Micro-Sized Footcare Treatments

As disclosed by my son's pediatrician, I didn’t spend enough time with my shoes off as a child and as an adult I have fairly weak feet. As a result, my pack always has some footcare products to include Adventure Medical Kits Glacier Gels and Leukotape as discussed in other blogs. I have also been known to carry BodyGlide and Hydropel.

An important topic for lightweight backpackers is the need to repackage items which are otherwise bulky or heavy into something smaller and more lightweight. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy for items such as BodyGlide and Hydropel. NOLS instructor and talented illustrator Mike Clellan had an excellent picture on his website which showed how he repackaged items (see picture) which he lovingly refers to as his “Dinky Kit”.

For items like Hydropel which comes in liquid form within a tube, it can be easily repackaged in a smaller container such as the widely available micro droppers. For something like BodyGlide which has the consistency of deodorant, it isn’t as easy. Unfortunately, the desire to repackage these items have left some to be inventive to the point that they degrade the product or otherwise make it unusable. I saw a posting on a forum where a guy had stuck his stick of deodorant into the microwave to turn it into liquid. He then poured it into a smaller container. This was a decent idea in theory, but within the new container he didn’t appear to have a way to get it out as the container itself was just smaller, not functional to raise and lower the deodorant stick. I think a better option would have been for him to find a lighter/smaller deodorant-style container and simply pour his heated solution into it so he didn’t lose the function of the container itself which allowed for the deodorant itselt to be pushed up within the container for easier application.

Instead of flatly repackaging BodyGlide, I found a couple of options even lighter than their 1.02 oz stick. First, they offer a .28 oz “mini”, but personally it looks like it is about a ¼ full and the rest is just dead air space to make the product look more full. Another option would be to use a new Band-Aid product called “Friction Block” which comes in a very dense .88oz stick. It is thereby physically smaller, lighter, and more full than the BodyGlide, and it is likely equally effective.