Hot spot on my right heel only, same boots, same socks, both feet Gear Help

One foot only almost always means movement, not fit. Your heel is lifting on that side. Try a heel lock lacing — run the lace through the top two eyelets to make a loop on each side, cross the ends through the opposite loop, then tie. It pins the heel back into the pocket without squeezing the top of your foot.

Most people also have one foot a half size longer than the other, so a boot fitted to the big foot lets the small one slide. Adding a thin insole on the loose side takes up the slack.

Measure both feet properly at the end of a day when they're swollen. Asymmetry of 5-8mm is completely ordinary and nobody checks for it because we buy shoes as a pair.

Two pairs of socks, thin liner underneath. The friction happens between the socks instead of between sock and skin. Old trick, still works.

If the fix doesn't take, look further up. A leg length difference or the way one foot rolls in changes how the heel sits in the boot, and no lacing trick compensates for that forever. A podiatrist sorted mine out in one appointment after two years of taping.

Until the fix sticks, tape before the hike, not after the hot spot. Leukotape on clean dry skin stays on for three days including showers, where the little blister plasters roll up within an hour. It's a preventive, not a treatment.