I vacillated on posting this in GQ, then IMHO, then GD, but finally settled on MPSIMS. Specifically, I’m looking for farmers/ranchers/workers’ input on this one, ‘cause I got new boots! I did a little shopping and got my first pair of new boots in 5+ years. I had owned a pair of Justin workboots for nigh on 10 years, and wore the heels down to a nub. I had them re-soled in Santa Fe, but those wore down again too damn quick. So this weekend, I said to myself, “Self, I deserve a new pair of boots,” and I bought myself a pair of brown Ariat Ropers. Nice lookin’ boots, that I can wear in the office or on the lab floor.
However, this begs the question: How do you break in your new Western boots?
In the past, due to what I’d been taught about leather care, that you take your new leather (baseball glove, belt, boots, etc.) and give it a good coat of Neatsfoot oil to soften it up. . . and let it sit and soak in overnight. Then you break in your leather/wear your boots for a few days so they fit your feet; “condition first, then wear.” With my old Justins, I did just that, but they always felt a little loose on my feet. Going online didn’t help, because half of the opinions say condition first, then wear; the other half say wear and break in first, and then condition them.
I’ve broken in plenty of boots before, but this is my first “fashionable” pair in a while, and I want them to last forever, but fit perfectly. What do you do with 'em?
I usually try to break down the heel a bit when I oil them up the first time because I am the queen of new shoe heal blisters. I like my boots to be a tiny bit big so my first couple of wearings are usually with thick socks. I also bring other shoes with me so I can have something to switch to after a couple of hours. My horse trainer friend says that she puts them in warm water for a couple of minutes and then wears them. This sounds nuts to me but she says it softens the leather and allows it to conform to her feet. To me, it sounds like a great way to get your feet to peel.
Nice Boots. If they feel loose maybe try insert soles. (Is that what they’re called?) I like them because they cushion your step and can absorb smell and then be discarded.
I grew up in a small farm town in Oklahoma; and while it wasn’t mandatory to wear boots… well it kind of was.
Anyway; the only way we ever broke in boots were to just wear them! None of the water, or mink oil or any of that. Much like I break in a new pair of shoes. I start by wearing them a little bit until my feet start to get sore; or until I feel some ‘pressure points’ on my feet getting a little tender, then I switch to the old pair for a day or two. Eventually they break in.
Not for Western boots, but I have done that technique long ago for some Red Wings high top boots I was planning to use for Boy Scout hikes and the like. As I remembered, we took boiling water, filled the boots, soaked for a brief time, dumped the water, then I wore the boots around until they dried. It worked, and despite re-reading the description of the technique, I don’t remember my feet burning.
For Western boots, I just wore them to break them in, and rubbed mink oil into them to keep the leather pliable. I don’t remember breaking them in with neatsfoot oil, like I did a baseball glove.
A little bit of wearing here and there. But sooner or later there has to be the big, long wear to really break them in. May as well get it over with, let your feet recover, and move on.
I’d done the boiling water for my old boots from Active Duty. Worked like a charm, and I didn’t really care what the finish looked like–I had to polish them anyway at first, then they went to suede. Still, the idea worked with non-Western boots.
I’d done the same thing with my first (now worn out) pair of Western boots, and I suspect that’s what made them over-loose.
Again, ignorance-due-to-tradition here: I’d used neatsfoot oil on pretty much all my leather, so that’s what went on Old Pair. I think I’ll switch to Mink Oil for New Pair.
I’ve been wearing New Pair for two days now, and they feel great! I must have found a brand/size match that fits like a glove. So far, no blisters or red spots like with Old Pair. . .
Thanks for the advice, y’all!
Tripler
–Next up: lasso-in’ the copier at the office.
