Fixing badly fitting boots.

[reincarnationfish]

I bought some cheap walking boots (The are Karimor Orkneys). They seem pretty sturdy, and the left boots fits fine, but the right boot has a point where some stitching on the side of the tongue rubs against my ankle bone (the lump that sticks out of the inside right of the ankle).


I bought them online and I'm sure there's people who will say I should have checked the fit in a real shop or paid more, but I didn't really notice the problem until I'd walked 10k anyway and I'm somewhat unemployed right now and short of cash to replace them.


So anyone have any advice how I might "Repair them". Not sure whether that means cutting a chunk off or trying to fix some extra padding on, or how to do this, but I thought I might find a walking forum as see if anyone has any advice.


Thanks, N

[Ridge]

Before you attack the boots have you tried modifying your ankle instead?
If it is just catching in one place then try either a Compeed blister plaster or just a normal elastoplast on your next walk and see if that solves the problem for you.

[richardh1905]

^ good advice.

[jimbob]

Wax the area inside the boot generously.

Be prepared for some messy socks.

[zuludog]

The traditional way of fine tuning boots to fit comfortably is to get them thoroughly soaked and walk in them for a day, topping up the water by paddling in as many streams & tarns as you can manage
What you are doing is using your foot as a last to wet form the leather
Then let them dry naturally and treat with your favourite potion

Considering the weather we're having at the moment you won't have any problems with cold feet

If you can't get to the hills fill your boots with water then put them on and walk around the streets. Carry a couple of bottles of water and when things start to dry out, loosen the laces and top up frequently
This might attract a few curious glances, but it should do the job

If you still have the problem flatten the seam by applying leather grease, laying the boot on a flat hard surface and tapping it from the inside with a ball pein hammer

[reincarnationfish]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I went out yesterday and sort-of fixed the problem by double socking my right foot, which is slightly smaller than the left one, so that makes sense anyway. Fixed the problem, but I got nasty blisters from the extra heat (a regular problem for me if I don't use synthetic socks - I tried a synthetic sock on the inside and a cotton one on the outer layer). Hopefully I can fix the problem completely by using 2 synthetic socks - or just not doing 20k on the hottest day of the year.