In Partnership with blistabloc.
For a special BOGO discount on these magical inserts, keep reading or check it out here and use our code “nextgentleman”
A nice, sharp dress shoe can instantly upgrade any kind of outfit, regardless of how buttoned-up. Despite this, most people will say that dress shoes aren’t always the most comfortable things to wear, causing cramps, rubbing, and especially blisters. Blister prevention isn’t something we necessarily think about when we put on our shoes, but it is something we pray for once our feet are cut up. Luckily, one new brand is looking to put an end to our bloody awful blister issues (keep reading for a special discount).
I recently partnered with a brand called blistabloc to try out their blister prevention inserts for shoes — a clear adhesive strip, called “b.bloc©,” that you stick on the problem area of your shoe to ensure that no rubbing occurs. Now, for nearly 10 years of my life, I was a shoe salesman who sold every kind of shoe from the least expensive to three times your monthly rent. I wanted to try out blistabloc to see if it was the real deal — here’s what I found.
The Problem with My Shoes
In my experience, there are three shoe-related scenarios from which most blisters occur: the shoes are brand new and aren’t the correct shape for your foot and cause blisters on the forefoot; the shoes are too big and cause blisters on the heel from excessive rubbing; or the shoes are old and worn down so much that pieces of material jut out and stab, scrape, and rub against your foot.
This pair of Cole Haan double monk straps has been a favorite of mine for several years now, but there’s a part of the heel cup (back) exposed that chips away at my heel whenever I wear them. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to test out the blistabloc strip and really measure its effectiveness.
The ‘How’ Behind the Strip
In theory, applying a blistabloc strip to your shoe is like putting on a Band-Aid, but inverted. Instead of adhering it to your skin, you put it on the problem areas of the shoe. The strip itself feels like a hard but malleable strip of rubbery plastic that feels like it could cover sharp edges or protruding plastic, and exposed seams.
In my case, I simply removed the strip from the blistabloc pad, pinched it between my thumb and index finger, and centered it in the back of my shoe on top of the exposed heel cup. I smoothed it out, removing any wrinkles and air bubbles as best I could.
The Blister Prevention Performance
I’ve had the opportunity to use, recommend, and learn about many different types of shoe-altering devices. I was looking to see how this compared to others because it’s a very unique material, whereas similar products are made of gel, rubber, or foam.
I was very happy with the way these inserts performed through the 10 hours of wearing my shoes. It was a seamless integration and most of the time I didn’t realize they were in there. There were two times that I believe I could feel that exposed piece of rubber from my shoe, but at no point did it cause any kind of scratching or rubbing — and that is why I’m calling this product a WIN.
If you’re somebody looking for blister prevention from your favorite new or loved shoes, definitely give blistabloc a go! Right now, they’re offering a deal for you, our readers, to the tune of buy one get one for free! All you have to do is enter “2” as the quantity and use our code “nextgentleman” at checkout.
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This story contains sponsored content. Despite that, anything you just read came from my own brain, well, keyboard, as you most likely can’t read minds.
