Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Christmas Toe Help

Last year I got "Christmas Toe" on our 10 Day Wilderness backpack hunt. From what I read its because my feet are not used to the 70lb pack in steep terrain. I wore the Lowa Tibets and have no issues with blisters, just Christmas toe and yes it took every bit of 4 months for my feeling to come back.

Question:
-What if anything can I do to maybe prevent it? I think I
Laced my boots up to tight over the top and damaged the nerve on the hike in so I'm going to try and keep a looser laceup this year. Thats Just a thought though.....
-This year we re getting packed in so I'm considering a lighter boot. Would you stick with the alteady Broke in Tibet or try something different. Like I said they took great care of my feet, I just got CT. Although they are pretty dang heavy! Like 5lb weights on each foot, Especially when wet.

Ideas, Thoughts....Thanks fellas

BTW we hunt really Rugged and steep terrain.

What is Christmas toe?

Big toe goes numb, real numb in my case. Lasted till after Christmas, that's why it's called Christmas toe. Google for more details, that's what I did. No pain, just sucks!!

No body knows? Guess I pretty much said it all huh, ha.
Probably just go with the Tibets again ......

I've had a similar issue and was able to address it with how I tightened by boots. I left them a bit more loose in the toe/forefoot area, but tightened up as much as possible starting at the ankle for about 2-3eyelets and then snug at the top.

Hope that's not confusing. It's much easier to show than type...

Not at all, thanks for sharing your experience. I have practiced a few different lacing methods and I'm going to do the same. Looser on top of the foot and snug on the ankle. I Just don't want blisters

I retired as the head "boot fitter"for the largest mountain gear store group in Canada and once worked for another mountain shop,mostly fitting boots.

I have worn dozens of different mountain boots as I wear these daily as my regular footwear due to an orthopaedic issue stemming from a childhood injury. I have learned a few things about fitting and caring for boots in that time.

If, your boots are correctly fitted and this is NOT as simple as some would have you believe,the lacing technique is not critical and they should be comfortable under all conditions.

If, you take your boots to a good mountain shop,with a fitter trained and experienced in the Phil Oren method of fitting and have them check you out thoroughly,we used to do this as a "loss leader" type of service to all potential customers, the problem will become apparent and you can go from there.

As it is, merely loosening your lacing technique MIGHT help, BUT,in steep,downhill situations, it may as well cause further and worse issues. This, is because your feet will slide further forward in your boots and you may experience "black toe"which is as bad as "Christmas toe".

I also STRONGLY recommend buying a correctly fitted set of Superfeet and having your fit-lacing checked in the mountain shop with these installed. Then, there are leather lace protectors that go UNDER your laces and lessen the pressure of them on your arch and cunieform index.

These, can be found at Hoffman's boots, White's boots and at many shoe-boot stores and are worth using.

Just some suggestions,m maybe also talk to Lathrop's about their footbed and lacing.

I thought the injury was to your head? It made you lose track of reality and the truth.

I had a pair of boots that seemed to fit and never gave me blisters but would cause numbness after a couple hours hiking in steep terrain. I tried relacing, etc and then tried to get them fitted, stretched, etc. Never could figure out the problem. Eventually just gave up on them and move to a different manuf that used a different foot last which fixed the problem.

I have found that a last with a large forefoot space such as the Munson helps me more than anything. When you go down hill the forefoot wants to spread. If it can't it gets bunched and goes verticle which results in the nerves on the top of the foot rubbing against the boot inside and going numb.

http://www.russellmoccasin.com/new_products/minimalist_footwear.html

They are expensive but worth it, I own 3 pairs. Adam

I'm not sure where to look for a trained boot fitter. There aren't many Pro Shops around Saint Louis that carry Mountain type boots. REI is about it and they are far from pros.......

I'm going to get some super feet and look into the Leather lace protectors to help take some pressure off the top of my foot. I have also tossed around the idea of getting a Lowa Trekker style boot instead of the Tibets. I won't be carrying a heavy pack so I should be able to use a lighter duty boot. Judy hate to drop the $ on a boot and have the same results

Thanks for the input, I will look for a fitter to see if he can identify a problem with my current boots first.

Just a suggestion, but I've had much greater luck with SOLE heat modable insoles vs. super feet...

Thankyou, Pointer, I had a set of moldables,a gift from one of the "boot reps" just before I retired and I could not recall the name of the things. I find all of these synthetic insoles to be "hot"for MY feet and I prefer to fit my own boots using old-fashioned felt insoles and woolen socks,which I treat with "Gold Bond" powder.

In some of the mountain hunting photos I posted here last week, from a multi-day horse and backpack trip into the "Chilcotin" region of BC,still largely untouched wilderness, I was wearing this combo....and, the socks, I use "Icebreakers", will last for an easy four days before needing change, no reek, no flattening of loft and NO blisters.

However, I have seen guys who have great success with "Superfeet" and they can be one way to get a reasonable fit on boots when you do not have access to a good "fitter". They do really help with foot fatigue and with "heel lift", the cause of most debilitating blisters to the highly vulnerable "Achilles" area above your calcaneus, so, I think them worth trying, although the moldable types are better in many respects.

I just recently bought a pair of Scarpa "Fuegos" and these are fine boots for mountain use, but, they, as with most commercial boots today, have pretty poor footbeds and changing these is a good idea, IME.