How to Break In Hiking Boots
There's nothing better than hiking with comfortable boots that protect your feet against rough terrain - and nothing worse than ambling mile after mile in painfully stiff ones.
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Instructions
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Put on the kind of hiking socks you intend to wear on your trek.
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Lace on your new hiking boots.
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Walk across the room in them.
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Adjust the laces as necessary.
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Spend one hour wearing the boots - or until your feet begin to chafe.
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Take the boots off.
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Repeat at intervals until your boots are comfortable.
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Tips & Warnings
While hiking boots have gotten more and more comfortable to wear right out of the store, you still don't want to set out in boots you haven't worn before.
If you get a blister, apply moleskin, available at most drugstores.
If you are going backpacking or camping for several days, bring light camp shoes to wear at the end of the day.
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Comments
View all 7 Comments-
Jul 25, 2006
I use mink oil, which can be found in the shoe polish area at the store. This will also water proof and darken the leather of the boot if it is a natural or dark leather color to begin with. The directions will tell you to apply it to the leather, wipe the excess, and let them dry for several hours. To break in the boots, put them on right away with a good pair of socks and walk around until you feel the leather start to break in a little. Use discretion -if you continue walk around in them they will keep getting softer or stretch. A couple of hours equals a couple of days. You can also work out stiffer areas of the boot (like the instep) with your hands with the boot off. After you get them to just start to break, take them off and let them dry till the next day. Repeat as necessary. -
Jul 25, 2006
I use mink oil, which can be found in the shoe polish area at the store. This will also water proof and darken the leather of the boot if it is a natural or dark leather color to begin with. The directions will tell you to apply it to the leather, wipe the excess, and let them dry for several hours. To break in the boots, put them on right away with a good pair of socks and walk around until you feel the leather start to break in a little. Use discretion -if you continue walk around in them they will keep getting softer or stretch. A couple of hours equals a couple of days. You can also work out stiffer areas of the boot (like the instep) with your hands with the boot off. After you get them to just start to break, take them off and let them dry till the next day. Repeat as necessary.
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Jan 18, 2006
The article that states you can break-in leather boots by wearing them and walking in a stream is similar to what the Royal Air Force does. Their way is to have the pilot-trainee step into a trough of water and wear the boots until they are dry.
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Jan 18, 2006
The article that states you can break-in leather boots by wearing them and walking in a stream is similar to what the Royal Air Force does. Their way is to have the pilot-trainee step into a trough of water and wear the boots until they are dry.
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Nov 22, 2005
A great way to break in leather boots is to get them wet and walk in them. Some hiking buddies of mine walk upstream in their boots to break them in. The benefit is that the leather becomes saturated with water so is more pliable to you feet. A side benefit is that as you do this for a long period of time, your feet get wet as well. And if you can hike with wet feet in boots without blistering; you have confirmed your boots are broken in.
