Review : Trail Toes Cream

Last November I was invited to try a new product out called Trail Toes Cream, touting itself as “PHENOMENAL, ULTRA-EXTREME, ANTI-FRICTION FOOT AND BODY CREAM”.

Quite the mouthful, but I was intrigued at the promise.

My feet have a tendency to deteriorate significantly during longer (15+hr) events, especially when wet, so I couldn’t wait to try out this product. In fact even during a GORUCK challenge I would always finish with some sort of hot spot that is just a few hours away from becoming an angry little blister.

So I started trying out this product over the winter (not exactly prime time for blisters, but it would do). Essentially it works as a barrier cream AND and anti-friction layer to remove two main causes of blisters and the one main cause of maceration – friction and moisture.

When applying, use like you might vaseline. Grab a small glob and work it onto your skin, around the toes and up onto the heel. The texture isn’t unlike vaseline, albeit a little “stiffer” or “more waxy” not a surprise given that beeswax is a main ingredient.

The first event I used this one was a GORUCK Light, and of course I didn’t get blisters. Then again I likely would not have anyway. That said, I felt nothing in the way of hot spots either. Fast forward to today and I have done a couple more GORUCK Heavy events, a couple of Death Race events and other longer events with constantly wet feet over many miles. Not a single problem!

In comparison to Body Glide or other products designed to reduce blister formation, I have found that Trail Toes stays on longer, and therefore less product is needed. More importantly less overall foot care time is needed. For a running race this is critical. Even for endurance races over many hours or days, this can make a big psychological and physical difference.

In addition to protecting the feet from blisters and maceration, Trail Toes Cream is also phenomenal at anti-chafing. Its pretty thick and sticky when first applied, but becomes more liquid as the skin warms it up.

In my experience over the last 6 months I have found that Trail Toes Cream is also vastly superior to its most well known competitor (Body Glide) for a few significant reasons.

1. Trail Toes cream doesn’t smell and in my opinion Body Glide smells really bad.
2. A Trail Toes cream application is very durable – you can go a long time without reapplying.
3. Trail Toes cream is easy to apply on the move – rather than being a stick, its a cream that can be extracted and applied more easily on the go.

There are 3 sizes of product available. See “where to buy” below. The sachets and small jars are ideal for taking on a ruck or race, or adding to your foot care kit.

Conclusion

My “care” kit for an event is now much simpler than it ever used to be, and Trail Toes Cream is once of the reasons. Trail Toes is now my staple for foot care and anti-chafing. With this product and the right sock (I use DryMax or Prosok mostly) I no longer need to worry about tape which cuts down on prep time considerably. reduces the amount of things that can go wrong, as well as the amount of stuff I need to carry.

Where to buy?

Trail Toes Phenomenal, Ultra-Extreme, Anti-Friction Foot and Body Cream can be purchased direct from Trail Toes.

Use code “MW GORUCK” for 10% off your order.

• 2oz Jar – $12.99
  Best value
• Seven 10gram drop bag jars – $14.99
  Best for carrying during a race, and refillable
• Ten 7gram single use packets – $9.99
  Best for adding to your race med or foot care kit

If you use Amazon Prime, it might be a little cheaper for you to use their free shipping. That said, I prefer to support a small manufacturer of an awesome product, and if its just a few pennies difference please go to trailtoes.com – their profit margin is significantly lower when shipped via Amazon.

Other feedback

I have been recommending this product since before being picked up as a sponsored racer. Don’t just take my word for it though. Here is some un-edited feedback from those that tried it (mostly based on my recommendations)

• “I’ve bought and used on a few training rucks. Absolutely zero issues so far.  Will be using at upcoming Destin challenge” – @jameschunter via Twitter
• “Got a sample from you. Worked amazing. No foot problems, zero chafing, even after spending some quality time in the sand and water. Also seemed to last longer than Body Glide, which I usually have to reapply during events” – Steven S via Facebook
• “It worked wonders Mark. Used it on a challenge two weeks ago and with my feet being soaking wet and I never changed my socks or shoes, I was good to go the entire night” – Tracy L via Facebook
• “Has worked great for my 2 50K’s so far this year. Used to get blisters between my toes and on the outside of my big toes. So far its been great. Used it with 2 different pairs of shoes, same results. Thanks for the suggestion.” – Harry T via Facebook
• “I used it for a ruck half marathon two weeks ago, no blisters or hotspots” – James G via Facebook
• “I haven’t used the sample you just gave me, but I tried some before my first Heavy two weeks ago. Shortly after (almost immediately after) finishing our PT test and ruck, we were in the water numerous times. Then we went through the night with the team builders (aka, logs). Our first break was 12 hours in and as I stuffed my face with food I popped off my shoes to change socks. My feet felt dry, they looked clean, no blisters, no chaffing, no problems. I put on dry socks without adding anything to my feet and continued until it ended at hour 25. Worked better than I would have thought.
  Edit note: Once Heavy finished I did have a blister on my little toe on my right foot, and under the toenail on my big toe on my right foot. I’m sure that had nothing to do with my boots being almost brand new” – Jared C via Facebook
• “Used it on a 24 hour NOGOA event in North Carolina and it provided 100% protection. No hotspots or blisters. Thanks Trail Toes.” – Kevin K via Facebook
• “Awesome stuff! I pick some up after reading you AAR from the HCL GOOD STUFF!!” – Andy L via Facebook
• “It worked great. I purposely used it with regular socks for two events on Saturday. The first event was in the morning and was a 20K OCR. Applying once before the event. I had mud, sand and rocks in my shoes most of the event and went through a good section of water twice as well. I did get a small blister above my heal but it was an area I did not apply Trail Toes to and was my fault. Second event was a 54K night trail run. Once again I applied it before the event on clean feet and new regular socks. Zero blisters.” – Brandon W via Facebook
• “First event I’ve ever done where I left without a single blister. @trailtoes and @prosok with me from now on at all times!!” – Josh R via Facebook
• “Love it! Worked really well for the NYC heavy. Minimal blistering despite the 50 miles..” – Carrie F T via Facebook
• “I bought some on your reccomendation and have since tossed my body glide. It goes on easy and makes my feet feel amazing while they are in my boots. Seriously I can feel the difference right away. Places where I used to get hot spots are now feeling fantastic.” – Jesse S via Facebook

See Also

• Feet. Keeping your wheels turning