Gear Rashes

Megan Burnett

This is a no shame piece. One of those blogs you come across and the person who wrote it just let it all hangout there for you to know. Most of you who read this will probably think “Oh that’s nasty, who would openly admit to that and then blast it over the internet for everyone to read!”

Here’s the thing: if you are a neat freak with tons of money to blow every season on brand new gear, well then the awkward gear rash has probably not crossed your path. For the ladies out there like myself who have not struck it big yet, one of your buying criteria is probably “How long will this gear last?” I have a lot of friends who have a new board every season, but when I get new gear I know I have to make it last for a few years. Maybe one day in the future, every season I’ll be rockin’ new stuff but until that dream day comes, sometimes you just have to make the best with what you have.

When your gear is going through its 2nd, 3rd, or sometimes 4th season it gets worn out! Depending on how often you ride, making gear last can be tricky because you might be putting in a hundred days in just one season. Boots can get pretty gross over time; you ride, sweat, and then chuck them in your trunk to drive home. Depending on how far you are driving to get to the mountain in the first place, those sweaty nasty boots can be chilling for a while in a moist trunk, allowing nasty bacteria to fester and can start to build a little home in your gear.

I was drinking coffee this morning and looked down at my ankle and a have some gnarly rash going on. Gross right? Yeah, it happens apparently.  I can’t remember if this has occurred before, but drinking my coffee and looking down at my ankle I was thoroughly grossed out.

I wear my boots pretty tight I guess; whenever I lace them up, I usually unlace half way one more time to wiggle around so that they are at that perfect comfort zone to start. At the end of the day, it’s always the same deal- I can see the sock lines in my skin due to riding in tight boots for hours, and the creases usually don’t subside for a while. So any bacteria that could have formed in my boots, has now been pressed up against my ankles for hours; that’s a lovely picture huh?

My boots smell like… nastiness sometimes. Yeah I’m not one of those girls who think my feet smell like roses. Nope, on the contrary I know I’m a typical human being and when you wear an item that you sweat in over, and over again- it’ll eventually reach that place where it just plain stinks… aka people’s snowboard boots.

So have you ever had funky rash appear from your gear? Just throwing it out there, because apparently it happens! I hope my foot doesn’t fall off or anything, and next time you all go riding make sure you take some extra disinfecting precautions before you ride!

Tip: When you purchase your next set of boots make sure they will be easy to thoroughly clean while you own them so you will avoid funky nasty ankle rashes, because if they are easy to clean they will also probably last you longer!

Posted by Megan Burnett on 01/14