Bluefish,

This is going to be a long post, so bear with me. Hopefully it will have the solution to your problems. I’m 60 years old and healthy. First of all, I’ve never had a blister which either means I’m lucky or I’m good at avoiding blisters. I walk close to nine miles a day as I don’t like to drive, so I walk almost everywhere. Plus it gives me an excuse to get out of the house. I don’t have any callouses on my feet, so that’s not what is creating the solution.

First, for the benefit of others with less experience, the right socks will cure many problems. I prefer Thorlo as they are synthetic, but feel like wool to me. My second choice is Smartwool, but they can smell nasty if they get wet. Finally, Rawlings wool socks work well and are inexpensive compared to Smartwool and Thorlo.

The key to preventing blisters is preventing the top layer of skin from separating from the underlying layer of skin. Generally, people seek to avoid friction on the top layer, so I’ll address that first. When I buy hiking shoes, I put Duct Tape or Gorilla Tape on the spots that will wear. This does increase the motion of the heel, but it decreases the ability to separate the layers of skin. This probably won’t solve your problem.

You mentioned you tried Keen shoes and I have also. I wear a size 11 ½ EE shoe, and Keen’s are the only ones with a toe box big enough for my feet. The problem is, the heels are lower, and I suspect they would lead to Achilles tendon problems if I used them too often.

I don’t think a sock liner will work for you as it seldom worked for people in the military, but it’s worth a try.

Now, I’m going to step into the first solution that people will likely object to. As I mentioned before, preventing motion is the first line of defense. This cannot be done with a low cut shoe or even what they now call hiking boots. I call these high top hiking shoes as they are not truly a boot.
Hiking shoes do not conform well to the feet as well as a leather boot. Leather boots get more comfortable the longer they are worn, and will eventually stop almost all motion of the heel inside the boot. I’m not talking about traditional hiking boots or combat boots which are agony. The solution I’ve found which works the best is the Danner GTX roughcut combat boots. The first day out of the box, I walked 17 miles with no problems. They are the footwear I take on long hikes. The leather has taken the shape of my heels and ankles which prevents motion. The Gortex liner slips a little bit to take the friction of any motion. They are completely waterproof, but do not feel hot.

I’ve walked over 1,500 miles in these boots, and they are the most comfortable footwear I’ve ever worn. They show very little signs of wear. They are the top boot bought by soldiers going to Afghanistan who decide not to take the issue boots. They are designed for a 180 day deployment to Afghanistan with no repairs. Don’t be afraid of the weight as they make up for it in stability and what’s called an energy return system.

Finally, you are getting older and your body is changing, but it doesn’t have to change too much. Everyone talks about curing blisters by external means, and I’ve never heard anyone mention diet. The skin is one of the first organs to feel the effects of a poor diet although it’s so gradual few people notice it. The first internal symptom people often complain about is pains in the gut between the sternum and the beltline. People call it celiac disease, heartburn, acid reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammation and other terms. They are almost all caused by the same thing. A poor diet. It’s easy to do in this world of poison laced processed foods and eating too often at fast food restaurants. The way things have changed, almost every restaurant serves fast food quality. Since switching to a vegan diet, my skin is suppler and it has better tone. There have been many positive changes. If you are at all interested in learning about diet issues, I’d suggest the book “Fit for Life, not Fat for Life,” which you can get on Amazon. For many reasons, meat is bad for people and they shouldn’t eat it. This is especially true in today’s world of feedlot meat which is laced with antibiotics, growth hormones, additives and who knows what else. Vegan is not Oreos and potato chips. It is fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains in as close to their natural form as possible.

Since you didn’t have blisters until recently, I feel changing your diet has the best chance of working.