Breaking in leather boots questions.

[winterland1]

I just received a pair of Filson Uplander hunting boots. I have started bird hunting again in the fall and need some good boots.
I like them overall, nice Vibram sole and seem well made. I have been I wearing a 9 1/2 D shoe most all of the time and that is what these are. The only other boots I have are combat style and insulated leather hunting boots. Neither needed much breaking in. The Filsons at first seemed like they were too small but after wearing for a few hours, I have them on now still, are loosening up some. I see my toe has room at the end.
They seem to have real nice leather. It is stiff though. I am still not sure if they will be too small or not.
Any suggestions for breaking in?
I see only couple breaking in boots threads. I have read everything from filling with hot water to just standing in the tub with hot water and then wearing till dry. Of course just wearing them would work I am sure also.
I just wonder how far boots will loosen up? I would not keep them if they stayed the way they feel now.
Hopefully if I save my pennys I will be getting some engineer boots also in the future and will post that.
Thanks

 

[wdw]

I'd say that if they don't feel right now, you're better to exchange if you still can.Trying to loosen or stretch the leather will only have a minimal effect, so better to bite the bullet now.

 

[bretron]

I'm dealing with this as we speak with some Wesco engineers. Here's the trick I was told:

Pull out the insole if there is one, fill the boot up with extremely hot tap water and let the water sit in the boots for about 30 mins, then dump the water out and wear the boots for 2-3 hrs wearing your thickest socks. After that take them off and store them away from heat to dry. Then wear them as usual. Wait to stretch them until you have approx two weeks in them of solid wear....

At first I was panicking with mine (see my last post on the engineer thread), but now I'm more and more satisfied with the fit.

Remember it's easier to stretch them than shrink them.

Good luck man! Btw what engineers ya eyeing? Ill give ya a hearty plug for patrol toe Wescos

 

[winterland1]

Thanks for suggestions so far.The good thing is I can return the boots at anytime if they end up not fitting. Even after breaking in.
I like the Red Wing Heritage engineer boots. Will be getting black. I do like the Wescos also. Might be out of my price range though.

 

[Edward]

Even after break-in? Jinkies, that's an extremely generous offer! In that case, you've got the best situation.... Personally, if I find boots too tight from the off, experience has taught me to get them exchanged where possible. That's too tight, though, as distinct from being a good fit but uncomfortably stiff. The only pair of dress shoes or boots I ever had that needed no break in at all is a pair of co-respondents I had made to measure in Beijing. Boots usually need a few wears. I often start with wearing them round the house, maybe when I'm only going to be out for an hour or two, not walking a lot, then a day in the office here and there... After that, they're normally fine. The one thing I will never do (again) is buy a pair of boots and go off on a three day, sixty-mile hike in them two days later....

 

[wdw]

Why bother with that hassle if you can exchange them now? A simple size up will solve your problem without any need for desperate measures and wishful thinking.

 

[Pinhead]

Hunting in Minnesota, you'll probably want some thick (wool!) socks with those boots.

I always take my thickest combination of socks into consideration when sizing my boots.

(That being said, most of my work boots are heavily used and abused. I work at heights and foot placement and agility is important, therefore, I like my boots VERY snug. Even in the toe area.)

 

[LoveMyHats2]

A general rule of boots, buy one half size larger than what you wear, unless the boots are made to order to fit your foot. Account for the "slop" in a boot to be taken up by the socks you would wear and make sure you have toe room.

The old "wear a boot while wet until dry" for me is not a wise move. Good way to stink up a nice inside of a pair of boots is all I can see that would do for the boots, and not something anyone that makes custom shoes or boots would ever recommend. The only liquid I can ever think of putting in a boot would be leather conditioner to help preserve the leather quality and to keep it soft and supple.

If the boots are too tight now, exchange them. I would not wait personally to do so.

 

[apba1166]

I do this....I remove the insole and put a thinner one in, good ones you get for $8-10 at a good shoe repair place. Wear a couple hours a day for awhile, and they slowly break. When they do, some combination of the original insole and sock or new insole will work to break them in further although by end of day you may still feel it. Then I oil them and they break a little more. Ultimately they often get a tad large, in which case I beef up my socks. I've had shoemakers stretch boots...they can stretch the instep up, or the width out...they oil and put them on a machine...and it works well...the other thing is: if they unlined, they will feel stiffer and rub your feet more for awhile until the interior softens and smooths with wear. And I agree--yes, who needs all that....it's really nice when they just fit nice right at the get go.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I'm dealing with this as we speak with some Wesco engineers. Here's the trick I was told:

Pull out the insole if there is one, fill the boot up with extremely hot tap water and let the water sit in the boots for about 30 mins, then dump the water out and wear the boots for 2-3 hrs wearing your thickest socks. After that take them off and store them away from heat to dry. Then wear them as usual. Wait to stretch them until you have approx two weeks in them of solid wear....

At first I was panicking with mine (see my last post on the engineer thread), but now I'm more and more satisfied with the fit.

Remember it's easier to stretch them than shrink them.

Good luck man! Btw what engineers ya eyeing? Ill give ya a hearty plug for patrol toe Wescos

Leather always tends to shrink after being soaking wet. If soaking wet and placed near a high heat source, you really can see some serious shrinking. I have to wonder who would tell anyone to soak a boot for making it fit you if the boot is already tight? I can see how it may make the boot in question smaller, but no way larger. Proper fitting boots should not require being made to fit by being stretched or some sort of process to make them shrink to fit. They should fit from day one. Breaking in a new pair of boots becomes less a hassle if they are well conditioned and worn lightly for a week or too each time worn, to limber up the leather and insole a bit so they move easier.

I could see someone putting water in a boot, for keeping goldfish....or to douse a flame on your Auntie Maude...but not for making a boot fit properly.

 

[bretron]

Leather always tends to shrink after being soaking wet. If soaking wet and placed near a high heat source, you really can see some serious shrinking. I have to wonder who would tell anyone to soak a boot for making it fit you if the boot is already tight? I can see how it may make the boot in question smaller, but no way larger. Proper fitting boots should not require being made to fit by being stretched or some sort of process to make them shrink to fit. They should fit from day one. Breaking in a new pair of boots becomes less a hassle if they are well conditioned and worn lightly for a week or too each time worn, to limber up the leather and insole a bit so they move easier.

I could see someone putting water in a boot, for keeping goldfish....or to douse a flame on your Auntie Maude...but not for making a boot fit properly.

It's more to break down the insole than to stretch the leather but I can tell you it worked to mitigate issues with both. So take it or leave it

 

[Grayland]

It's more to break down the insole than to stretch the leather but I can tell you it worked to mitigate issues with both. So take it or leave it

That is good to hear, Breton. When you're dealing with high dollar footwear, it is a serious loss to wear them a few days and then find out they don't really fit. - after you've driven them off the lot.

 

[bretron]

That is good to hear, Breton. When you're dealing with high dollar footwear, it is a serious loss to wear them a few days and then find out they don't really fit. - after you've driven them off the lot.

You're telling me! At six bills and some change, I was one sad puppy there for a while....

 

[LoveMyHats2]

[URL=http://s1140.photobucket.com/user/LoveMyHats2/media/smellbadfeetcat.jpg.html] [/URL]

I cannot think of anything other than this picture to bring to mind a wet pair of boots (or shoes) being worn until they are dry......lol! If you did so and it worked for you, lucky for you, but I still would not recommend it and I am serious in my thoughts no boot maker would tell you to do that, shoes and boots remain in great condition if not soaking wet, and require a lot of attention if they do get soaked with water. There are many things used to make a pair of shoes or boots, and glue and or adhesive is one of them. Brand new and hot water in them? To aide them to fit? I have perhaps over 140 pairs of shoes and boots currently, and am a shoe and boot fanatic, restore and repair them like crazy and maintain the ones I have in top shape. I would go with the fit me now far before having to boil them or tug them to fit. Even more so if a pair of shoes or boots are going to run me past 3 bills a shot. I am wondering why the ones you purchased needed to have anything done to them, if you purchased them new and had the option for what size you needed to begin with?

Please note, I am not in the desire of "picking on you" in anything I say, just wanting to understand what happened that you would have been told to water them and wear them to make them fit you?

 

[bretron]

No offense taken. I thought it sounded crazy myself

Here's the direct quote from Wesco:

"Your boots will stretch as they break in. You can remove the inserts, fill them with extremely hot tap water, let the water sit in them for 20-30 minutes, dump the water and wear them for a few hours. This will speed up the break in process."

To your question on sizing; I went through a thorough fitting process with Wesco (tracings, measurements, fit preference, comparison of other boot fittings etc). Their final recommendation was what was built for me, or 9.5D. The boot I got has a very narrow toe box, and is not reinforced by celastic or additional leather- t's soft toe- which basically just means its really narrow (eg a cowboy boot toe). They're my first pair of boots with this kind of toe, so for all intensive purposes they probably fit right out of the box. On the other hand, who the hell knows. I'm just happy I don't have to re sell these beauties

 

[Pinhead]

Every pair of hockey skates I've ever owned in my life (too many to count) (and they used to be made of leather; not so much anymore), I've soaked in a bucket of water and laced up tight. Often, I would then wrap the boot tightly with an ACE bandage. Then, skate from sunup to sundown.

Afterwards, they would fit like they were molded to my feet.

And for everyone saying to not get the OP's boots wet because they'll get smelly and ruined, well... , they ARE hunting boots. If they are not wet and smelly after the first day in the field, then maybe he needs to get a matching ascot and stroll the boulevard, instead.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Every pair of hockey skates I've ever owned in my life (too many to count) (and they used to be made of leather; not so much anymore), I've soaked in a bucket of water and laced up tight. Often, I would then wrap the boot tightly with an ACE bandage. Then, skate from sunup to sundown.

Afterwards, they would fit like they were molded to my feet.

And for everyone saying to not get the OP's boots wet because they'll get smelly and ruined, well... , they ARE hunting boots. If they are not wet and smelly after the first day in the field, then maybe he needs to get a matching ascot and stroll the boulevard, instead.

Hockey I have done, never had an issue with them fitting me properly. Field boots have what is called, water proof dressing designed to help keep them dry and some are already made waterproof.

Anyone can do what they deem that will work for them. However, it is not rocket science to understand a dry well conditioned leather shoe or boot is going to be miles ahead of anything wet and perhaps even more so when the wet happens from the inside out, rather than on the outer surfaces. I have obtained more than one pair of vintage shoes or boots that the condition of the leather looked nice, but due to being in a flood and wet soaked then dried, the leather was like cardboard. On the other hand, I have boots and shoes that are more than 70 years old that wear and look close to new. Those were kept in a dry condition and not soaked from the inside out, and well maintained.

The same with wearing combat boots in country. Keeping your boots dry and well maintained was a must.

If I wanted to make something wet to help aide it in a size, I would think conditioner is far safer a application to use than water.

 

[Pinhead]

Agreed.

I have a few pairs of quality work boots (my favorite Red Wings are nine years old).

I use Lexol on them (that's what we use on saddles) after brushing off the mud. Some manufacturers recommend mink oil, which I use (Other boot aficionados disdain that). I also use 'Snow Seal' (Other boot aficionados disdain that).

My boots will never be anybody's collectible and the smell from them could knock a buzzard out of the sky, but they are so comfortable I could wear them to bed.

Once your boot gets sucked off in the coal sludge muck, how you broke them in is inconsequential. A little hot water won't matter. Are those boots going to be his social hunting apparel or are they going to be dirty, smelly old friends?

I like my smelly old friends and will resole them again before I buy new ones.

 

[winterland1]

Good to have some differing opinions going on. I once again talked to the store I bought them from and described where they are tight, not in the toe length and they said keep wearing them and return if it doesn't work out. I would try a different size, an E width but they are out of them and I got a steal of a price on these.
They already felt better putting them on today. I haven't wore them out of the house yet but will tomorrow. Will bring another pair of shoes in case my feet get sore.
They will be for fall grouse hunting. I will not put thick socks in as it is not that cold, at least to a Minnesotan, medium weight merino wool. Love merino. That is why I got uninsulated. Wanted to keep them as light in weight as I can.
I watched some breaking in boots videos on youtube. Everything from filling plastic bags with water, putting in boots and freezing to just rubbing some conditioner thick onto the tight area and let sit on overnight. I do see that many people experience a breaking in period so I feel comfortable with just wearing them and seeing what happens.
I do understand the idea of haveing boots just feel good from the get go but I think certain styles are just stiff and have to be broken in. If you bought ones that were not a little tight they would probably be too big after wearing a while. I believe the breaking in some ways gets you a custom fit like breaking in a Lost Worlds or Aero leather jacket. Shrink to fit Levis 501 etc. I actually just did the shrink to fit 501's and love them. Buying more for sure.