Boot break in

[Muleyobsession1]

Just bought a pair of crispi liapponas after frustration with my kenetrek corrie 2s, does anyone have a specific break in method for either of these boots? First day wearing the crispis and they are pretty comfortable, however my kenetreks I have put a lot of miles on and I’ve had them for about 2 years and they still rub blisters on my toes. Any advice? Or is my foot too wide for the kenetreks? Looking forward to see how the crispis turn out.

 

[nobody]

Lace them up and wear them. That’s how I’ve broken in every pair of boots I’ve ever bought.

As a side note, I’ve tried to like Kennetreks over the years and just can’t. They are the entirely wrong shape for my foot, plus the sole feels like strapping a 2x4 to the bottom of my foot. But my foot loves the Lapponias. If you have a wide forefoot you’ll be happy.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Leave them slightly loose and wear them.

If boots till blister your feet after a week or two they don’t fit your feet. With proper fitting boots I don’t get blisters at all.

 

[Muleyobsession1]

Leave them slightly loose and wear them.

If boots till blister your feet after a week or two they don’t fit your feet. With proper fitting boots I don’t get blisters at all.

Yeah they still blister the outside of my toes and I’ve probably put over 40 miles on them.

 

[Muleyobsession1]

Lace them up and wear them. That’s how I’ve broken in every pair of boots I’ve ever bought.

As a side note, I’ve tried to like Kennetreks over the years and just can’t. They are the entirely wrong shape for my foot, plus the sole feels like strapping a 2x4 to the bottom of my foot. But my foot loves the Lapponias. If you have a wide forefoot you’ll be happy.

Oh good, yes that’s the problem I think the kenetreks are giving me is they are too narrow for my foot.

 

[ELKOHUNTER]

I had a pair of zamberlan that did the same thing. If I was doing anything longer than a few miles I would run liners. That solved the issue till I wore them out.

 

[cjdewese]

Took me a while to finally come to the realization that I have wide feet. Finally got into some Schees Timberlines in wide and don't have any sort of foot pain from the boots.

If after putting in 10's of miles you shouldn't be getting any blisters. If the pain is on the outside of the toes, definitely try a wider boot. Your feet need to splay out some, if that can't happen in your boot, get a wider one.

 

[Axlrod]

For me Crispi's (4 pair) need no break in. Kenetrek (3 pair) needed a lot of break in.

 

[Ron.C]

Here are a few options:

- Simple "cheapest" suggestion for your current boots if a blister is the only issue (everything elses seems fine) is to leukotape the affected toes. I know a couple guys that this had turned unbearable boots their go to boot.

- try a different sock, sock/liner combinations.

- try a foot bed that is thinner in the toe (if you need a bit more room in the toe box). Problem with this is finding a thin footbed that still does its job correctly with less space in the boot.

Beyond that, only way to know for sure is to fork out the $$$ and purchase the same boot in a size or width.

All this said , some boots regardless of quality/cost or how much you want them to work simply do not work with some feet, even when sized correctly.

 

[jhoff04]

Here are a few options:

- Simple "cheapest" suggestion for your current boots if a blister is the only issue (everything elses seems fine) is to leukotape the affected toes. I know a couple guys that this had turned unbearable boots their go to boot.

- try a different sock, sock/liner combinations.

- try a foot bed that is thinner in the toe (if you need a bit more room in the toe box). Problem with this is finding a thin footbed that still does its job correctly with less space in the boot.

Beyond that, only way to know for sure is to fork out the $$$ and purchase the same boot in a size or width.

All this said , some boots regardless of quality/cost or how much you want them to work simply do not work with some feet, even when sized correctly.

Good feedback. KT blister tape is another great option for blister prevention!

 

[MontanaElkHunter]

Schnees Boots are great fitting with no break in time

 

[TaperPin]

Every boot made has a slightly different shape and width. If your slightly narrow boots need extra width, make sure you’re not putting any tension on the laces up at the front of the boot. You might try a boot repair place to see if they have had any luck stretching the toe box width - that rubber on the sides of the toes might make that method not work at all. Boot places are used to stretching boots to fit better and I’ve known guys that bought a wood stretcher that they keep in the boot when it’s not being worn.

Personally, I’d sell the boots and get a wider width - good fitting boots won’t do that. You also shouldn’t be able to feel your toe hit the inside of the boot if you kick something hard. If you can feel the end of the boot, even a little, you probably need the next size up, which would give you extra width.

 

[cjdewese]

Personally, I’d sell the boots and get a wider width - good fitting boots won’t do that. You also shouldn’t be able to feel your toe hit the inside of the boot if you kick something hard. If you can feel the end of the boot, even a little, you probably need the next size up, which would give you extra width.

I agree with this 100%. I tried several boots thinking they would work when ultimately they didn't.

Once I got a boot wide enough for my foot and had enough room to lace them up properly all my issues went away.

The toe tip above holds true for me as well, if I can feel it at all on trail it is 10X worse especially once you get weight in your pack.

 

[BIGEYES]

A pair of feet is like a rifle barrel, each an individual. I have narrow feet with high arches. My Kenetrek mountain extremes provide the best fit that I've ever worn. Very little break-in on these. I bought a pair of Schnee Granites which have a much larger toe area (room for heavier socks). I don't have many miles on these but break-in doesn't seem to be an issue. I just bought a pair of Kenetrek New Safari this winter. Great boots right out of the box; but took a little while to acclimate to the lower height.