Break In

There can be a lot that goes into breaking in a boot, we are here to give you some tips and tricks along the way. 

When your boots first arrive we would generally recommend about a thumbs width of space ahead of your toes in a new boot so they can feel too big when first worn. This is especially true of boots with a toe structure like celastic, composite, or steel. The boots will stretch considerably with break in as well. As you break in the boots and the arches settle your foot will move forward and the toe box will curl back, so the boots will end up shorter and wider after break in than when they are new. The boots should have between 1 and 4 fingers width of space between the uppers when laced properly and the boots should feel snug, but not tight or causing pain.

Our heels are created not to prevent movement in the heel, but to prevent blisters. Heel movement is actually designed into the footwear. There is nothing worse in a boot than for your heel to be packed into the heel counter. Ideally, the heel should float up and down and side to side, but obviously not cause pain. 

It's hard to say exactly how long it will take a pair of our boots to break in as it depends on a number of variables such as: a person's height, weight, and gate. It is impacted by the tannage and thickness of leather selected on the order too. Bisons for example can feel broken-in straight out of the box, while Max Support can take over 100 hours. 

In general, it can take several hundred hours for boots to completely break in. They're typically wearable well before that! We recommend going through the process slow and taking breaks as needed until the boots are broken in enough to wear comfortably for long periods of time. 

Make sure that your boots are completely broken in before beginning to oil them. Oversaturating leather with oils can overstretch the leather during break in.