Today I wanted to write some notes on how to break hiking boots in, specifically what I do to help with the process. I have written on this subject on the site before but I thought doing a post specifically on the topic would be useful as it does up come up for people regularly enough.

First off, if you're coming to this article and you want to get hiking boots but you're completely new on what to look for when buying hiking boots, I recommend you read this post on how to choose hiking boots and trail shoes as well as this article on how to find the perfect fit where I list out some further tips to consider when trying to find the right boots for you. Think of those articles as the critical foundation you need to get in place before choosing hiking boots and taking them out into the field so to speak.

What is Breaking Boots in and why do I Need to do it?

When you buy new hiking boots, they're more or less fresh off the manufacturing line or, if you've got a really sweet pair, straight from the cobblers hands by the time you get them. That is, they haven't been worn to any significant level. As with all parts of the body, each persons feet are unique. You need to get these fresh new boots molded and adapted to your feet by normal wear and use. That is essentially what ‘breaking your hiking boots in' means. You're adapting them to your unique foot shape.

Why you need to do this is that most hiking boots, especially good quality leather ones, won't fit your feet perfectly from day one for the reasons listed in the last paragraph. So, if you put them on and head straight out on a 20 mile hike, you will most likely experience aggravation and upset on your feet. This usually manifests as hot spots, blisters, small cuts, and that type of thing. To avoid that, you build up your use of them slowly, allowing your feet to adapt to the boots over a period of time. That is why breaking hiking boots in is so important. Trust me, you won't too far with a blister being aggravated by your new hiking boots.

What I do

When it comes to breaking hiking boots in, there are several things I do to help the process go as smoothly as possible which I list out in the coming paragraphs. However, before getting into the detail, I think some general points are worth reviewing.

First off, it is worth noting at the start that some hiking boots need more breaking in than others. For example, leather hiking boots will nearly always take longer to break in than hiking boots made from Gore-tex. In fact, from my experience, Gore-tex boots have never needed more than a minimal break in process, but that may not always be the case I hasten to add.

Similarly, a heavy leather backpacking boot, like Alico New Guide, pictured below, will normally take longer to break in than a mid sized leather day hiking boot, like the Alico Tahoe hiking boots. Of course, as with everything on this beautiful planet, there are always exceptions to the rule 🙂 I have purchased heavy leather hiking boots before that I expected to take a few weeks or even months to really break in, but they were comfortable from the get go.

Although they probably didn't need it, I still followed the same break-in steps listed below. However, I had every faith that I could have went on hikes of 20 plus miles in them after only a few times wearing them. It is nice when you feel that confident about a pair hiking boots from the start and it does happen but in the majority of cases, a reasonable breaking in period is required and advised.

So, with all the preamble above said, the tips I list below are valid for boots made from either leather, synthetic materials or a mixture of both. In fact, this general process really can be adapted and applied to most types of boot or shoe.

Wear them at Home

When you buy a new pair of hiking boots, you normally have at least a 30 day period in which you can return them to the store as long as you don't wear them outside. Assuming you've spent time getting  a good pair of boots and getting a good fit, you are now in the latter stages of confirming the suitability of your boots for the longer term.

What I mean by that is, there is only so much you can do within the buying and fitting process to ensure you get a good pair of hiking boots. The proof is always in the eating so to speak and your only real guide is wearing them over a period of time. In truth, that also means wearing them out on actual hikes where they are tested on various different types of terrain and so on. However, as already mentioned, as soon as you do that, you're stuck with them whether your feet adapt to them or not.

So, the next best thing is to wear the boots in your house as often as possible. So, when you come home from work of an evening after having just bought your new hiking boots, get them on. If you don't normally wear shoes inside your home, this isn't a problem as these boots have never been worn outside so they will be factory fresh! Be sure to wear your hiking socks with the boots as well so it will be exactly as you would have them while wearing them out on the trail.

Although this sounds simple, it is really important. You will only get a feel for the little rubs and nuance of the boots after wearing them for a longer period of time as you would out in the field. Push them a bit too, for example walk up and down your stairs a few times in them to try and get a feel for a bit of up and downhill. Of course this doesn't and can't ever replicate the trail or the mountains but it is the best you can do before committing to them i.e. taking them outside.

All this talk of commitment and all this effort may sound daft to some but if you're spending $200 to $400 on a pair of hiking boots, you want to be sure you've got the right ones. I don't know about you but I don't take that kind of investment lightly so it's worth spending a bit of time on this!

Wear the Boots out on Short Walks

OK, so you've made the decision that the boots are for you. It's time now to move to the next stage of the breaking in process. As soon as you do this next stage, all thoughts of backing out, refunds etc. are gone out the window, as at this point you need to take them outside!

I recommend you start wearing them out on shorter walks, say 2 to 4 miles at first. If you take your dog for a short walk in the local park at night, that's a good example of where to take them out for an initial test run. However, play it by ear when you start. If your feet are starting to feel a little tired or sore after one mile, then stopping and heading for home calling it a day at a two mile round trip is wise.

Then, all you do is just build the distances up over time up. Move to 4 miles, then maybe 6 and so on. At this stage, you”re walking on normal roads and flat enough terrain so you're not pushing things too hard. So …

Wear Them on Short Hikes

When you're happy your boots are comfortable for 4 to 6 miles walking in your local neighborhood, it's time to take them to the mountains and onto the trails. This is wear they will get the tougher tests but as they're probably more or less broken in at this stage, you should be good to go. The extra breaking in comes in the form of the more challenging terrain you hike over which you won't get in a local park e.g. rocks, marsh, etc. This all puts different stresses on your feet than a flat local road or path in a park would.

As indicated above, I recommend that even if your feet are feeling great in your boots out on the trail after a shorter hike than you're normally used to, still call it a day at a shorter distance. I must confess that I have not always done this but I do believe it is the best way to go. Give your feet all the time you can to let them adjust to the new boots.

Ideally you still have your old hiking boots while you're going through all of this breaking in process so if you need to go on a longer hike for a day, you can revert to the older boots while you're breaking the new ones in. All of this attention and effort is just to give your feet the time to really adapt well and the hiking boots to mold to your feet that bit more. As alluded to above as well, if you get a blister or another problem on your feet, you won't get too much further so it is wise to take all the time you can to break your hiking boots in.

Conclusion

I hope you found this post on how to break hiking boots in useful. It's not a complicated process by any stretch of the imagination but it is worth paying attention too and doing right. As mentioned at the start of this article, from my experience, leather hiking and backpacking boots, usually take longer to break in than boots made from synthetic materials but that is not always the case.

Overall, it is sensible to break any pair of hiking boots in and build up to full regular use over a period of time. Even if they feel great from the start, it will do your feet no harm to take a bit of time in the adjustment process.

As a hiker, as far as your feet go, your primary objective is comfort and avoidance of any sores, mainly the dreaded blister. Taking simple steps like these can go a long way to keeping you in good shape on the trail so it's worth taking the time to do it.

I was in an outdoor gear store the other day and I saw a lady looking at gaiters. She gingerly took them off the rack and surveyed them. As she looked at the loops, the Velcro and the other constituent parts of the gaiters, you could see from the expression on her face that she was a little confused.

Pictured above are the Outdoor Research Men's Crocodile Gaiters. Click on the image to learn more.

My guess was that she was a bit of a newbie to the whole hiking thing and she had been instructed to get Gaiters. No problem there. However, she probably didn’t really know what gaiters are and decided the best way to approach the problem was to go to the shop.

My hunch seemed to be confirmed as after looking at the gaiters for a time, she then scanned the shop quickly, looking either for a sales assistant or to see who may be looking her way. There was no sales assistant and I was too far away for her to notice my observation.

She sat down on a stool and took one of the gaiters from the packet and started to put it on. I noticed immediately that she was pointing the gaiter opening towards the front of her leg i.e. she was trying to put it on backwards. She got it on in some form but she could tell something wasn’t right as she stood up to look at the gaiter on her leg. You can of course just tell when something isn’t on right!

As if on cue a sales assistant appeared and sensing she wasn’t in the ball park with her first attempt, she removed the gaiter and got his attention and proceeded to ask him for help. The question of course being, how do I put this damn thing on!?

It was funny as I actually recall being unsure myself way back in the day when I first bought gaiters. Unlike the lady in the shop, I didn’t attempt to try them on in the store, I just bought them and brought them to a hike. I remember when I went to put them on, I too wasn’t 100% sure how to put them on. I gingerly asked the guy leading the hike and he was of course very helpful and explained the process.

With all that in mind, I thought a post explaining how to put gaiters on would be useful for folks who are new to hiking, or just new to gaiters 🙂 . Below I walk through the steps on how to put them on properly. If you’re totally new to gaiters, check out this post to learn more about what gaiters are.

Pre-Purchase

I don’t intend this to be a buying guide for gaiters, I’ll do that separately and link to it from here. However, it is worth pointing out that you should of course get the right size of gaiter. They usually come in a small / medium / large bracket although a one size fits all option can be available too. Overall, it’s not too hard to find the right ones for your size.

The Main Parts of a Gaiter

Gaiters, broadly speaking, have two key parts, the gaiter itself, highlighted in the photo by the green box below, and the instep strap, highlighted by the blue box in the image below.

The top of the gaiter will have some kind of tightening feature, usually a button and a cord or a Velcro strap running horizontally along the top, highlighted below.

Next, if we look at the instep strap, you can see in the photo below that they are adjustable using Velcro straps. Any good gaiter will have some way of enabling you to adjust the size of the instep strap to fit your boots.

It may not be Velcro, some utilize a buckle for the strap. Either way, you need to be able to adjust the instep strap on the gaiter to your boots. When you’ve done this once, in most cases you shouldn’t’ need to adjust it again unless the strap slips somewhat i.e. your hiking boots remain the same size so once adjusted to fit once, you should be good to go.

Putting the Gaiter on

First off, it’s worth stating that a gaiter normally goes over your hiking pants and your hiking boots. You do not put your gaiter on over any outer rain pants.

Open the gaiter out fully and take it behind your lower leg as shown in the photo below. The instep strap loop points downwards as it will wrap around the instep (between the heal and the toe end) of your boot.

Assuming you’ve already adjusted the instep strap to fit your foot, bring the gaiter snug against the back of your leg and start to wrap it round to the front. One side of the Velcro part of the gaiter, the bit you stick the other side too, should run down the front center of your leg. You then bring the other side of the gaiter over and secure the Velcro strap down the front of your leg.

It’s worth pointing out that not every gaiter will have a Velcro make-up like this but most do. I always have the Velcro part to be stuck too, wrapping round the leg from the outside in. I’m not really sure if that matters that much when putting them on but that’s what I do. Whatever feels comfortable is the broad guideline on that front I feel.

As you’re doing the adjustment listed above, also be sure that the instep loop is sitting snug between the heel and the front part of your hiking boots. One side of your gaiter, at the front, will have a little hook on it, this is used to attach to the tied laces of your boots (see the two metal dots on the gaiter in the picture above). This too should be adjusted to fit snugly on your laces while you adjust the final position of the Velcro.

Next up, some gaiters will have a button at the top of the gaiter. Once the Velcro is closed and comfortable, if there is a button, fix it in place as illustrated in the picture below.

Once you have the gaiter on, adjust and tighten the gaiter at the top till comfortable. There will usually be a strap or cord of some kind at the top as illustrated in the picture below.

Finally, make any other required adjustments to the instep strap or the lace hook. And that is that! You should now have a gaiter secured tightly but comfortable around the bottom of your leg. Simply repeat the process for the other gaiter on the other leg and you’re good to go!

Conclusion

So I hope you found this short post on how to put gaiters on useful. This may seem very obvious to many but just like the woman in the shop that I mentioned at the start, it can be confusing to people who are totally new to hiking and have never heard of a gaiter never mind have ever worn one!

It’s easy to put one on if you know how but it can be a bit of a funny one if you’ve never done it before. If you’re still unsure, ask in any outdoor store or ask any experienced hiker, they’ll be able to tell you what to do.

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I have mentioned the key point of this post in other posts before but it was illustrated to me again last Sunday while I was out hiking. First off, I should state that I think technology is a fantastic navigation aid for helping you establish your position and where you are on your route. There is an extensive range of GPS watches, devices and phone Apps available on the market today that offer a really awesome selection of capability for helping you find your way around in the mountains.

Pictured above is the Suunto Ambit3 Peak Sapphire GPS Watch, click on the image to learn more.

Some of the Apps available on phones today are also really excellent and I love them and really think they're very useful and very accessible. However, when you go to any mountain navigation course they will always tell you that your primary means of navigation should always be your map and compass. Why? Simply put, technology can break and / or not work in certain scenarios.

My Recent Experience

As mentioned at the start of this post, I had a reminder of this last Sunday while out hiking. Basically, I was out doing a recce for a hike I'm helping to lead the following weekend. I actually know the route pretty well but I hadn't been up there in a while so I thought, why not take a hike up there on Sunday. No harm to get a reminder of the route and it would get me out for a nice hike in the process.

Now, recently I have been very taken with the phone App Viewranger. I've only been using it the last two weeks but I have had it on my phone for a while. No real reason why I hadn't used it, I just preferred the traditional map and compass.

Well, I started to fiddle with it a few weeks back and, as I alluded to, I was really taken with it. It is a fantastic App. I bought copies of the maps I use and I can do all sorts of cool stuff with the App and online. For example …

• I can make up a proposed route on my maps in minutes with just a few clicks, and I can then sync them to my phone to follow on the ground
• I can record a track when I head out on the trail and it will detail lots of useful information about the hike e.g. route followed, distance, height, etc.
• I can share tracks with others as .gpx files (GPS coordinate files) and I can download other peoples hikes if I fancy doing them
• I can save photo's at way points along the route
• etc. etc.

That's listing only some of the neat things the App can do so all in all it is brilliant!

Out in the Field

On Sunday I decided to record my recce hike. I was at the start, turned the App on and hit record. Good to go! Now, it is pretty sweet as when you look at the App on the phone it shows you where you are on the map which is of course really useful … as long as you have network coverage of course 🙂

So, I headed along the route and up to the top of one of the main peaks on it. The ground approaching the top, and the top itself, was covered in snow and there was a thick white mist so basically, the further I went up, the less visibility there was. This wasn't an issue for the majority of the route as for the most part it is very well marked with trails, even when covered in snow. So I didn't need to look at the App so couldn't really test it in challenging conditions … as yet.

However, there was one part I wanted to do from the top of the first main peak. Again, in normal conditions nothing complicated, there are two separate paths going off in the direction to a particular landmark I wanted to locate. As the top was covered in snow though, there was no way to see any paths.

When I got to the top, it was very windy and cold but all was fine. This was an ideal time to try the App out in trickier conditions. I took out my phone and thought I'd give the App a go to try and locate the path I wanted to follow to take me to the landmark I was looking for.

I had the phone out and sure enough it listed that I was at the top of the particular mountain I was on. I had battery, about 50% (worth noting that the App is quite heavy on juice) and good network coverage so all was good. So, I started to head off in the direction of one of the paths using the phone app.

Now, to stress again, visibility was pretty bad, I couldn't see much further than 5 to 10 feet in front of me. With my eyes peeled on the App I followed the path using my phone, I was walking for about 10 to 15 minutes and while I was moving in the direction of the landmark I wanted, I noticed that my location marker on the App seemed to be almost stationary on the map.

I wasn't sure what the story was but I knew I had walked far enough in terms of time and distance to not have came across the landmark and the marker on the map seemed to have just stalled. Hmmnn!?

Then I Spotted the Problem

As I stood there in the snow wondering why the little location Icon on the Viewranger App on my phone didn't seem to have moved, I noticed than I had no network coverage. At the top, I had nearly full coverage so I assumed it would be fine. However, for whatever reason, as soon as I set off on the path, at some point the coverage just dropped.

I wasn't 100% sure of how long the App had not been working so I couldn't make any guess as to where exactly I was using the App, the blanket of white snow and mist surrounding me didn't help of course.

Now, this wasn't a major problem for me as I am an experienced hiker and know how to use a map and compass, which I had with me too of course. The main thing I was doing was trying to test the App out and get used to using it in real conditions.

So, with no coverage, I decided that I would just head back to the top. I wasn't 100% sure where I was but I knew if I just kept going up, I'd get back to the summit, which I did.

When I got to the top, I took out the traditional map and compass and took a bearing from the summit to the landmark I wanted to reach. I also measured the distance so I could time and pace the distance to be sure I didn't overshoot by too much. Using the traditional tools, 10 minutes later I was standing at my landmark, all good!

Conclusion

As I said at the start, I've mentioned this point on the site numerous times before in various posts but I thought, as I had a very recent reminder of it, it would be good to write this post to help illustrate the point.

When I was at the top of the mountain on Sunday in snow and bad visibility, I was purposely wanting to test out the App. I wasn't in any way concerned about getting lost as I know how to relocate (establish your position at another known point). Worst case, I would just do what I did and head back to the top of the peak, take a bearing etc. No problem.

However, can you imagine if that was someone who didn't have a map and compass? Or did, but didn't know how to use them. How would they have dealt with something like no network coverage in bad conditions? How would they react when they realized their phone hadn't been working and they didn't actually know where they were?

As you can imagine, they would probably be freaked out! They would at best be guessing what their position was and simple things, like relocating to a known position, would probably not even cross their mind, especially if they're not a regular hiker. Those type of things tend to have the inclination to compound and more problems usually build on top and soon enough, they could be in real trouble.

Now, I should say again that I LOVE Viewranger, it's a really cool App and I will continue to use it a lot! However, it will never be my primary means of navigation on the mountains for the same reason I listed above. As I also mentioned at the start of this post, if you go on any navigation course, they will tell you the same thing, technology can fail and while it definitely has it's place, you need to be wary of ever relying on it completely! S**t will inevitably happen at some point 🙂

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OK, today I thought it might be useful to take a closer look at a common problem many hikers can experience when hiking on the trail. As noted on many occasions throughout the site, your hiking boots are a critical part of your hiking gear.

I consider hiking boots to be a must have item for heading out on the trail and so taking time to find the perfect fit and get the right model for you, is a really wise idea. Nothing will ruin a hiker's day faster than a pinching blister or other sore coming from a pair of ill fitting boots.

I have reviewed the key items for buying hiking boots in the hiking boot buying guide. In that I cover pretty much all the main things you need to be aware of when considering the purchase of a good pair of hiking boots.

However, I thought it might be useful to start going into some elements within that sphere in a bit more detail. So today I want to hone in on two common problems that hikers, and folks in general, encounter when choosing boots and shoes. Let's look at Pronation and Supination.

What is Pronation and Supination?

In a nutshell, they are the way your feet and ankles move and bend when you walk. Pronation is where your ankle bends inwards as you walk. Supination is where your ankle bends outwards as you walk. Pronation is, by my best estimation, the more common of the two.

What's the big deal about that? Well, as you can imagine, if you keep on walking for a long period of time with your ankle, or ankles, bending or leaning inward or outward, there will be significantly more stress on certain muscles and your ankle as a whole. The ankle is designed, if I can use that word, to be in a vertical and aligned position to the rest of your body. So, if you pronate or supinate as you walk, it follows that you can expect pain to develop over time.

Now, some people will have pronation or supination to a greater or lesser degree. That is, many people in day-to-day life can just get on with things if they have only a little bit of pronation or suppination. This can be very deceptive though as all the time you walk on and don't take remedial action, damage is quite possibly being done. So, something that is a minor annoyance can develop into a bigger problem over time.

As a hiker, you of course are often moving your feet in various and different ways. For example, when you hike upwards over a rocky slope, your ankle will be under a lot more stress and strain than it normally would from just walking on a normal flat trail or road. So, hikers can be particularly prone to experience more pronounced problems with pronating or suppinating feet.

How can I Tell if my Foot / Feet Pronate or Supinate?

Well, this is pretty easy to do. A pronating foot can be recognized by excessive wear on the inside heel of a boot or shoe. A supinating foot can be recognized by excessive wear on the outside heel of a boot or shoe. So, go get a pair of boots or shoes you have worn for some time and take a look at the heel and you should be able to tell if your feet pronate or supinate.

There are other ways to get an idea of how much you pronate or supinate. These days, in sports stores it is very common to see a machine that measures your feet and gait, the way you walk and run, to help you find the best running shoe for your feet. A store assistant versed in shoes and how to use this machine will be able to give you an idea of how your feet and ankles are shaping up in terms of pronation or supination … you will of course have to pretend that you want to by running shoes though 😉

If you really have a bad problem with pronation and supination, you probably already know about it and have experienced pain or discomfort to some degree. That is, if it would cause you hassle hiking, when you are being a bit more various in terms of exertion on your feet and ankles, in all likelihood it has already caused you hassle in terms of walking around day to day.

Now, it is worth noting that minor pronation or supination can cause little or no problem to people. It really depends on the individual as to what degree you may or may not experience problems.

What can I do if my Feet Pronate or Supinate?

Well, first off, there isn't anything, to the best of my knowledge, you can do to permanently rectify a problem with pronation or supination. If you have problems with it, it's the way you're built so you can't do too much about it to remove the problem completely. While the leaps and bounds of technology are always pretty impressive, taking a trip to the ankle shop for a new fitting isn't on the cards just yet 🙂

So, you have to live with it but for most people this is more than manageable. Your first port of call could be specialized insoles which will help keep your feet in a certain position providing the required support that you need.

Now, I should stress that I'm no expert on this area as I thankfully don't have any major pronation or supination issues but pictured below are a pair of insoles, called Superfeet GREEN Premium Insoles, that are along the lines to what I am referring to. Click on the image to learn more.

Now, there are many different insole and heel support options available  depending on the level of the problem you experience with either pronating or supinating feet. So, as with everything in terms of hiking gear, it's worth researching those different options, reading user reviews and so on to see if they sound like the right ones for you.

I think if your problem is minor to medium, you should be fine to try and find a solution yourself. Get some suitable insoles and try them out. If you notice a difference, happy days! If not, maybe try another type of insole and see if that works any better.

If, however, you have a bigger problem and you suspect you might have a potentially high level or pronation or supination, you may need to make an appointment with a podiatrist or orthotist. A podiatrist is basically a specialist doctor that deals with all things related to the feet and ankles. They will be able to look at your problem and give you a good course of action.

If you have a pronation or supination problem, you may also end up having some dealings with an orthotist. These guys are specialists in the prescription, manufacture and management of orthoses. An orthosis is something that is used to control, guide, limit and/or immobilize an extremity, joint or body segment for a particular reason. So, In layman terms, these guys measure your feet, your gait, your ankles, etc. and then, similar to our insoles above, they would design a specialized insole or prop specifically for you to support your ankle to counter the pronation or supination.

Now, to the best of my knowledge, you can go straight to the orthotist to try and sort you out and skip the podiatrist but I'm not 100% sure. I think it really depends on the set-up where you are based and how bad your problem is. If it's bad, it goes without saying that you should always seek medical advice first so if you just start with your local physician, they will advise you from there.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. I hope found this brief look at pronation and supination useful. Today was just a short trip into a problem that can be a real pain, literally, for many people. For some, it's an annoyance that can be accommodated with some insoles. For many, it's a bigger problem where professional help is required.

Each persons' feet are unique so it follows that sometimes a very specific solution may be required to help address pronation or supination. If you have problems with standard boot sizes, you could also look into getting custom made hiking boots but that's more for someone with general comfort issues or minor pronation / supination problems. For bigger problems, an orthotic of some kind will most likely need to be used in conjunction with a pair of hiking boots and / or normal day-to-day shoes.

So, if you notice your ankles getting overly tired or sore after a hike, it will do no harm to take a quick look at an old pair of shoes and check where the wear and tear on the heel of them are. If there's a noticeable wearing on the inside of the heel, you could have a higher than average level of pronation. If there is a noticeable wearing on the outside of the heel, you could have an issue with supination. Either way, if you're concerned, discuss it with your physician to get some advice.

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