Breaking In Hiking Boots: A Detailed Guide
When you get a pair of new hiking boots, it takes time until they become comfortable and good to wear for a proper hike. Until they become comfortable, some new hiking boots cause blisters, hot spots, and overall discomfort.
In this post, we’re going to discuss how fast hiking boots break in, how to properly break them in, how to solve common issues in the subject, and more. The information from this post is based on research and my personal experience breaking in multiple boots.
Step-by-step process to break in your hiking boots
Breaking in your boots isn’t a complicated process, but it does take time. Doing it right can make the process much less painful. Here is the step-by-step process to break in your hiking boots the right way:
- Try your hiking boots on and walk around: Notice whether the shoes fit well and whether they feel comfortable. Make sure to lace the shoes how you would normally, and walk around with them to notice how they feel when you walk and when you sit down.
- Wear your new shoes around the house: wear the shoes so they start breaking in, but in a controlled environment where you can take them off any time you want. Over time, the material will soften a bit, and the shoes will feel more comfortable to wear. If you notice chafing or any discomfort, take the shoes off and let your feet heal, and continue walking with the shoes around the house some other time.
- Take short hikes with your hiking boots: When your shoes start to feel more comfortable to wear, you can start taking short hikes with them. Go on easy hikes with nice terrain. Going on actual hikes makes the boots break in faster. Wear thicker socks to minimize discomfort. Pay attention to any signs of hot spots or discomfort, and address them with bandages.
- Increase the length and level of the hikes as the boots become more comfortable: After a few hikes, the shoes should become more comfortable and cause less discomfort while hiking. You can start taking them on longer hikes as you feel more confident that they won’t cause discomfort. Continue to wear the shoes for longer hikes until you feel they’re completely broken in.
Breaking in your hiking boots is a process that takes time. Avoid rushing it, because you might find yourself with blisters and chafing in the middle of a hike, which isn’t fun. Take your time and only take the new boots to trips you feel confident they’ll be good for.
How long does it take to break in hiking boots?
When you get new hiking boots, they sometimes hurt your feet and generally feel uncomfortable. Boots take time to break in and fit better to your feet. But how long does it really take?
As a general rule, hiking boots take a few days to weeks of use to break in fully. The time it takes can vary depending on the material and fit of the boots, as well as the amount of use.
Using the described step-by-step process to break in your new hiking boots, you’ll be able to break them in faster, and with less discomfort.
What affects hiking boots break in
How fast and how easy it is to break in your hiking boots varies, based on the material, fit, and amount of use. Breaking in your hiking boots isn’t complicated but can be a bit painful if you do it wrong.
To break in your new boots, I recommend walking around in them, initially just around your house and later in your day-to-day life. When ready and sure you’re comfortable in the shoes, you can take them on hikes with increasing difficulty.
The materials the shoes are made of have a major effect on how easy they are to break in. Different materials take time to mold, change, and morph into something now comfortable. Most hiking boots are either made of leather or synthetic materials.
Leather boots are generally known to be durable, but also take a long time to break in. Leather can mold to your feet over time, but the process may take anything between weeks and months of regular use.
On the other hand, synthetic materials like nylon and mesh are generally considered to be less durable, but break in faster. These usually take days and weeks to break in.
Of course, some boots use a blend of leather and synthetic materials, which can result in being the best of both worlds.
How well the boots fit also has a major effect on their process of breaking in. Boots that are too tight can cause hot spots and discomfort while breaking in, while boots that are too loose can cause your feet to slide and cause blisters. Both are tougher to break in.
Good-fitting boots don’t cause discomfort while laced up, so try walking around with the shoes and make adjustments if you need any. If your boots are too big you can replace the insoles or use thicker socks.
Since hiking boots break in over time, how much you use them has a major effect on how fast they break in. If you wear the boots every day, they’ll break in much faster than they would if you used them sparingly.
Common issues and solutions with breaking in hiking boots
While breaking in your hiking boots is a simple process that just takes time, some issues can arise when wearing your new shoes.
Many people suffer from discomfort, hot spots, and even blisters when wearing new hiking boots. This is because the tough material hasn’t softened yet, and hasn’t molded into a shape that better suits the hiker’s feet. The tough material rubs against the feet and causes these issues.
The process of wearing your hiking boots more and more, first around the house, and later on longer and longer hikes, tries to minimize these issues. If you’re wearing shoes around the house and start feeling discomfort you can take them off and let your feet rest.
When wearing new boots try to wear thicker socks than you usually would. The padding provides an additional soft layer between your skin and the boot material, reducing the rubbing effect.
If you do start feeling discomfort and can’t take the shoes off, you can use bandages and apply them around the area where you feel discomfort. The bandages can provide additional padding and reduce rubbing as well.
These tips should help you have a better experience breaking in your new boots, and make the process much less painful than it sometimes would be.
Conclusions
As we’ve discussed, new shoes can cause a lot of issues if you start hiking with them right away, without breaking them in first. This process isn’t complicated but it does take time, and if you do it right it shouldn’t cause too much discomfort.
Be patient and give your new boots time to fully break in and become comfortable. This will ensure you’ll have fun hiking experiences.
