My girl is going to a river&trail camp tomorrow and she needs ankle boots that are broken-in. She doesn't have any boots so we are in our way to buy her new ones, is any way we can broke-in the boots in a night? Any advice on what kind of boots are good for country camping?
Sally, I wish I would have see your post, that was a great idea.
Well, she is on her camp now.
I was going to drive the car over the boots but my husband didn't let me. So I did sock them on water and wear them my self all day today (a little last night too) and I got her LOTS of bandage (I also found a special cream for help with the friction in Walmart).
Thanks for your all your help.
My husband makes fun of me because I come here every-time I have a problem, I think he is just jealous!
I would definitely try the nearest thrift shop. You can find next to new or pretty darn good condition.
make sure you get her extra thick socks.. or tell her to wear two pairs of socks.. when you first use them she may get blisters.. that's why they want them broken in... so using two socks helps... good luck..
I agree with Riley. Don't run them over. That's just silly. And moleskin is a God sent. Use it well and wisely.
We would always hit ours with baseballs bats, but I like Missy's idea better. We also would take a blow dryer to the rubber souls and flex them, which helps break them in. Good Luck!
The last time I tried doing that was while hiking the Appalacian Trail & it didn't work out too well. The only smart thing i did was remembered to bring some moleskin to put on the blisters. Hope she makes out okay.
pack alot of band aids
Run them over with your car a few times. Seriously. She'll still want thick socks, maybe even 2 pairs and a pack of band-aids, in case of blisters, but you'll break the leather in a little by running your car tires over them a few times. I would definitely go with all leather, no vinyl, for hiking. Try a sporting goods or camping supply store. Good luck!
Here's one better:
The way to ACTUALLY use moleskin:
- Moleskin
- Bandaids
- Medical Tape
- Scissors
Cut a piece of moleskin so that it's at least an inch wider on all sides as the blister (unless it's on a toe, then cut 1/2 inch wider than blister). Then cut 2 or 3 more pieces the same size. Cut a hole in the middle of the moleskins the same size/slightly larger than the blister. Stack the moleskin on top of the blister so that the hole is over the blister and none of the sticky stuff is touching it. Place the bandaid on the very top of the stack. (The bandaid shouldn't be touching the blister because of the stacked moleskin). Then tape the bejeezus out of it. AKA all four sides so that the tape wraps a couple of inches over on each side AND completely covers the center.
In the military we didn't have the luxury of breaking in new boots. (Although getting them soaked before hiking 5-10 miles would do it in a single hike, and unlike whacking them, they'd be conformed to your feet instead of randomly mushed with wrinkles that would rub). We also didn't have the luxury of stopping and going home if we got blisters. So we learned how to pad and tape the heck out of our feet in order to protect them so we could keep going.
I would also NEVER recommend running over them with a car or beating them up in any form that doesn't have your feet inside... or you've just wasted any money you've spent on boots that fit/ feel good/ and have any structure or support.
REI has good boots for kids for around $60-$75 dollars. And most of them don't really need to be broken in much at all, as long as you don't get the extreme full leather hiking boots. My 8yo just did 4miles in brand new boots and he didn't even get a hot spot.
