Help with the rub

[Isaac]

Well, as I am sure you all know, I recently bought a pair of Alden Long Wing Bluchers and a pair of Allen Edmonds McTavish. I usually do not wear low profile shoes, instead opting for more of a boot type shoe. Well, I wore the AE's without issue yesterday. I started to break in the Alden's and my heels are a bit red. It came ot the point where it was a relief to take them off at the end of the day. I have enough shoes in rotation that I wont rub my heel crease at the achilles raw, but I do want to wear the shoes. Other than buying those foam protectors that you either put on the shoe or your skin, are there any recommendations? Do I just have to "toughen up" the skin in that area?

Thanks guys..

On a side note, I stopped by Brooks Brothers and picked up nine pairs of socks. My sister picked out a pair that are actually yellow and blue stripped. Ill post em up tomorrow.

 

[little Big feather]

Maybe a little toughening up...But mainly just breaking in "stiff" new shoes.
I'm doing the same with my new Tricker"s....I just wear them for 3 or 4 hrs. at home.
A slow and not so painful break-in.

 

[Zap85]

The Alden's aren't slipping in the heel, are they? I hate to even suggest it, but any chance they're too big?

 

[Isaac]

The Alden's aren't slipping in the heel, are they? I hate to even suggest it, but any chance they're too big?

They slip a bit, but a new shoe slip. They are definitely not too big. Any smaller and my toe would end up in the toebox so to speak. I think I have the length correct. Perhaps I just wont wear them as long and toughen up a bit. I did wear them for 4 hours of good walking in a mall, and thats what really killed me.

 

[little Big feather]

Oh yeah...One hour walking in a mall kills me!!

 

[JoshuaNY]

You could wear a thicker sock until it breaks in a bit, that way it will rub more on the sock then your ankle.

 

[Doc4]

Maybe a little toughening up...But mainly just breaking in "stiff" new shoes.
I'm doing the same with my new Tricker"s....I just wear them for 3 or 4 hrs. at home.
A slow and not so painful break-in.

What lBf said.

I did wear them for 4 hours of good walking in a mall, and thats what really killed me.

I've made the mistake in the past of trying to do too much too fast with new shoes, and it always comes back to bite me in the foot.

Break 'em in nice and slow, and wear old shoes for the marathon walking sessions.

 

[camjr]

I might suggest picking up some Moleskin to put on your feet's sensitive spots until the shoes break in.

Cheers!

 

[carldamnit]

The Moleskin idea is spot on. If you have none available you can drop back to using plain old masking tape on the "hotspots". This is what we did in the Navy. Directly to the skin, under the sock, no one will know and it is instant relief.

 

[Dripp]

It just takes time. I've found that when I get a new pair of shell, I can only wear it for a couple of hours the first couple of times before I must remove them. But over time I can wear them longer and longer. In fact, my short wings I was wearing today is probably the first time since I got them almost a year ago that I wore them all day without any pain. Granted I only wear them every other week or so, but just take it slow.