Walk On

Walk On founder Lucas Smith was on his second day guiding a group of walkers on the four-day Milford Track when he had his lightbulb moment. It was his 15th tour of the 2015 season and he was walking at the back with a few rather unprepared (but enthusiastic) members of a tour group.

“Despite advice, there are always at least some walkers in new shoes or, often worse, walking in old shoes without any foot protection,” Walk On founder Lucas Smith says.

That particular day, a grimacing tourist couldn’t take it any more and simply stopped in her tracks. Her feet were heavily blistered and Lucas, an experienced mountain walker and guide, knew she couldn’t continue. He radioed for the helicopter, and soon the tussock parted, the blades chopped overhead and the walk was over for the sheepish American tourist who had saved for years to visit New Zealand and complete the world-renowned Milford Track.

“It was always so sad to see people who had waited so long to walk the “holy grail” of tracks just have to give up. When I first started guiding, I was shocked at how many times we had to attend to infected blisters or get walkers rescued by helicopter from the mountains.”
Even prepared people struggled to look after their feet. “They would try to prevent their blisters using plastic plasters, which I’d often see littered along the track once plastic hadn’t cut the mustard,” Lucas says.
Smith, 21, saw the opportunity to combine his passion for New Zealand’s great walks and his experience working at the Mackenzie Country’s Simons Hill Station while studying at university. What would become Walk On was born.

He’d grown up using wool from merino sheep to prevent and soothe his own blisters and began suggesting it to friends for its performance benefits. But it was only when he thought through the biodegradable and breathable advantages of merino that Lucas took up the commercial challenge to disrupt the artificial blister-protection market.

“It’s not a new idea – farmers, soldiers, adventurers and explorers have been using this technique since the early 1900s, but I’m bringing it back,” Lucas says. “However, I am the first to use hyperfine merino wool and breathable packaging. There’s a certain beauty in taking something so useful and simple, and making it accessible to everyone.”
His first Walk On product is Merino Wool Blister Protection made from 100% natural, ethically farmed, hyperfine New Zealand merino wool. He introduced it to the market not just for walkers, but cyclists, runners, skiers and dancers too. Users simply need to wrap their feet in the wool or apply the woollen strips to their existing blisters or rubbing points.

Unlike traditional products, the merino wool binds like velcro to the inside of your sock, where it wicks moisture away from inflamed skin, allowing blisters to heal naturally. “I feel like putting a bag of Walk On merino wool into the hands of every walker about to set foot on New Zealand’s stunning tracks. I’d hate to see another disappointed face when they realise they can’t go on.”