I'm a neutral runner medium arch, no pronating, etc, but I would ALWAYS begin to get hot spots after mile 3-4, right on the ball of my foot, about 1" under my big toe. If I kept going another 1/2 1 mile? BLISTER CITY.
I tried all the lubes Aquaphor, BodyGlide, Vaseline...nothing helped. I'd blister right through the lube, but at least my feet were soft. My foot sweat and lube seemed to form some kind of weird paste (like Ross and the lotion/powder leather pants incident), and would NOT wash out in the laundry.
I tried keeping my feet dry Anti-Monkey Butt Powder (awesome stuff, but not for blister prevention), Monistat's Anti-Chafing Powder Gel (totally a dead ringer for Smashbox's Makeup Primer), but again...BLISTERS. Plus, all of the powder poofing out of my shoes made me feel like Lindsay Lohan. It too made a paste :(
I even tried duct tape, which just left my feet coated in that gray-black "Band-Aid goo". Never again.
I tried wicking socks, going through Balegas, Thorlos and any kind of sock with the words "DRY" anywhere on them. Again, blisters. The Thorlo Experias were nicely padded, which were really soft and comfortable when I WASN'T running. Once moving, that padding just seemed to accelerate the hot spotting and blistering.
Finally, my running coach suggested Swiftwick, after hearing me whine and moan about the sad state of my grape-like feet. My local running shop was out of my size, so I ordered on Amazon and the socks arrived the very next day (thank you, Prime!). I immediately put them on (no lubes, no powders) and knocked out a 5 mile evening run with no foot issues whatsoever. I've since bought 5 more pair and thrown out all of my other socks I haven't had a single blister or hot spot yet, even after 10 miles.
The Swiftwicks are TIGHT, which is good. No fabric rubbing around means no friction, which means no blisters. The fabric is nice and stretchy, and wicks GREAT. They don't stretch out or shrink in the laundry (wash them inside out). The only downside is the price, but the price is honestly comparable to many other brands of running sock!
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These socks are fantastic and are now the only running socks that I buy. They're very thin and don't take up much room in your running shoes, but they're not so thin that you'll end up with a hole in them after wearing them 3 times. They don't bunch up and create any uncomfortable spots and they do a great job of wicking away moisture and keeping your feet cool.I originally bought all "zero" styles, but now I'm gravitating more towards the "one" just so that I cover up my Achilles a little more. I still wear the zero, but I find that the skin near my Achilles will rub against the shoe and get a little chaffed. I also own a "twelve" which is awesome as a compression calf sleeve and great sock all in one.
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