Breaking in Boots

“A friend of mine said he brakes in new boots by soaking them in water, and then walking in them until they are dry. says it works well. i have never tried it.
i was wondering if any of you have done this, or recommend it.”

“I read somewhere recently (no I don't remember where but I DID read it somewhere) that you shouldn't do that. They suggested using a leather conditioner and just wearing them a decent amount of time before hiking.”

“Yeah, wet leather ain't good, that's why you put conditoiner/waterproofing on them...not only to keep your feet dry but the leather also.

The best way to break them in is wearing them...alot. And in the meantime, while sitting in front of the tube, work them with your hands twisting, folding, etc.”

“I used to do that. I wasn't happy unless I had heavy duty clod hoppers on my feet.

Now I want the lightest, most comfortable boots I can find. Admittedly these are expensive, but I don't smoke or (rarely) drink so it's my only vice. I do like goretex liners.

No break in time & easier hiking for this ol' dodder.”

“Comes in a red plastic bottle...rub it on and wear the boots for 15 minutes...and they will be broken in...I've been using it for YEARS...both backpacking and to break in boots I wore in Special Forces...about 2.95 a bottle but worth twice that....”

“so what is the time frame for breaking in new boots?
Ive had mine now for 4 months and have gone on a couple of trips and did wear them for most of the winter, and they still are hard as a rock.....”

“I've heard that you shouldn't get them wet - I've rarely done it on purpose but it does seem to have the effect of making leather stretch and conform to your feet. I think this worked more with the old style boots that had no membrane though. I tried it with a pair of Saloman boots I got in a sale. No matter what I did they wouldn't stretch at all. I ended up giving them away.”

“Punkjumper's friend's advice sounds like the method I've heard that loggers used to use to break in a new pair of leather boots. Fill them with water, let them set overnight, wear them wet all the next day. However, I don't think that would work with modern boots, just with the old work boots loggers used to wear.”

“My Montrail Torre's are breaking in quite nicely. They were fairly comfortable from the get-go.

I was told when I bought them that they've recently found out that putting leather conditioner on new boots is not a good idea. and can actually damage the leather.

They told me to break them in for a while first and let some natural oils get in them before I conditioned the leather. Anyone else heard this?”

“I've actually done the reverse, broken them in with the leather conditioner, and then, after I take off the boots, I rub the sweaty socks over the outside of them, it works great...!(EWWWWW!)”

“One way to cheat when buying new boots ,although a hassle,can save you the horrors of a mis-fitting boot.Since it's not acceptable to take dirty footbeds from your old perfect fit boots to the store and replace the new beds.you have to buy the boots and do it at home.The reason is simple-by using the old ones you've reduced many of the variables inherent in new boots.You can see and feel the way the beds conform to the new.You can concentrate more on the way the rest of the boots supports the bed and how the uppers support and flex as walk.Don't just walk on the flat; but,up,down hill and on various angles on a traverse.As for keeping the new boots clean...figure something out.”

“I got a new pair of LLBean all leather Crestas. I've been wearing them out walking to break them in, but basically they don't need any breaking in. They feel like slippers when I put 'em on, but are tough enough to protect my feet in the rocky Maine terrain.”

“I was told when I bought my new boots to wear them every day for 1 hour a day. The sales guy told me not to wear them any longer than that for the first month. John he also told me not to put the conditioner on until I broke the boots in. He said this was because while you are breaking in your boots you are stretching out the leather, and the conditioner needs to be applied to all areas of the boot.”

“I usually insert my new boots into some dumb punk's a$$. It breaks them in very quickly.”

“thankx fer the info y'all. it might be easier to hike barefoot!”