Breaking in that new pair of hiking boots

(Bugout.news) If you’ve done any hiking or distance walking at all, you know how important it is to have a good pair of shoes or boots. That said, it is vitally important to ensure not only that your footwear matches the task at hand, but that it is comfortable, protective and broken in.

A better way of looking at doing this, however, is not breaking in the boot to fit your feet, but breaking in your feet to fit the boot. What that means, according to Josh Fairchilds, the cofounder of boot manufacturer Oboz, is making sure the boots fit properly, that they don’t slip or slide much, and that the outside (leather especially) is well-treated before you ever set foot inside them.

“Before anybody really gets outside in a pair of boots, they should treat the leather on the upper of the boot,” Fairchilds told Outside Online. He suggests a Nikwax treatment that will not only prolong the life of the footwear but waterproof it as well.

As for ensuring a good fit, that takes investing in a good pair of socks and perhaps even some high-quality insoles, to snug your feet comfortably into the boots. The goal is to minimize friction that can cause painful, hike-ending blisters.

Once you believe you’ve found the proper “fit,” you should put your boots on and wear them around your house for a time, in order to identify any problems or hot spots.

“Then just start off on light hikes—an hour, a half-hour. After half a dozen short hikes like that, you can upgrade to a two- or three-hour hike,” Fairchilds said. “By that point, the boots should be ready for a backpacking trip.”

If you’re new to hiking, this process will be vital because you need to know if you’ve got other foot or physical “issues” – like painful Achilles tendons or knee problems – before you put on a bugout bag and hit the trail to escape a SHTF situation. Too often people will simply buy a pair of boots, put them on for a bit and think they’re good to go, only to learn later, when they need them, their boots are a poor fit or otherwise not up to the task.

For additional tips and instruction, check out this short presentation:

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