Wore my old boots for a 12 mile hike instead of the new ones and my feet survived, so I feel like a genius
I bought a pair of fancy hiking boots last month for $150 and they gave me blisters on a short 3 mile walk near Bear Lake. Last weekend I grabbed my beat up 6 year old boots instead for a 12 mile loop and finished with zero blisters. The old ones are already broken in and soft, the new ones are still stiff and rub my heel no matter what socks I wear. I spent all that money thinking new gear would fix everything when the answer was sitting in my closet the whole time. Has anyone else had new boots wreck a hike while the old pair just keeps working?