What to do with your new pair of hiking boots

Howdy, folks of Weblandia. I see that you are curious about the mysterious art of purchasing footwear online. Never fear. Read on, and you'll be better prepared to evaluate your boots for that magical, blister-free thing called a "good fit".

Once you’ve received your new shoes, take them out of their box and try them on. I suggest waiting until the end of the day, as tootsies tend to swell as the day goes on. Go grab a pair of your favorite Darn Toughs, and slide them up over your feet. Make sure your socks aren't all wrinkly at the toe. Not only will that affect fit, but it's weird and makes your foot look like a sock puppet. If you use prescription orthopedic footbeds, or performance footbeds like Superfeet, now's the time to put them in. There's no sense trying out boots without your favorite footbeds in them. Just make sure to remove the stock footbeds. (If you don't use an aftermarket footbed, it's time to look into it. Unfortunately, no matter how nice your new boots are, the manufacturers expect you to use a separate footbed, so the ones included with your boots are usually just simple foam plugs. Most of our staff swear by one footbed company or another, and since both Sole and Superfeet have satisfaction guarantees, you can't really go wrong. Seriously--they make a big difference. I don't have a single pair of boots without some sort of aftermarket footbed in them. Except my go-go boots with the clear acrylic heels and fish inside. Superfeet doesn't make a footbed for those. Yet.)

A proper fit will start with properly lacing them up. Be sure to fully loosen your laces from toe to heel before putting your foot in the shoe. Once it’s in, kick your heel into the back of the boot to ensure your heel is sitting properly in the heel cup of your shoe. Now lace up your shoe, starting with the laces by the toe of the boot and working your way up. Be especially certain to tie them securely directly above and below the ankle (this will keep your foot securely in the shoe and keep your heel from lifting when you walk). Walk around inside for a while. How do they feel? A proper fit is a comfortable fit. First and foremost, listen to your feet. Not literally, but, well, just pay attention to them. You know what I mean. Does the shoe pinch anywhere? Does it rub? Does it feel good? Your boots should hold your ankle like a decent handshake (not the limp-fish handshake you get from dentists and accountants, but not the death-grip you get from your girlfriend's father, either.) If you have a set of stairs or some sort of incline indoors, take them for a test drive. Walk up the stairs or incline using the balls of your feet, paying close attention to your heels. Lift your heels up off the incline, or try to stand up on your tippy-toes. With a proper fit, your heels should feel firmly set—with no more than ½ inch of lift from the footbed. If that feels good, shuffle your feet down the stairs or incline, to make sure your foot is securely in the shoe. As you do this, pay attention to make sure that your foot does not shift or slide forward in the shoe, and that your toes certainly do not touch the front of the shoe. It's often OK if your foot slides forward, but it's never OK if your toes touch against the front of the boot. If they do, the boot is not the right fit, and you could get toe-bang or black toes from a long day of hiking, which, according to the Wikipedia entry I just created, is a complete suckfest. Walking uphill and downhill are the two best tests to ensure you have received the best fitting shoes. If you pass both these tests, and the shoes feel comfortable they are likely the right fit! (Hint: Don't do weird things like try to roll your foot around, or step on the toes with one shoe while wiggling the other, or other odd things. Sometimes people try to "factory test" their shoes by doing odd things in them. Don't do that. It doesn't tell you anything about how the shoes will perform when you're walking. Just walk normally.)

Other than these quick tests, the best way to know if they are the right boots is by walking around in them. Often times, with a more heavy duty boot it can just take time to tell whether the boot fits properly or not. Our return policy here at the good old OGE/GearX.com is that footwear is returnable as long as they haven't been worn outside. So start vacuuming! Soooooo, assuming your boots fit and you are now in a Loving Committed Relationship with your new footwear, it's time to break them in! Breaking in your shoes before hiking in them is the best way to prevent blisters, and the best way to break in a boot is to walk around in them! However, do NOT take your freshly-purchased shiny new shoes with you on a through-hike of the John Muir trail, or even a 30 mile weekend. No pun intended, but take some baby steps. Go for a few hikes of four hours or less. Wear them around to the office (on casual Friday, of course). Tie the laces a bit looser than you normally would, and you will allow the boot to stretch more with each step that you take, shortening the break in time of your boot. Feeling a little risky? If you want to cut some corners, another great trick is to get your shoes slightly wet before going on a hike. The easiest way to do this is to simply take them out and splash around in some clear puddles, or run them under the tap for a minute or two. By doing this, you are saturating the proteins in the leather, allowing them to relax and mold to your foot as you walk around in them. Be wary, though! Make sure they dry completely on your feet, or they can crack and shrink, which is totally bad news bears. Once they've dried completely, you should make sure to treat them with a boot conditioner or waterproofer afterwards. If your boots use a very stiff leather (something like the Asolo TPS 535), the leather treatment we really like to use is Limmer Boot Grease from the world-famous Peter Limmer and Sons. On medium-stiffness leathers like those on the Vasque Wasatch, we recommend Nikwax Paste or Aqueous Wax. There are plenty of good leather treatments out there in addition to these, but it's always ok to go with whatever the manufacturer recommends. (Hint: Never use pure oils like Mink Oil or Neat's foot oil, as they oversoften leather. Plus, there isn't even an animal called a Neat, and the oil doesn't even come from feet. You really don't want to know where they get the stuff. It's crazy.) Happy hiking!