The Boot Whisperer

I had a high moment today at the rink. One of our Gold Level skaters consulted me about a blister issue.

Yes, I'm the Boot Whisperer.

For her problem, I've had good luck with blister bandaids. The name brands tend to last longer so I usually have some of those in my skating suitcase.

But not today. I was out.

So when I flipped open the suitcase, I sorted through what I had: foam insoles, hard gel high heel insoles, leather insoles, soft gel insoles cut in half, gel lace bite pads in two different thicknesses, gel toe pads, arch pads, ball of foot pads,  moleskin in two different thickness, and callus pads (extra large). I settled on giving her an extra large callus pad. Although that wasn't my optimal solution, it was the best I had.

Later in the session another skater was showing me how she stuffed a piece of leather behind her boot tongue because her boot tongue was so worn that the foam was flat. The leather pad was pretty worn out, so I gave her the heel end of a pair of men's boot gel and fabric insoles. "Try that instead," I suggested, "If it doesn't work, throw it away." I'm waiting to find out if it worked.

Other skaters go to the fabric store to pick out fabric for costumes. I'm in the drug store looking at the foot section. I even have my own cast iron bunion tool. All I need is a heat gun and I could open up shop.

And in case you're wondering if I use all this stuff every week; the answer is No. I'm just too lazy to clean out my boot bag!