Hiking Boot Fit

Hiking Boot Fit can sometimes be tricky. Follow the 4 Steps in this Hiking Boot Buying Guide to keep your feet forever happy and comfortable!




Hiking Boot Fit can sometimes be tricky. Follow these 4 Steps in this Hiking Boot Buying Guide to keep your feet forever happy and comfortable!

Tip # 1 is probably the most obvious yet under-appreciated technique when shopping for a pair of comfortable hiking boots.

Walk around in your boots!

Proper hiking boot fit is ultra important to the comfort and enjoyment of your backpacking trip. Always try on your boots and make sure you walk around in them. Simple, right?! Try the following maneuvers:

• uphill
• downhill
• sideways
• backwards

To make sure they fit properly during various types of movements before you hit the trail.

Tip # 2 is a fantastic little piece of knowledge that will certainly take you far when discovering your perfect hiking boot fit.

A Rule of Thumb

A rule of thumb when fitting boots is that your toes should not touch the fronts of your boots. There should be about a half inch of space between the tips of your toes and the fronts of your boots.

Buying Boots Online?

Buying boots for backpacking online is a great choice because there will be plenty of different options available to you that might not be locally.

It's a fantastic way to find the best backpacking boots for you! When buying hiking boots online, it's good to follow a few simple tips shown here, to avoid the hassles that can easily be associated with purchasing such a finicky product from the internet.

Tip # 3 seems simple and might not even seem all that important. Oh, but trust me, it is!

Also, having freshly trimmed toe nails before you start out will be something your feet will thank you for! Sometimes people won’t realize that their toe nails are a bit too long until they start hiking.

Another thing to note about hiking boot fit is that your toe nails will grow during your trip so even if they don’t seem too long to start out, they might begin to get uncomfortable as time goes by.

This is extremely important when trying on your boots. Make sure your toe nails are at the length you are most comfortable with so as to avoid boot sizing errors. If they are a little too short or too long, it’s remarkably easy to misjudge your needed size.

This leads me to tip # 4. This isn’t so much a tip for picking the correct fitting backpacking boot as it is a tip to help you force your boots to fit while you are already on the trial.

You and your new pair of hiking boots don’t really get to know each other completely until you actually hit the trail.

A lot of people encounter problems when traveling downhill. Don’t be afraid to re-adjust and retie your boots frequently.

The reason why it can become painful to travel downhill is because your toes will end up mashing up in the fronts of the boots. This can cause blisters, cramped feet and dead toe nails.

Even if your toes did not touch the fronts of your boots when you tried them on, you’ll be amazed at the effect gravity can have while traveling downhill.

When you see that you’re going to be going mostly downhill, stop and retie your boots. Even if you have the best backpacking boots, you'll find this tip useful.

Untie your boots first. What you’ll want to do is forcefully push your heel into the backs of your boots. I mean REALLY push those feet as far back as you can get them. Hold that position and then tie your boots tightly. Not so tight that you cut off circulation, but really snug.

This prevents your toes from sliding forward and slamming into the fronts of your boots. After a while your boot laces will loosen so you’ll probably have to repeat this process when you feel your toes starting to slip up there again.

When your toes hit the front of your boots like this, you’re liable to get a condition called runners toe. They will be severely painful to the point where even the pressure of socks is nearly unbearable.

Next they turn purple and sometimes blue and black. The last thing that happens is that the big toe nails will fall off completely.

The toe nails that grow back will be weak and brittle and very likely to get ripped off very easily. Unbelievably, the process for growing back normal protective toe nails can sometimes take years.

Follow this downhill hiking boot tying trick for the ultimate prevention. You’ll be glad you did!

I’ve revealed this trick in the field to friends that have complained about their toes being in pain. They did not originally get the right hiking boot fit and had to make due with what they had.

These friends followed my advice and were very happy to learn that they could find relief!

The key to blister prevention is all about knowing the Sock Layering Method.
Learn about this method of the two-sock system to assure that you’ll be blister free with happy feet!

Remember to try your boots on with the socks you'll be wearing while trekking to ensure the proper hiking boot fit.

Looking for the best hiking boot for you? Check out the Top 11 Best Backpacking Boots.

Thinking about buying your boots from the internet? Check out this online boot buying guide to learn how to avoid hassles that come along with purchasing this kind of product from a distance.

Got wide feet? Don't worry, there's a special page for you. Find wide hiking boots for you, here.

Do the children need some boots for hiking as well? These tips for hiking boot fit apply to them too! Browse through the many kids hiking boots options.

Having a waterproof boot can be the difference between misery and happiness on the trail. Check out waterproof hiking boots here.

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Hiking Boot Buying Guide

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