Love the feel of new rubber on my feet. I am not a believer of super tight shoes or ones that fall off your feet, I like them snug.

So when I buy a new pair they take some "breaking in". What I would like to know is if anyone has figured out a good way of breaking them in without the stress on your feet?? It could be your process or something you do to them...anything.

D

i know what not to do: take them on 5.11 slab as your first route out of the box. i know a certain climber who can attest to that.

One day when you are at home with your new shoes put them on nice and snug. Then put your feet (with the shoes on) in a bucket of warm water. Watch T.V. or read with you feet and shoes soaking till they feel comfortable (10-30 min). Then take your feet out of the water but leave the shoes on to dry. They may not dry 100% while on your feet but the drier the better. This method works well with leather shoes. Synthetic or lined shoes don't seem to stretch as much.

I partly agree with Sergio on this one, but I say: skip the H2O!!! These are NEW shoes!! Just put them on around the house for a few hours at night or a couple nights. You probably knew about that already, sorry no new beta here.

Jon--sorry to hear about that, sounds painful.

My shoes are lined, so it sounds like the old way of doing things, just wear them till they mold..

Put on some super thick socks and go for a run or do some pull ups.
Get your feet nice and sweaty then stick em in them shoes. Walk around for a while. Youll need a little juice flowing to speed up the break in process. Water can cause the shoe to shrink especially if you do not plan on wearing it the entire time it is going to dry.
Otherwise there is no secret beta but get out and climb some more.
Happy Sending!

New shoes that are unlined leather will stretch quite a bit with the water technique described. On the other end of the spectrum, lined, synthetic shoes don't stretch much. For painful leather shoes, I've used the above water technique to accelerate the breaking in period with success. Sometimes, it works well bringing along the new shoes to the crag, putting them on at the end of the day, wading into the creek, and leaving them on during the drive home. Hard to return 'em if they don't fit well enough once stretched/immersed though.

I know a certain climber who uses a broom handle to stretch out the parts of the shoe which are uncomfortable.

-chris

I've tried to wear my tighter shoes for a day outside or at the gym to get them a little sweaty...then, when you get home, shove a tennis ball, racquet ball, etc into the toe box...believe it or not, I was able to get a tennis ball into the front of my Mythos, Vipers, Mistrals, etc. and was happy with the extra room that resulted...cheers!

i am in the process of stuffing tennis balls into my shoes...if it works, i will be stoked. I will give a full report Fri. after my session.

Well, i have to say that the tennis ball trick worked. great idea. it gave just enough space in the toe box.