Where it started.
Ski touring was the start of it. Every time we went out, our heels paid for it. We blamed the boots, then the socks. We changed both. The blisters still showed up.
After a while we stopped hoping today would be different. We knew what was coming. So we started putting something on our heels before the socks even went on — a habit at the trailhead, not a fix halfway through the day.
Moleskin was the obvious first try. It was thick, and once we started sweating it just let go. Creams felt worse. We didn't want something wet on our feet before a long day in boots.
Duct tape was the thing that actually worked. Thin. Smooth. It stayed put. We used it for years. We also knew it wasn't really made for skin, and we kept looking.
Then we cut a piece of kinesiology tape and put it on the same way. That was the one. It stayed on all day. It stayed thin. When the foot moved inside the boot, it moved with it instead of peeling up.
A problem worth solving.
We cut our own pieces for a long time. Friends were doing the same thing — same tape, same scissors, same early mornings. The more we talked to people, the clearer it got: the solution already existed. It just wasn't built for us.
Most kinesiology tape is made for taping a knee before practice. Hikers and ski tourers are left to figure it out themselves. You already packed the food and checked the weather. Your feet still decide the day.
Pelltra is the version we wanted on those mornings. Pre-cut for the spots that fail. Made for people who live in boots.
From sample rolls to a pouch.
We started with sample rolls and cut our own shapes until one had the stick and feel we wanted in a boot. Then we 3D-printed stencils and cut strip after strip — different sizes, different feet — until the coverage made sense on a heel and didn't bunch on a toe.
When the shapes felt right, we ordered the first pre-cut prototypes and sent pouches to friends and family. Ski touring, skimo, downhill, hiking, running, hunting. People used them on real days and wanted more.
A second round came back with the branding finished. Then we shot the first photos. That's how Pelltra went from a roll on the table to a pouch you can throw in a pack.
Proudly Canadian.
Pelltra is based in Canada. It's where we ski tour, where we cut the first pieces, and where the pouches went out to friends.
We didn't build this for a gym bag. We built it for wet boots, long approaches, and the people who already pack everything else right and still get taken out by their heels.
If that sounds like your days, you're who this is for.