I have bought my Dehner leather boots for months now, but still haven’t successfully break-in. It’s OK to wear them at home. But when I go out with my Dehner boots, my feet felt really hurt.
Break in my boots process have been on and off contiunetly, and I am too lazy to do it everyday. and Last time I try to break in my boots, I use the instructions on Wesco boots, so I kinda ruin my Dehner boots for a little, now it looks like this:
Here the instructions I follow ( These steps are actually for Wesco Boots, not Dehenr Boots !!!)
- Fill your bathtub with approximately 6″ of hot water, making sure the water is not so hot that you’ll burn yourself.
- Put on socks and your leather boots. Lace up and tighten the boots a bit tighter than you usually would. Your boots may become a bit uncomfortable, but hang in there, they’ll loosen up after the next step.
- Stand in the hot water with your boots on for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, with the boots on and laces still tight, dry the excess water off and walk around until your leather boots are completely dry.
- You have just made your new leather boots custom fit to your feet and now you’re ready to go on the ride of your life or hit the battle field.
Now the soles parts are extra stiff…
Today, I read the instructions for break in Dehner boots from their official website again:
http://www.dehner.com/bootcare.html
And they have these steps:
1. Use talcum powder inside your boots, especially instep part. This help your feet a little easier to get inside the boots;
2. Walk in them, Ride in them! In another word, the best way to break in your boots is to wear your Dehner boots more often;
About the looseness in the heel, they said it’s normal. As the boots are new, when my soles break in, these looseness will be gradually go away. That’s where I found my new Dehner boots the first day it came to me!!!
Also, I found several other answers on the Internet:
1. Training the Ankles of New Dehner Patrol Boots
Check out this youtube video:
[jwplayer mediaid=”1675″]
2. Use Alcohol and water to soften your Leather boots:
In a spray bottle, mix rubbing alcohol and water 50:50. Spray on the shoes or boots and wear them. The alcohol helps the water penetrate and soften the leather. You can repeat as often as necessary within reason, without harming the finish. If your feet swell and the shoes become uncomfortable, give an extra spray. Relief is almost immediate. In a couple days, the leather will relax and conform to your foot. This is also a good trick when you’re using a shoe stretcher, but be careful not to over stretch the damp leather. I’ve used this method on some very expensive western boots without a problem.
3. This is another way of doing on Dehner Boots, use warm water to soften your leather boots, not completely soak them, just enough to wet your heel part:
Get up in the morning, put on your breeches, whatever socks you want to be the ones you wear with the boots, put on the boots and dunk your legs, feet-knees, into a hot-tub or bath tub of warm-hot water. Dunk does not mean soak. Just long enough to feel the wet inside the boots. Walk around in the house with them on UNTIL THEY ARE DRY, which basically means all day. Around lunch time, rub Kocholine into them. Spend some time sitting in a chair so shins, ankles and knees are at right angles to each other. This is THE BEST system but you must be brave and patient. Do NOT take the boots off before they are dry and do NOT skip the Kocholine.