In the spring of 2021, Fernand Rohner, inventor of HALLUXUS, buys nice wide, comfortable mountain boots. The reason is his age-afflicted feet. Hallux valgus (malposition of the big toe) and hallux rigidus (arthrosis, with ganglion) are giving him a hard time.

During a subsequent hike of several hours in the foothills of the Alps, it happened: on a steep descent, both halluxes and an ankle became inflamed. The rest of the day and the mountain tour become torture. As the pain becomes unbearable, he even masters the rest of the hike barefoot.

To solve his problem, he turns to pharmacies and shoe stores. Here he is offered various products that all have something in common: They help little or not at all. All the sales assistants refer him to plasters, ointments and bandages. These are then to be placed on sensitive areas.

The result, however, remains unsatisfactory. The help approaches hardly bring anything, apart from a perhaps short term pain relief. Long hikes are no longer conceivable.

The decisive impulse comes to Rohner while he is searching for further solutions. It is a memory of his time in recruit school. Back then, he and his colleagues often had open blisters on their heels. Rohner doctored these with Leukoplast. He used strips to tape the area around the blister until it was level. The result? Although rather laborious to apply, it was possible to march again without pain.

He realizes that he can simply tinker with a solution himself, as he did in the past, that will really help him and other hikers! Experiments with various materials on about 70 hikes and mountain tours followed. The results are the HALLUXUS models H2 (for forefoot) and H6 (for heel, lower leg).

These days it’s clear Rohner won’t go hiking again without the specially developed cuffs for protection. He comments, “I can no longer do without my H2 for the two Hallux and the H6 for my ankle. With the socks, I automatically slip the HALLUXUS cuffs over my feet. So I can finally enjoy mountain tours lasting several hours again. Problem- and painless!”