breaking in berghaus boots

weezles said:

Hi

My old trusty hiking boots are finally past it so I decided to invest
in a new pair of berghaus. The seemed to fit perfectly in the shop and
i tried them on with thick socks however they have caused a few
blisters on the heel. How long should I expect it to take to break
them in? Anything I should do to ease the painful process?

Lou

Are you sure they fit you properly?

I bought a new pair of Berghaus boots in the spring and they didn't
need any breaking in, they were comfortable from day one!

Mind you I bought them because out of the many different makes I tried
only 3 pairs fitted properly and I just happened to like the Berghaus
pair the best.

--
Regards

Nick

"weezles" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi

My old trusty hiking boots are finally past it so I decided to invest
in a new pair of berghaus. The seemed to fit perfectly in the shop and
i tried them on with thick socks however they have caused a few
blisters on the heel. How long should I expect it to take to break
them in? Anything I should do to ease the painful process?

Lou

From bitter experiance I reckon that boots that hurt when you first wear
them will always hurt, so your best hope is that they prove faulty and you
can get your cash back!

weezles said:

Hi

My old trusty hiking boots are finally past it so I decided to invest
in a new pair of berghaus. The seemed to fit perfectly in the shop and
i tried them on with thick socks however they have caused a few
blisters on the heel. How long should I expect it to take to break
them in? Anything I should do to ease the painful process?

Lou

Which model of boot? My summer pair (Berghaus blue fabric ones, forget
model) didn't need any breaking in. But you should expect a 3/4 season
boot to require some more - worst pair I had for breaking in were
Zamberlan Treklites, took at least a couple of weeks of wearing every
day and I nearly got to the point of taking them back, but after that
initial pain they were the comfiest boots I've ever owned.

As for blister pain, I always burst mine asap, then they don't hurt half
as much then when you put pressure on.

Quoted message said:

From bitter experiance I reckon that boots that hurt when you first wear
them will always hurt, so your best hope is that they prove faulty and you
can get your cash back!

Quoted message said:

From the same bitter experience I have to agree. I had a pair of

Berghaus several years ago and despite trying everything I could thjnk
of they constantly gave me heel blisters within a few miles. The front
of the sole became detatched and they sent me a new pair to no avail,
they still gave me serious gip.
One design element I didn't like was stitching along the line of the
heel - I mentioned that to the company but they took no notice.
In the end I chucked them and went for another make altogether (Scarpas
and no more blisters - but different makes suit different feet so don't
take my recommendation)
I guess its a matter of horses for courses - being a top outdoor
clothing manufacturer doesn't make you a good boot maker.
I can only suggest you go for a well establisehed boot manufacturer
(and a good fit)

Hope you get yourself sorted, bacause you won't enjoy walking until you
do.

Regards,

Steve

"Steve Jones" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From bitter experiance I reckon that boots that hurt when you first wear
them will always hurt, so your best hope is that they prove faulty and you
can get your cash back!

Quoted message said:

From the same bitter experience I have to agree. I had a pair of

Berghaus several years ago and despite trying everything I could thjnk
of they constantly gave me heel blisters within a few miles. The front
of the sole became detatched and they sent me a new pair to no avail,
they still gave me serious gip.
One design element I didn't like was stitching along the line of the
heel - I mentioned that to the company but they took no notice.
In the end I chucked them and went for another make altogether (Scarpas
and no more blisters - but different makes suit different feet so don't
take my recommendation)
I guess its a matter of horses for courses - being a top outdoor
clothing manufacturer doesn't make you a good boot maker.
I can only suggest you go for a well establisehed boot manufacturer
(and a good fit)

Hope you get yourself sorted, bacause you won't enjoy walking until you
do.

Regards,

Steve

I had a pair of fabric Scarpa boots that constantly gave me heel blisters.
In the end I decided it was heel lift. I bought some inserts that raised my
heels about 5 mm and the problems stopped altogether. I can not remember
the name of the inserts.

The boots are fabric Explorer IV GTX . They dont seem too bad on short
walks and on the flat, its as soon as I start uphill. I think I
possibly could have been doing with 1/2 size smaller. I'll try inserts
and see if that makes a difference as padding round the ankle does seem
really high for my foot.

I think I jumped in as seemed comfortable in the shop, and they suited
a friend who didn't have any trouble from day one. I didnt wear them
round the house for a few days first either, just ripped the tag off
and set out on a walk.

I really should have had a look on these groups first. That way I'd
have known more about what to look for, checking the size, trying out
the wee hill thingy in the shop etc. You live and learn.

Thanks

Lou

The message <[email hidden]>
from "weezles" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

The boots are fabric Explorer IV GTX . They dont seem too bad on short
walks and on the flat, its as soon as I start uphill. I think I
possibly could have been doing with 1/2 size smaller. I'll try inserts
and see if that makes a difference as padding round the ankle does seem
really high for my foot.

Unless you like toe nails a mottled blue/black colour you really don't
want boots that are too small. If they weren't obviously too large in
the shop then they won't be too large on the hill as your feet expand
appreciably as they warm up.

You usually get blisters due to frictional movement between foot and
boot. Heel lifts might eliminate this. I am not entirely sure but I
think you can get blisters purely from pressure so if the boots have a
high spot somewhere you might find heel lifts increase the pressure and
hence the problem.

--
Roger Chapman so far this year 53 summits
New - 27 (Marilyns 13, Nuttalls 5, Outlying Fells 10)
Repeats - 26 (Marilyns 10, Nuttalls 17, Wainwrights 12, Outlying Fells 0)

On 13 Sep 2005 09:27:05 -0700, "weezles" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The boots are fabric Explorer IV GTX . They dont seem too bad on short
walks and on the flat, its as soon as I start uphill. I think I
possibly could have been doing with 1/2 size smaller. I'll try inserts
and see if that makes a difference as padding round the ankle does seem
really high for my foot.

Things to try:

1. Experiment with the lacing. Sometimes tightening the lower laces
and loosening the high ones can help - it does on my winter boots.
Try different combinations of tight/loose.
2. Sorbothane insoles, as well as making them more comfortable, also
reduce the volume. Either full or 1.2 length, or even just heel
inserts, depending on the fit elsewhere.
3. Put Vaseline on your heels before each walk. A favourite trick of
fellrunners to avoid rubbing on the heels, it also works for walking
boots.
4. As a last resort, tape your heels. Zinc tape is ideal as it stays
stuck. Unfortunately I'm allergic to it so have to use the tape which
comes with Second Skin, which gets rather expensive :-(

HTH

Simon

--
Oppose ID cards and the database state - sign the pledge at
http://www.pledgebank.com/refuse

Simon Caldwell said:

On 13 Sep 2005 09:27:05 -0700, "weezles" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The boots are fabric Explorer IV GTX . They dont seem too bad on short
walks and on the flat, its as soon as I start uphill. I think I
possibly could have been doing with 1/2 size smaller. I'll try inserts
and see if that makes a difference as padding round the ankle does seem
really high for my foot.

Things to try:

1. Experiment with the lacing. Sometimes tightening the lower laces
and loosening the high ones can help - it does on my winter boots.
Try different combinations of tight/loose.
2. Sorbothane insoles, as well as making them more comfortable, also
reduce the volume. Either full or 1.2 length, or even just heel
inserts, depending on the fit elsewhere.
3. Put Vaseline on your heels before each walk. A favourite trick of
fellrunners to avoid rubbing on the heels, it also works for walking
boots.
4. As a last resort, tape your heels. Zinc tape is ideal as it stays
stuck. Unfortunately I'm allergic to it so have to use the tape which
comes with Second Skin, which gets rather expensive :-(

HTH

Simon

Have you tried duct tape?

After all it is the glue that holds the universe together.

--
Regards

Nick

stuart said:

"weezles" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi

My old trusty hiking boots are finally past it so I decided to invest
in a new pair of berghaus. The seemed to fit perfectly in the shop and
i tried them on with thick socks however they have caused a few
blisters on the heel. How long should I expect it to take to break
them in? Anything I should do to ease the painful process?

Lou

From bitter experiance I reckon that boots that hurt when you first wear
them will always hurt, so your best hope is that they prove faulty and you
can get your cash back!

What shop was it, Lou? One of them - I think it's Field and Trek - has
a policy of allowing people to take boots back and return them, even
after they've been worn, if they don't fit. The policy doesn't seem to
be widely advertised, but it does exist (or at least it did late last
year when I bought my Raichles).

Good luck with it. If you can't get the boots swapped, try putting a
couple of pieces of zinc oxide tape (the Boots version doesn't need
scissors) on the hot spots before you walk.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

"I will have a foreign-handed foreign policy."
g.w.AT [guessthisbit].com