Breaking in boots

[Pablo]

I've just taken delivery of some all leather Rogue Rangers from John Muirden at Unbeaten Tracks (great service by the way - not affiliated etc etc). Being ex-mob, I have my own ideas about breaking in boots and have seen and heard pretty weird ideas from others. Just wondering how folks out there break in boots (more technical boots or otherwise).
Cheers
Pablo.

 

[fred gordon]

If you have the time the best way is to wear then for a while every day. Take them for short walks over several types of terrain but stop if your feet start to hurt. You can also get them wet as this makes the leather more supple and forms to your feet. Keep then clean and waterproofed. However, above all, don't take them on a huge hike. Modern boots though take very little breaking in compared with just a few years ago.

 

[bushtank]

nothing techincal here mate i just put them on and wear them if i get blisters then never mind just keep going till they dont give you blisters
i have been told that i have no sence and no feeling

 

[addyb]

There's only about a hundred different ways of breaking in a pair of boots and some are more sanitary than others. Some of these methods include:

- urinating in them and letting them sit overnight. Disgusting? Oh yeah. Lots of cleaning involved afterwards? Definately. But as gross as it sounds, just remember than in medieval days leather hides were soaked in urine to soften them up. Just remember that it works.

- Dumping hot water into them also works, but my experience has been that it isn't quite as effective as the above mentioned method. Don't ask me why, but it just isn't.

- Some people wear their new boots whilst in the shower and then wear them around town all day. But I'm not one to go tromping all over campus in wet clunky boots.

Adam

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

- Some people wear their new boots whilst in the shower and then wear them around town all day. But I'm not one to go tromping all over campus in wet clunky boots.

Adam

We do that with our moccasins. Soak em and wear them dry.

 

[Dougster]

I find Kiwi Mink Oil speeds up the process and is by far the best to waterproof too.

Finding it - now that's a different matter.

 

[maddave]

I soak them and wear till dry or go canoeing in them or beach walking and take a few trips into the surf.

JUST DON'T FORCE DRY THEM !!

If they're still damp when you're done walking let them air dry or lightly stuff em with newspaper

 

[Toddy]

We do that with our moccasins. Soak em and wear them dry.

We do it with our courrans too, then soak the soles in hot beeswax.

I've got little feet and I struggle to soften new boots I can't get enough bend on them to shape them easily. The only way I manage is to wear them for a little while, often. The main problem is that it takes months to make them comfortable.
I've been trying to break in a pair of green Doc Martin's and have given up and passed them onto Varibo's little sister to knock about in, in the hope she'll help...she's nine and thinks they're cool

cheers,
Toddy

 

[twisted firestarter]

I bought a pair of lowa alpines last year and one of them squeaks really loudly when I wear them. HELP

 

[oops56]

Just put it on the other foot then you cant hear it cause you will be screaming

 

[Schwert]

I use the wear often for increasing amounts of time. My lastest pair of boot are Limmer standards...old style all leather boots. I greased them with the recommended stuff 2x per week and wore them daily to work for a half year. Now they are like second skin.

I have used a quick rinse of warm water then wear but think that is essentially the same as the above method.

 

[janiepopps]

When I was in Oz I did some work Cotton Chipping (HORRID work) and an old fella that had been doing this work forever swore by purchasing a pair of boots one or two sizes too big, then cutting an offcut of real fancy deep pile carpet to act as in insole!!!

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Also being ex-military, I've done a fair bit of breaking in of boots, going back to the '70s when we were issued those dreadful DMS (Direct Moulded Sole) ankle boots that led to so much foot rot in the Falklands (can it really be 25 years ago this week :AR15firin )

My method for the DMS ankle boots was to stuff them hard with newspaper, cover them in a thick layer of Kiwi boot polish and then beat the living daylights out of them with the rounded end of a ball-pein hammer until they were soft! Never had a blister from them and I covered some high mileages too!

After them, came the first general issue high leg patrol boots (the ones with the cris-cross tread pattern). Always wore those "straight from stores" and never had a problem.

Then came the current general issue "Britton" assault boots. These responded best to wearing them around the house for a couple of days, then soaking them overnight and walking/wearing them 'til they were dry and then doing it again.

Now that I'm out of the military and in the Old Bill, I wear the issued Magnum Patrol ankle boots for work; ABSOLUTE RUBBISH for walking in, but adequate for driving duties and general wandering about. Didn't need any breaking in as they're so soft, but the standard footbeds were pants and I replaced them with Sorbothane insoles.

Current walking/hiking boots are leather and made by Scarpa. Can't remember what model they are, but compared to the old DMS boots, they're like carpet slippers! Still tend to wear my old assault boots when the weather's really wet.

Overall, I've been really lucky and never had a blister from boots. I put it down to careful selection of the correct size and ALWAYS wearing TWO pairs of socks, a thick pair over a thin pair. That way, the friction is between the thick and thin socks and not the sock and the skin of your foot.

Be nice to your feet, you only get issued one pair!

 

[Steve K]

I bought a pair of Rogue Rangers last. I wore them a the office for a week then out and about the next week before using them for a weeks holiday. They did get wet during the weeks camping. I've no rubbing or blisters and they're just sooo comfortable.

cheers
Steve

 

[TwoFourAlpha]

I was in the mob in the delightful days of 'Boots, Combat, High-leg' and I still have shin-splints and no feeling in my big toes to show for it.

Still, being an Armourer with endless supplies of chemicals, I used to fill my BCH with rifle oil for a coupl of days.

Worked for me- no blisters.
Shin-splints and nerve damage though, perhaps not a good recommendation.

Hmmmm

 

[Klenchblaize]

The honesty on this site amazes me!

Just as one gets good at yomping, I recommend that you go for a walk in those boots and then walk some more and if that can be through a dew or rain soaked landscape all the better Hey, this is only bushcraft guys & gals!

Cheers

 

[Gailainne]

Pablo

I must admit I've always been wary of ordering footware online, for the obvious reason you cant check the fit, had you tried these boots before, or are you chancing it ?

BTW are those British sizes shown ?

Stephen

 

[oldsoldier]

US Army old style all leather "leg" boots, we used to wear them into the showers, then walk around with them till they dried. Then, liberal application of kiwi. I'd like to say I've never blistered, but, well, that would be a lie.
I now prefer lightweight hiking boots, or my old, battered issue jungle boots, to any other boot out there. The lightweights required zero breakin time, and the jungles were well worn for a year of patrolling in Cuba, and are VERY comfy now.
Of course, wearing a pair of boots in Cuba for a year isnt recommended, but, hey, to each his own

 

[British Red]

Saddle soap, and plenty of it is my technique. Work it in well until the yellow stuff show. Wear around for general use and keep them soaked in the stuff. They end up like slippers in a couple of weeks

Red

 

[Greg]

I don't know about the other ex army guys here but when I was in Basic Training we each had 2 pairs of boots, one pair to wear on a daily basis and the second as our parade boots.

We bulled (made our boots really shiny like glass) for six weeks, then the instructors made us swap boots, as you can imagine our nice shiny boots were a mess the minute you took a step in them-many moans and groans were had by all , we then went for a run in them and by the end my boots were as soft as you like, all that polish over the six weeks had made the leather very supple.

Nowadays though I just wear my new boots around for a couple of weeks and by the time I decide to do anything they are ok.