Foot Check
Or-- It’s good to be hard but it’s hard to be smart.
There is a saying in special operations, “It’s good to be hard, but it’s hard to be smart.”
When I arrived as a young Sergeant at 1st Force Reconnaissance Company I heard it often. We prided ourselves on being ‘hard’. Being hard meant that you never quit and you never complained. You suffered in silence.
Saying that someone was a ‘hard motherfucker’ was the Recon Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
If I’m being honest we focused on the first half of the saying often to the exclusion of the second half.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the first half is critical. It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t get to the fight.
Nobody gives a shit about your I.Q. if you crumble at the first hint of adversity.
But the two halves aren’t mutually exclusive.
You can be hard and smart at the same time. In fact, it’s a lot cooler if you are.
A huge part of being smart is taking care of small problems before they become big ones.
One of the most common rucking-related problems can be expressed with the below formula:
The equation is used to determine friction force, and I know what it looks like, but when we’re rucking I can assure you, friction is no fucking fun.
Friction causes chafing and blisters. Enduring chafing and blisters will indeed make you harder, but they may well sideline you for a few days, and in those days, just like Captain Willard, you will get weaker.
The best way to deal with friction is to avoid it. This is one of those ‘ounce of prevention’ situations.
The first step in defeating friction is to wear high-quality socks and base layers.
In future episodes, I’ll be offering some reviews and recommendations:
Like politics and football, a lot of rucking clothing choices are highly opinionated and personal, (Of course, this is my substack so you will get my strongly held opinions— which are correct).
The second critical step in defeating friction is pre-lubricating known trouble spots, and lubricating at the first sign of trouble.
To help with that I reached out to Amy Tucker from Salty Britches.
Salty Britches is relatively new. I just learned about them last year, but it has taken the special operations world by storm because it works. The website describes it as a soothing long-lasting barrier against skin irritation for any occasion. Created to withstand saltwater chafing and is now trusted by families, athletes, and military personnel for year-round all-day protection.
I’ve used it during rucks, long runs, and to avoid sand abrasion while scuba diving with the National Park Service in Guam looking for unexploded ordinance from WWII. It works.
Amy was good enough to create the coupon code: RTFU20 to give you twenty percent off an already ridiculously underpriced insurance policy against chafing and blisters.
Get a tube or some single-use packets to keep in your ruck. You won’t regret it.
If you use Salty Britches, I’d love to hear your opinion.
In addition to Amy, I’ve got a bunch of awesome friends that make awesome stuff. I asked them to hook you up. These companies aren’t paying me to pawn their shit off on you—although they may give me free stuff that I would have paid for anyway because I use it, and I believe in it. Give them a try:
My pals at SOFLETE provide world-class training, supplements, and gear. I love their training app and am currently following the Distance Ruck training program. You can get 20% off with the code: Walkingpoint20
I’ll soon have a coupon code from First Spear, who makes a lot of the equipment that special operations forces around the world trust their life to. They also make some of the best American-made Merino wool socks and base layers around.
I have a few more cool things in the works and hope to be able to offer some more deals on great gear shortly.
Last week, I asked about your reasons for rucking. These polls will help me cater content to your interests, so thanks for responding.
67% are rucking primarily for fitness, 17% for military reasons, 11% for hiking/backpacking, and 6 % for hunting.
No one admitted to rucking to prep for the inevitable collapse of society. I’m not sure that I’m buying that— L.B., I’m looking at you!
This week I’d like to know what type of ruck you are using.
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ALICE - over 50 years of humping the ALICE pack still feels right.
Correction: (5) 10-pound sandbags