Causes of blisters The 3 biggest causes of blisters are heat, moisture and friction. (Over)heating will cause your feet to swell. Moisture will cause the skin on your feet to soften. If you combine the two previous elements with friction, you are in the ideal situation to start developing blisters. But also vice versa: eliminate these 3 causes and the chance of developing blisters drops drastically. Injinji toe socks are specially designed to provide optimal support to the foot. It is therefore not surprising that many (ultra) runners and hikers choose Injinji socks for their trips.
1. Heat Exercise will improve blood flow and therefore increase the temperature of your feet. However, if this temperature rises too high, your feet will swell. If this happens too much, your shoes may start to pinch.
A good walking or running sock therefore ensures optimal ventilation of your feet. At Injinji this is achieved, among other things, by the extra breathable mesh at the top and the specific fiber composition.
2. Moisture The composition of the Injinji toe socks, also have a major impact on keeping your feet dry:
COOLMAX® has specially designed fibers that pull moisture away from the skin to the outside of the sock where this moisture can evaporate. Therefore, the COOLMAX® fibers help to keep your feet fresh, dry and comfortable.
NüWOOL is Injinji's own merino wool. This is the very finest wool available. Because of this, this fiber does not feel (and itch) like wool at all. The superfine fibers in the NüWOOL hold air pockets and therefore insulate very well against cold, but also against heat. Contrary to what many people think, NüWOOL toe socks are suitable for both summer and winter!
Because Injinji socks have individual toes, they also use more fibers than classic socks. More fibers = more possibilities to pull moisture away from your skin = drier feet and more comfort!
An extra tip: during a long run, changing your socks regularly is always a good idea. Important is that you make sure that your feet are perfectly dry before you put on fresh socks. Are you competing or hiking where there are checkpoints with electricity? A tip from a professional: Ultratrailer Maarten Schön has a small hair dryer in his drop bag, which he uses to blow his feet perfectly dry.
3. Friction You've probably seen it before on a long trek or ultrarun race: people taping all their toes separately. This has only one reason: to prevent skin-to-skin contact between the toes. Because such friction quickly causes blisters. With Injinji, of course, there is no need to tape your toes over and over again. Because your toes are separate, skin-to-skin contact is impossible and the biggest cause of friction is therefore already eliminated. Moreover, these socks are seamless and anatomically adapted to your feet.
