Moleskin

After two days off, my feet were showing no sign at all of hot spots, and I wasn't really worried about getting blisters. Just as an experiment, though, I thought I'd try some Dr. Scholl's Moleskin Plus I happened to have around. I wanted to see if it would work if I should ever need it in the future.

I cut two pieces about 5 x 3 cm (2 x 1.25 in) and applied one on the ball of each foot, centered about at the base of the second toe. This was where I felt a potential blister coming on a few days ago.  I ran on the treadmill -- the snow here is melting apace, but we've got a ways to go, so it's a big sloppy mess wherever you look.

It felt OK. I could feel the moleskin, but it wasn't unpleasant at all, and it wasn't slippery. After 12 minutes, one of the pieces partially un-stuck and folded over at the base of my toes. It felt too weird, so I stopped briefly and took it off. The other stayed on for the rest of my run, which was only 15 minutes total. When I stopped I found it had moved a little towards my toes.

I think the experiment mostly failed. This is not in any way a criticism of the product, as I was using it in a way that it's clearly not designed to be used. I've used it in the past when I had a new pair of shoes that rubbed a bit at the back of the heel until broken in, and it worked wonderfully.

But on bare feet, while running, it just doesn't stick well enough. I imagine that outdoors it would probably be even worse, since there likely would be dirt and moisture involved.