Breaking in a boot without wearing it.

[GilaMinumBeer]

Breaking in a boot without wearing it. Hmmmm. Can it be done.

I have a pair of Doc Martin classic 8 eye laceups that I have worn maybe 6 times in the last 4 years. Problem is, they are just a wee bit tight cause they are yet to break in. I forget this, wear them for a day, and suffer for a week.

I have the cedar boot shoes but they self adjust.

Is there a way to stretch the leather a tad to make the boot more bearable to wear til it breaks in to my foot?

Any tricks to soften the leather without trashing the boot?

 

[wildwest450]

Strange, I have 2 pairs of the same boot and they were ultra comfy right out of the box. Mabey loan them out and let someone else get blisters.

 

[zoebisch01]

Man, speaking of Doc's. I bought my first pair of slip-ons (I forget the style), they are so comfortable. The first pair was defective (the cushion separated from the shoe) so they ordered a replacement. Well the funny thing is this pair took more than twice as long to break in! I am not sure how to 'break them in' without wearing them. If it's just a matter of the leather being too tight, what happens when you relax the laces on them?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Man, speaking of Doc's. I bought my first pair of slip-ons (I forget the style), they are so comfortable. The first pair was defective (the cushion separated from the shoe) so they ordered a replacement. Well the funny thing is this pair took more than twice as long to break in! I am not sure how to 'break them in' without wearing them. If it's just a matter of the leather being too tight, what happens when you relax the laces on them?

Have to wear em loose regardless or I lose feeling in my foot. They fit good, just have some odd pinch points that don't effect me til I have worn them a couple hours. After a day I am blistered.

Been thinking about getting rid of them and getting a different pair. Slip-ons are great. Have worn many a pair of Wolverines but never the Docs.

 

[ChshreCat]

Usually you can wear them for short periods at first, around the house and such. Just a couple hours at a time to start. That helps loosen them up without killing your feet. You can also buy boot stretchers and stretching oil to help stretch them out if you need.

 

[menschmaschine]

GMB, we wear the same shoes. I've been wearing Docs for nearly 20 years and only ever once had a problem like this... and it didn't turn out well.

It wasn't the 8 eyelet ones, it was a pair of 6-eyelet boots. I've only worn the 8 eyelet boots since and haven't had the problem. I got this pair of 6-eyelet boots and they really hurt the back of my ankles. And having been in the Marines, my feet weren't wusses. So I signed it off to just needing to be "broken in" and kept on wearing them through the blisters as much as I could stand it. Well, bad idea... eventually the blistered areas on my ankles turned into "calcaneous spurs" on the bone in my ankle and I developed these bony protrusions coming out the back of my ankles, making it difficult to wear ANY shoes. The left foot wasn't so bad, but the right got so uncomfortable that I had to have it surgically removed! They pretty much put me out and took a saw to the back of my ankle... not a real fun recovery. And since I was in college and had no medical insurance, I had it done at the VA Hospital for free. Let's just say that hospital and it's doctors were no John's Hopkins. It was painful!

So my advice is, whatever you do, don't just "take the pain" and think they will eventually get broken in. I get a new pair of 8 eyelet boots every 2-3 years and, although they do take about 6 months to really get broken in, once broken, they are some of the most comfortable shoes I've had.

 

[Revvy]

god I remember the blisters trying to break in a pair...I feel for you.

You said you have cedar strechers? Is it the kind that you can twist and adjust (the one the the wood foot is in several parts) or the solid one that just wedges in...

If you can't find the old school split stretchers you could try large soup or juice cans...try sticking one or two soup cans on their side in the foot and then use a larger can standing straight up going down into the leg part.

Is there an old school shoe repair guy in a mall or someplace in town? He'd have the best chemical softeners and may even have the right kinda streatchers to help break them in...

Those blisters were a pain, but once they get broken in the are uber comfortable...

 

[zoebisch01]

Been thinking about getting rid of them and getting a different pair. Slip-ons are great. Have worn many a pair of Wolverines but never the Docs.

This is the style I got. I wear a mens 11.5 and I the fit for me with these is a 12 (UK 11). They are a smaller fit for some reason. When I first was looking at them I was thinking "that'll be huge", but when I put them on they felt a little snug. 2 weeks later and they are so kind to my feet!

 

[conpewter]

I haven't tried this but I heard you can stretch them out by putting a baggie of water in them and sticking them in the freezer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

This is the style I got. I wear a mens 11.5 and I the fit for me with these is a 12 (UK 11). They are a smaller fit for some reason. When I first was looking at them I was thinking "that'll be huge", but when I put them on they felt a little snug. 2 weeks later and they are so kind to my feet!

Same scenario here. I just haven't been able to endure two weeks.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I haven't tried this but I heard you can stretch them out by putting a baggie of water in them and sticking them in the freezer.

That is so krazy it'll have to work. Gonna try that. Thanks.

 

[Revvy]

Well I found this on a Doc Marten Forum...

Well mate I've been wearing Doc's of all models for years even when they were not so fashionable (over here anyway) they are a bitch to breakin I used to get blisters and all even resorted to bashing the back heel with a hammer to soften the leather it helped some if your curious but the best thing to do is put a sock in olive oil or something like that put a dry sock over that then wear around the house till broke in then my friend you got yourself without doubt the most comfortable boot on the planet.

and this....Man I wish I had the internets when I last owned a pair...


How to Break in Your Doc Martens - wikiHow

Tricks and tips for quickly breaking in a new pair of Doc Martens. | Ask Metafilter

 

[jgln]

The left foot wasn't so bad, but the right got so uncomfortable that I had to have it surgically removed!


This is where speed reading and not reading every word can get you in trouble. Man, at first I thought you had to have your foot cut off because of a pair of boots.

 

[menschmaschine]

This is where speed reading and not reading every word can get you in trouble. Man, at first I thought you had to have your foot cut off because of a pair of boots.

Yeah, I guess I could have written that a little clearer.:cross:

Nah... if that happened, my username would be MyLeftFoot.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yeah, I guess I could have written that a little clearer.:cross:

Nah... if that happened, my username would be MyLeftFoot.

I thought that was the translation. Man, I gotta brush up on my latin.

 

[Whiskey]

What I used to do when I was in the military, was soak the boots in hot water (tap water hot), drain them, towel dry them off and put them on. Wear them around till they are dry and they will be molded to your foot. You do not have to walk miles in them or do any major pavement pounding, brew a batch of beer, mow the lawn whatever. Once they are dry, slap some leather dressing or polish on them and you'll be set. I've used this method for every pair of boots I've owned, to include Rockies and Redwings, so I'd assume they would work with Docs.

One word of caution. If your boots are too tight either in length or width, no amount of magic oil, soaking, baking freezing or praying over will make them comfortable.

 

[srm775]

GMB, we wear the same shoes. I've been wearing Docs for nearly 20 years and only ever once had a problem like this... and it didn't turn out well.

I've stopped buying Docs. They switched the manufacturing from England to China and the quality is very noticable. I had a bit of an older pair, made in England, side-by-side with a newer pair and the weight of the shoe, stitching and overall quality was really easy to see. The newer ones are much heavier, don't wear right and aren't stitched as well.

 

[jgln]

Yeah, I guess I could have written that a little clearer.:cross:

Nah... if that happened, my username would be MyLeftFoot.

WE ARE THE ROBOTS..............WE ARE THE ROBOTS.

Thanks, wonder how long now that will play in my head. Is that Russian under your user name? Tried to translate and only came up with some kind of rancher. Dirty girl rancher?

 

[menschmaschine]

[Sorry... off topic]

WE ARE THE ROBOTS..............WE ARE THE ROBOTS.

Thanks, wonder how long now that will play in my head. Is that Russian under your user name? Tried to translate and only came up with some kind of rancher. Dirty girl rancher?

Russian for "I'm your worker". It's the second line at the beginning of the song. The robot voice says, in Russian, "I'm your slave. I'm your worker". (phoenetically, "Ya tvoi sluga. Ya tvoi Rabotnik." I say that to my boss every morning. (j/k... my boss is cool.)

If that song gets stuck in your head, don't listen to this one... Cold Play stole this melody...
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-edTeO92S_g&feature=related]YouTube - Kraftwerk - Computerlove[/ame]

 

[GroovePuppy]

On my first visit to the US I got myself a nice pair of lace up boots. Trouble was I spent 5 months wearing them where the car I drove was a rental and an automatic. They creased in an odd way that I didn't notice 'til I got back to the UK. Every time I drove a stick, working the clutch would almost sever my fricken' toes!

 

[david_42]

If you have a shoe shop in the area, it is very easy for them to selectively stretch the leather.

 

[Elpiochnb4]

let someone else wear them!

 

[dibby33]

I used to wear 14 holed DMs.

I just wore them to break them in. I polished them by coating them in black polish and then melting that in with a hair dryer. Leave for a while (couple of beers) and then shine up with a cloth. Repeat. VERY SHINY!!! Would take a whole evening to do this but worth it.

 

[bad coffee]

I've stopped buying Docs. They switched the manufacturing from England to China and the quality is very noticable.

I completely agree. The sizes are off as well. The old 5 hole 10.5's used to fit me like a glove right out of the box. Now I don't even bother picking them up.

I did just find a shop in toronto that had the english ones. None my size though. Grrr.

B