will now have a pair of pack boots that will perform for you as well as the pack boots I made. Also include wearing the Lamilite socks.

When these inexpensive pack boots wear out just replace them with a second pair, again throw away the inserts and continue to use the Sunwalkers and Lamilite socks, there is no telling how many pairs of pack boots they will last through.

The tall Sunwalkers are $55.00 per pair and the tall socks are $35.00 per pair.

SINCE I AM ON THE SUBJECT OF MOISTURE AND FEET

The following information was found on the internet when I typed in “moisture and feet”.

“While foot moisture is normal and usually harmless, it certainly can lead to foot problems. If the foot is constantly moist (for example, as a result of long periods of wearing closed-toed shoes), it can lead to breakdown of the tissues of the skin on the sole of the foot as well as on and between the toes. This can lead to irregular wear of the skin and callous formation. Repeated chronic foot moisture together with this breakdown of the skin of the foot produces the perfect environment for fungus to grow. The common ringworm foot fungus, tinea pedis, is the microbe responsible for athlete's foot. This can be treated with antifungal powders or creams. The growth of this fungus in the skin of the foot leads to redness, burning, and itching”.

I believe the primary cause of these foot problems is as a direct result of wearing footwear that traps ALL of the moisture that is coming out of feet. Why is the moisture being trapped; easy answer almost all of the footwear manufactured today except Wiggy’s footwear has a film lining the footwear. There are the well- known brands such as goretex, sympatex, or event, but there are numerous films placed in footwear that are not branded. Keep in mind that ALL of these products function exactly the same way as in they do not work as advertised. They never have and never will.

This business about foot ailments is also not new. With respect to the military the Marine Corps observed these foot ailment years ago but have ignored the reason, the linings of the footwear procured is made with a material as is noted in the specifications that the manufacturer has to adhere to; goretex.

With respect to the general public, civilian sector of the population, those who have had these same problems haven’t put two and two together but buy foot powders and who knows what else to take care of the problem until it returns.

What I think interesting is the simple fact that shoe companies that use these films are either slow to realize they are major contributors to the problem with respect to the civilian world, when it comes to the military they have no choice but to make product to the specifications. Of course they might not realize they are contributing to the problem because they are brain dead, not an uncommon condition in the outdoor industry these days.

What if, all who have those with foot problems were to go back to the manufacturer and ask for the medical costs reimbursed due to footwear that does just the opposite of what is claimed, “water-proof and breathable”, but retains the moisture which is the root cause of the foot problems. Just a thought on my part!

Imagine if bean, rei, dicks, basspro/cabelas, adidas, nikeand whoever else there is retailing these footwear items had customers either returning the footwear they already own and not buying any more based upon one thing and one thing only; the footwear contains the bogus “water-proof breathable” nonsensical component. It would be quite a revolution for the footwear industry to deal with. The next step would be to do the same with rainwear even though people don’t get ailments.

And finally what ever happened to the consumer protection agency looking into the false advertising claims ALL of these companies like to advertise. I almost forgot about the fact that many of these companies are publically traded, so we should inform the investors that they are helping to promote products that do not work to begin with and in some instances such as footwear cause medical problems.

Just some thoughts on my part.

FOLLOW UP

In October I read a sources sort notice from the US Army testing labs looking for a “new” water-proof breathable lining for boots.

I sent them a letter stating what they were looking for did not exist and included in the package samples of the Lamilite used for linings in boots as well as what the Lamilite socks are manufactured from.

As of this writing they have not even given me the courtesy of a rejection letter. So much for wanting to be helpful!