Posted: 3/24/2013 5:37:08 AM EDT
It has been 20+ years since I broke in a pair of hiking boots, but I need to again, because my good friends desolved yesterday - Raichle, Made in Switzerland 
So mostly due to cost, I now have on a brand new pair of Merrell GeoMorphs (20% members discount and last years REI dividend helped too). I have no experience breaking in sorta-boots like these, since the Raichles were old-school leather mountain boots. I made sure these fit right out of the box, but sure don't want to break them in on a trail. So my question this morning is for nre-school boot breakin techniques. Laces loose, tight? Flat or stairs? Just everyday wear like I would tennis shoes? A couple of month ago I broke in some new wingtip safety shoes by wearing them very loose. I have always tried to tie new shoes tighter, but that really work on these (last pair broke my feet in instead  ).
Also, these claim to be "waterproof". Should I treat the leather with snow seal or not? Does that mess up the purpose of the breathable membrane? I am going to walk down the local (zombie) mall this afternoon before the storm comes in just to get time in them, but I apprieciate any ideas. 
GeoMorphs |
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Break them in like tennis shoes. I have a couple pair of Columbias like those. They are pretty tough, but if I wore them everyday, I would expect a year before they wore out. Dont expect these to be just like your leather boots. They wont be. When something similar to the leather ones was going to be well over $300, i think I can cry three times on these and enjoy them for what they are. |
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just wear them for a couple days. They don't need breaking in like leather boots. They are engineered pretty well and bend in the correct places. OH btw they wont last that long. Merrils are great for hiking/climbing but they dont last very long. They are very comfortable though. |
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Just wear them day to day. Like the others have said, Merrells don't usually need much break in. It won't hurt them to spray them down with camp dry. If the uppers on your old boots are still good, REI can resole them. I imagine it's not cheap, like everything else at REI. They'll probably give you a quote. |
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Just wear them day to day. Like the others have said, Merrells don't usually need much break in. It won't hurt them to spray them down with camp dry. If the uppers on your old boots are still good, REI can resole them. I imagine it's not cheap, like everything else at REI. They'll probably give you a quote. The uppers and soles on the old leather ones are still good too, it's the the material between the sole and the heal (that gives them a raised heel) that turned to mush. I am going to look into a couple of local shoe repair places about these. They are worth saving.
FWIW, wearing them to church this morning, and then doing the three stories of stairs afterwards, I think these will be great. |
| best, and fastest way to break in new boots? get them soaking wet, then wear them around the yard doing chores until they are mostly dry. set them out to finish drying. they are now 90% broken in and molded to fit your feet. well, works great with leather boots. done it many times in the military. |
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best, and fastest way to break in new boots? get them soaking wet, then wear them around the yard doing chores until they are mostly dry. set them out to finish drying. they are now 90% broken in and molded to fit your feet. well, works great with leather boots. done it many times in the military. I have done something similar with a Brooks leather bicycle saddle. Moisten it with water, take a ride, let it dry, then apply leather conditioner. Make sure you use leather conditioner, not leather softener like you would use with a baseball glove, boots work better if they retain their stiffness. |
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Well if you got a good pair they should need little to no break in, if you got the correct size. Just wear a couple pair of good socks an go walk, that's what I did. About a dozen laps of the Zombie Mall - they do fit and feel like tennis shoes
Thorlo Hiking socks |
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I really like the looks of those Merells. I have been looking for a warmer weather hiking boot, to give my Bates Dura-shocks a break, they have a ton of miles on them, are still in great shape, but I wanna take it easy on them.
I might look into some Merells when i get some damn money saved back up 
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Quoted:
best, and fastest way to break in new boots? get them soaking wet, then wear them around the yard doing chores until they are mostly dry. set them out to finish drying. they are now 90% broken in and molded to fit your feet. well, works great with leather boots. done it many times in the military. This |
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Quoted:
best, and fastest way to break in new boots? get them soaking wet, then wear them around the yard doing chores until they are mostly dry. set them out to finish drying. they are now 90% broken in and molded to fit your feet. well, works great with leather boots. done it many times in the military. These aren't combat boots or even full grain leather hiking boots. These are Merrell's. Apply socks, insert feet, secure supplied lacing system, place foot of choice in front of the other, repeat. |
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Quoted:
best, and fastest way to break in new boots? get them soaking wet, then wear them around the yard doing chores until they are mostly dry. set them out to finish drying. they are now 90% broken in and molded to fit your feet. well, works great with leather boots. done it many times in the military. This is how we broke in our Jungle Boots. |
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Quoted: best, and fastest way to break in new boots? get them soaking wet, then wear them around the yard doing chores until they are mostly dry. set them out to finish drying. they are now 90% broken in and molded to fit your feet. well, works great with leather boots. done it many times in the military. That is a holdover with old leather boots. You need to realize that the synthetics and protective agents on the newer boots, merrils in particular, wont soak. All this will do is cause blisters. OP it looks like very few recommendations have come form people that actually wear merrils. Just wear them for a couple days. |
| I had a pair of leather Merril shoes, they didn't take any break-in at all. In fact, their life was so limited I would suggest not wearing them any more than necessary. In a couple months the lining was wearing through, in a couple more part of the sole was delaminating... Very comfortable and light, good traction sole, not very durable. Mine ran about $140, so they weren't bottom of the line. |
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I had a pair of leather Merril shoes, they didn't take any break-in at all. In fact, their life was so limited I would suggest not wearing them any more than necessary. In a couple months the lining was wearing through, in a couple more part of the sole was delaminating... Very comfortable and light, good traction sole, not very durable. Mine ran about $140, so they weren't bottom of the line. This is counter to my experience (although I don't buy leather Merrells). I currently have Moabs for daily wear - forget the model of my last pair, but similar. I get ~1 year of daily wear before I've worn the lugs under the ball of my foot completely smooth. By daily I mean I rotate in my Nikes, but I don't dress for work (out of my home) so they are worn every or every other day. |