Conditioning New Boots -

[David]

I have been an irrigator for 12 years now and dont know of any other profession that is harder on boots than us. My feet spend alot of time in water and mud and its a miracle if a pair lasts a year. The best breakin I can recommend is with water as mentioned above. I usually make sure the soals are well water proofed before wearing them on the job, but after a day of walking in a new pair while keeping them wet makes them very comfortable afterwards.

Very similar to what my son did with his new kangaroo skin soccer (futbol) boots. He would lace his new boots on with two pairs of socks, then stand in a tub of warm water until they were completely soaked through....then he would play soccer, or just run and pass the ball around for about 30 minutes....then he carefully removed the laces and carefully removed the boots and allowed them to air dry. After that they felt like custom made boots, made just for his feet. Of course they were made to last just a season maybe 15 games and 30 or so practices. Pricey for $140 boots.

Dave Theobald

Edited April 16, 2008 by David

[SCOUTER]

HorseHair, I have to agree with Barra and the above posters... 20 years ago USMC Infantry style boot break-in involved a tight lace up followed by some immersion in water (usually by humping thru a swamp) and then sitting in the sun for a couple of hours while cleaning our weapons. The result boots that fit like a glove! aka-wetforming. Spraying a boot with a water/alcohol mix without wearing them in my opinion wouldn't do anything.

[HorsehairBraider]

Yeah Scouter - I just don't get the alcohol! I think they meant you should be wearing the boots whilst spraying it with this mixture, but then, soaking in water to form the leather makes a lot more sense to me. Simply spraying it does not seem like it would do the job, but like I say, I am always open to learning new things. The person who "knows everything" can't learn anything.

I'd like to thank everyone for their replies. This has helped me see the matter more clearly.

[TroyS]

I've ALWAYS bought my new boots, filled them with water, poured it out then walked as long as my feet could stand it. That broke in the boot and stretched it to fit my foot, then I would polish them with mink oil (4 or 5 coats) and that would make them soft as a baby's ! I'm no expert, but my feet are, and they told me to tell that story ....

Troy

[Gibbsleatherworks]

Thats right, I forgot to mention mink oil.

[faceOdd]

During my Army days, I used the water method mentioned above but instead of filling the boots with warm water, I filled the bathtub with warm water and tromped around in it for awhile. It was more comfortable to make the boots wet and squishy while wearing them than to put them on that way. It's important to keep them on and walk around in them for quite awhile, so I don't recommend doing this on a cold day. The water squeezes out through the course of the day, so it's a good outdoor activity. A nice hot shower and some fluffy slippers or warm, dry socks are a welcome treat at the end of the day's process. Some black Kiwi boot polish after they've dried will bring them back to looking new on the outside, and they'll 'fit like a glove' on the inside.

~Tammy

[Knife Knut]

I wonder how well these wet form techniques would work on steel toe boots.

Edit:

Actually I would be worried the steel toes would rust, but the newfangled composite toe caps wouldnt have that problem

Edited April 12, 2010 by Knife Knut