Comfort Tweaks For Shoes That Rub

A shoe that rubs is not automatically a lost cause. With a few cheap tweaks, most friction points can be tamed before they cost you a blister.

Rubbing happens where the shoe moves against the skin, usually the heel or the toe. Padding, lacing changes, and tape stop that movement at the source.

• Add a heel pad to stop vertical slip.
• Try a different lacing pattern to lock the foot in place.
• Apply blister tape to hot spots before they worsen.
• Swap in a thicker sock to fill loose space.

I keep a small comfort kit with pads and tape in every bag. Ten minutes of tweaking has rescued more shoes than I can count from the back of the closet.