boot quandry

[KCS]

I hope someone can help!

I just bought a new pair of hiking boots. My first! I wore them around the store and did all the tests for a great fit. I actually tried on seven pairs before I found one that fit right. I brought them home and wore them around the house for a few days. They felt great.

But when I wore them around town today, my first outdoor breaking in, the right boot began breaking too far up my foot. It breaks just a bit past my toes on the bridge of my foot. It doesn't hurt at all, but is annoying and I can see where it might become painful on a long hike.

The other boot is perfect and feels great.

The boots are leather. I'm wondering, is there a way to force the boot to break where it should, at the crease of my toes? Now that I've worn them outside, I can't take them back. The salesperson at REI insisted that I wouldn't have this problem with leather boots (it was a complaint with two of the pairs I tried on). Any advice would be appreciated, since I can't take them back now.

Thanks!

[desdemona]

Leather boots can be stretched, but I'm not sure if they will stretch in a way that is useful to your purposes. There are also devices that you can buy that stretch them (about $20).

No doubt one foot is bigger than the other. Some people's feet a different by as much as a whole size or more. To my knowledge, the only company that acknowledges this is Birkenstock, which doesn't sell boots.

Btw, someone wiser than I on such matters, says "Never listen to a shoe salesman".

--des
--des

[natchez]

KCS, welcome to the forum - I hope you will like it here:)


that said:

there is absolutely no way in knowing how a certain boot will perform later on - down the trail.\ I have had this problem maby times before and still haven't figured out the prob...

it seems to have to do with pressuring one's weight to a certain position..