Any advice for issues with high pressure on Achille's tendon from Butora Acros?

Just got a new pair of acros and they fit the bulk of my foot perfectly, hugging it like a glove without destroying my big toe. However I've noticed that once my heels are fully seated in the shoe, the top edge of the heel material (in between the pull tabs) presses very hard on my achille's tendon. Anyone else have problems with this? I'm hoping they just take some stretching out, but I got them for a deal so I'm not opposed to modification. I'm considering cutting directly down from the top edge where the heel material is pressing against the tendon to where the bulk of the rubber begins...thoughts?

Why not just buy a shoe that fits right?

don't wear crap shoes.  problem solved.

Very helpful. Advice noted and discarded.

Cut em

Kelley Gilleran wrote: Cut em

this^^^ ..very carefulllllly slice the rubber(not the leather) wrapping around the back of the heel in a few spots on each side, you will lose some edging power.

Big B wrote:

this^^^ ..very carefulllllly slice the rubber(not the leather) wrapping around the back of the heel in a few spots on each side, you will lose some edging power.

I did this with my TC Pros and haven’t regretted the decision.

T G wrote: Here's one way to cut the heel cup rubber. I've also seen it done as a checkerboard pattern to give you flexibility in multiple directions.

 

What tool do you use for cutting? I have a pair of shoes I’d like to mofify slightly, but a scalpel wasn’t up to the job. 

Lena chita wrote:

What tool do you use for cutting? I have a pair of shoes I’d like to mofify slightly, but a scalpel wasn’t up to the job. 

razor blade is what I used

Be careful with that pressure. My buddy did some serious damage to his achillies with that same kind of issue.

“Buy a shoe that fits” may seem like sarcastic advice, but it is really the best.

If you modify those acros and they work for you please post pictures. I love the fit of that shoe but have the same problem with the heel

Ian, had a similar issue with the Altura (sized for all day comfort) ended up having heel/Achilles pain for over a year after wearing them on serenity and sons. Tried cutting them, still hurt. I switched to the Anasazi pinks and never looked back. Sorry that may not be super helpful, but I would avoid shoes that hurt your heels/Achilles.
-Dono 

Gonna get at least another week of time in them to see if they loosen up a bit, but if I end up modifying I'll post pics

Hi there, Mack here from Butora. I do product design.  We actually just redesigned the heel of the Acro to be less irritating on the Achilles heel. In addition, we added a 3D molded heel cup that will work better for heel hooking and result in less delamination on the heel. The changes we made will not go into place until our next manufacturing run, and won't be over here until the fall, but keep your eyes out for a heel that looks like the image as those ones have a more relaxed rear randing. If you ever have Butora specific product questions, don't hesitate to reach out directly, I'd be happy to help any way that I can. - Mack

I had a pair of acros with the same issue. I did two things that helped. I put the heels over the end of a pull-up bar and did pull-ups on them. And I cut the rubber heel strap.  Go slow with the cutting, start in the middle right where the pressure is, and add a cut after each session until they fit correctly.

It’s a real shame the back half of the acros is such garbage, because the front half of that shoe is pretty solid. All the rest of butora shoes I’ve tried are the opposite and have a decent heel with a garbage toe box.

To anyone following the thread with the same issue, they have not loosened up very much over the past week and a half. And that was 1 day outside, 2 casual days in the gym, and endurance day in the gym which I though might do the trick. I will be slicing the rubber either tonight or tomorrow, and post about how they feel after a couple climbs in the cut version.

Ian F wrote: To anyone following the thread with the same issue, they have not loosened up very much over the past week and a half. And that was 1 day outside, 2 casual days in the gym, and endurance day in the gym which I though might do the trick. I will be slicing the rubber either tonight or tomorrow, and post about how they feel after a couple climbs in the cut version.

Hey Ian, I did what T G is suggesting on my TC pro and still wasn't enough. So I used a dremel with a rough sandpaper piece and ate up all the rubber on the pressure point spot.

Hope you get it figured out.

Is it specifically your tendon or a lump on your heel? This is Haglunds deformity. I found a great solution to HD.

​Link​​​

rocknice2 wrote: Is it specifically your tendon or a lump on your heel? This is Haglunds deformity. I found a great solution to HD.

Link

Yeah, that's exactly what I did. Thanks for refreshing my memory rocknice2, I used your idea.

Lots of good advice on this thread. Don't blow it off so quickly. To be very frank, the best solution is not to wear a shoe that has a highly-tensioned reverse slingshot rand that runs over the base of the achilles and aggravates bursitis. Wearing 5.10 Anasazis for a couple years gave me serious bursitis, and it has not troubled me since I started wearing shoes with less tension running over the base of the achilles (like the Scarpa Boostic), and stopped wearing 5.10s. Many Scarpa shoes draw toe power from the underside of the foot instead of the back of the heel and are much less painful to wear long-term. Unfortunately, the Acro uses old technology and gets its toe power from compressing your foot at the base of the achilles.
In short, please take the advice given to you seriously and wear a shoe that fits you better without aggravating your bursitis. Bursitis can develop into a crippling chronic condition and is no laughing matter. Several of my friends have stopped wearing TC Pros due to its killer bursitis-inducing effects. Either punch out and grind off the slingshot rand, decreasing performance to increase comfort, or find a better shoe for your feet.

michalm wrote: Lots of good advice on this thread. Don't blow it off so quickly. To be very frank, the best solution is not to wear a shoe that has a highly-tensioned reverse slingshot rand that runs over the base of the achilles and aggravates bursitis. Wearing 5.10 Anasazis for a couple years gave me serious bursitis, and it has not troubled me since I started wearing shoes with less tension running over the base of the achilles (like the Scarpa Boostic), and stopped wearing 5.10s. Many Scarpa shoes draw toe power from the underside of the foot instead of the back of the heel and are much less painful to wear long-term. Unfortunately, the Acro uses old technology and gets its toe power from compressing your foot at the base of the achilles.
In short, please take the advice given to you seriously and wear a shoe that fits you better without aggravating your bursitis. Bursitis can develop into a crippling chronic condition and is no laughing matter. Several of my friends have stopped wearing TC Pros due to its killer bursitis-inducing effects. Either punch out and grind off the slingshot rand, decreasing performance to increase comfort, or find a better shoe for your feet.

+1 to this and all the others warning about chronic Achilles issues that overly-tight heel fit can cause. Mine kept me from climbing and running for around 6 months a few years ago, and my doctor warned me that I'd put myself at risk of a rupture due to the severe inflammation. I actually made mine worse by modifying my shoe, as it created new hot-spots around where I'd cut the slingshot rand.

I had to switch to a pair of gumby trad shoes with literally zero achilles tension (the Mad Rock Phoenix, RIP) for a few months after that to ease back into climbing, and am now exceedingly cautious when buying shoes and when wearing my aggressive pairs, and I still have issues with hiking long distances due to the ankle weakness that the ensuing inactivity caused.