 Poster: A snowHead
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I have hired ski mountaineering gear on three occasions - each time I have ended up with blisters on my shins just below the top of the boot. I have never had problems with this while downhill skiing with standard boots. Are my boots too loose or too tight, not loosened off properly for walking, or am I just susceptible and need to protect the area with some kind of gel pad. Do the gel pads put an end to the problem? I was hoping to buy some boots but am worried the gel pads wont work. Anyone had any similar problems which they managed to fix.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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thighshocks, do you think you get the rubbing which causes the blisters on the uphill or downhill? when you're walking, do you undo the buckles and power strap on the boot?
what type of boots have you been using?
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thighshocks, Is this on day or multi-day tours. If the latter - take another pair of socks ! 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Many thanks for the comments.I have tried scarpa matrix and avant boots but prefer the Matrix. I think it is the walking thats doing it plus skinning up. I thought I had loosened off everything when I was going up - but maybe I missed a power strap for a while. Perhaps this caused some off the problem. suppose you have to be very consistant about this. I have bought a set of gel pads -I'll just have to wear them from the start next time - but I'd rather manage without as it is another thing to remember and presumably your skin cant breathe underneath the gel and the pads are expensive. How long do they last? It was single day tour - only 4-5hrs. I'm new to the ski mountaineering game. Maybe I'm over striding. Apart from this I had one of my most memorable days on skis - on the Cairngorm Plateau (long term prep for an alpine trip).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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thighshocks, and you should shave your legs, if they're a bit hairy, or even a lot hairy....
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thighshocks, did the boots have a lace-up liner? i guess that might be a problem when you're walking. if it's any comfort, although i think you can buy scarpa boots with the lace-up liner, most that you can find in shops are a different type (intuition thermofit - no doubt someone who really knows about boots will set me straight here). Anyway, that, combined with really loosening off/undoing the boot should get rud of rubbing around the shin
i guess you might also look at what your socks are doing while you're walking/skinning. if they're wrinkling up inside the boot, that won't help
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The boots did have a lace up liner - sounds like the thermofit might be a better option. Is it quicker to undo? I wasn't undoing the laces it has to be said - and this could be the nub of the problem. Socks were kept in order and I'll consider shaving the shins which are shiny and not very hairy. I'll look into it. Enjoyed your photos of alp D'huez - some nice runs. I was there 2nd week of April 2006 - am going again april 2008 with family and others and looking forward to escaping for a while with a guide and do some off-piste/back country. I have a whole year to research this one.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Meant to say April 2009
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the thermofit ones don't lace up so you just step in like a normal boot.
have you tried touring in your usual boots? depends on how comfortable they are but some people seem happy doing this even on pretty long tours. for me - 1 or 2 hours is OK; anything longer and I want my touring boots.
if buying new touring boots seems the best option, i'd suggest (if you have the time and money) an early season trip to chamonix next season. the range available there is so far beyond what is available in the UK that you would not believe it. and there are some very good bootfitters there too
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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thighshocks, I wonder whether the problem is actually having your boots too loose. The first big tour I did (the Haute Route) one of the guys got dreadfully blistered shins (used up pretty much the whole guides' supplies of gauze and Compeed) - and he was stick thin, in boots that were too big for him. I know the usual recipe is to unbuckle the boot cuff for skinning, but I actually find that the only way I avoid blisters is to have the cuff done up pretty firmly, so holding the boot firmly onto my lower leg and avoiding any of the relative movement that causes rubbing. I have fairly chunky legs and never get blisters on my shins (and I don't shave - prospect of stubble rubbing against sock sounds horrible to me), but do on my heels. My touring boots also have the lace-up liners, and they work well for me.
This year I used my alpine boots for all my day tours (about 8, up to 2 hours each day). One day, trying to get a bit more flex, I undid the top buckles, and within an hour had blisters forming on my heels. Did the buckles up tight again and the blisters stopped forming. Works for me, but YMMV. Using alpine boots is OK, great for the skiing down, but you do miss the ankle flex, and boy do they feel heeeeaaaaavvvvvyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I just put my boots (Scarpa or Garmont) into "walk mode" for skinning, never even thought about undoing any straps or buckles  Only blisters I've ever had were on my heels and that was due to skinning in Raichle Flexon downhill boots.
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thighshocks, I have Scarpa T1 tele boots. They have lace up inners. I open all of the clips, engage walk mode (prior to forgetting to put it back into ski mode at the top  ), but leave the power-strap done up. This gives me the flex I think I need, and stops too much rubbing.
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You know it makes sense.
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i find i can get more of a natural stride if i undo all the buckles except the ones over my foot. also allows me to roll my ankles out to get skins flat on snow on sidehills or in to get more on edge
but like many of these things, a lot of it's down to personal taste
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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GrahamN, I agree, was recently advised to have the ankle buckle tight enough to keep the ankle locked and then the bottom buckles tight enough to keep the lower foot snug, top buckle and power strap should be loose and walk mode if necessary.
thighshocks
I would also say that it could well be your style, as it seem that you may be making hard work out of skinning and perhaps even lifting your foot/skis in each stride. Basically I was advised that the flex should be around the knee with pivot also at the ankle, you do not want the ankle lifting at the heel.
Good luck but with all these things speak with a pro-bootfitter.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Wax the shins at the front and stop your hairy legs rubbing on the boots. Does the job.
Then again it may be just an excuse I am using for waxing my legs.... 
p.s. If thigh shocks is a girl, sorry for saying you have hairy legs. If you are male, dont worry its not gay to wax as long as you know when to stop
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I get a sore patch on my shins, but have found that all it takes to stop a blister forming is a small piece of elastoplast just to protect the skin (then you get a free wax when you rip it off too!). Also found that socks make a HUGE difference - my first day out in wool-based socks, they got damp and creased at the shin, so it was actually the sock itself which caused the blister. Now I have a more technical fitted sock and the problem is much reduced, but I still have to check that the sock is sitting smooth and flat at the shin before I head off into the mountains!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Two of us got rubbing on a recent trip to Les Arcs. I've always used zinc oxide tape on my feet when hillwalking, so shaved off the hair and taped the shins up. (5cm wide strip. A couple of quid for a meter or so roll). Not a mark on me by the end of the holiday - my friend had huge chunks gauged out of his shins. He spent £30 on a pair of gel pad things to cover the suppurating holes! He said they did the trick.
Personally, a roll of zinc oxide tape is a cheaper and better option - it's water-proof and very low friction (elastoplast isn't quite so good. IMHO). And you can use it for writing on to label your skis. 
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