<p>Any hints on the best way to break in these rather uncomfortable shoes?</p>
<p>wear them. and not to watch TV - ;)
wear them to school (yeah right) wear them all day - especially if a lot of walking or standing. wear them to church. shopping. etc.</p>
<p>(I know, the thought is gross. LOL.)</p>
<p>He won't really be breaking in the shoes as much as breaking in the feet. The feet need to get used to walking in and standing in a solid leather shoe. They say on R-Day cadets will walk about 8 miles in low quarters.</p>
<p>He wore them to school today....his comment before he left: "Could these be any more uncomfortable?"</p>
<p>I guess I wondered if there was a trick for softening the leather, making it all happen faster....</p>
<p>Have the moleskin ready to apply to spots where the shoe "rubbed" today. Also know that the cadets wear them twith a very thin nylon type sock -- sock liners sometimes help. You can also try adding a "gel-type" insole you can get at any grocery store...</p>
<p>Better get use to good old low quarters. But more important break in your boots. And if you can't do that toughen up you feet, preferably by doing some hiking in boots (the ones you bought for beast). Build up calluses now rather then later. Just some advice.</p>
<p>Our third year cadet, who never had a problem breaking in his boots , hated his low quarters. He found the shoes uncomfortable to stand in for long periods of time- something the new cadets do during the first few weeks of beast. One of his few requests during beast was to have gel inserts for his shoes. He said the inserts helped alot.</p>
<p>However, in your son's case, what he can do depends on what's bothering him with the shoes.</p>
<p>If the shoe is particularly tight or stiff, grab it by the heel and gently knead it back and forth to loosen the sole. Do this over and over. Just be very careful not to break the sole. You can also use a shoe stretcher to continue the process overnight.</p>
<p>If the shoe bothers his heel, get a pair of heel liners from your local drugstore, and place them on the inside heel of the shoe. The liners will also keep your heels from slipping and rubbing.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>From my experience on R-Day, breaking them in does some good, but after standing up for literally ten hours straight (with the exception of lunch), it doesn't really matter how well the shoes break in. The next two days are straight issue points, which means more eight-hour days worth of standing in lines.</p>
<p>If you really want to condition your feet, you need to stand and walk in those shoes through an entire working day without sitting down.</p>
<p>At the end of R-day, my broken-in low quarters had turned my toes so numb that I couldn't feel them until October, much less notice any blisters. Most blister problems cadre will monitor show up on the back of the heel or on the ball of the foot. When I did Beast as a Squad Leader, that's where I noticed most of the foot problems.</p>
<p>Glad to know you guys will be watching their little tootsies! Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>My son toughened his feet by wiping them with rubbing alcohol every day for a few weeks before Beast. He also went out periodically for one to two mile walks in his low quarters (he tried to do it during the heat of the day when his feet were a bit swollen, knowing that it would be hot and humid during Beast). He had no blisters, but did have numb toes for months after Beast.</p>
<p>Ann, I am curious why the alcohol to toughen the feet? Just because of the drying effect it has on the skin? Also, are the numb toes indicative of the shoes fitting too tightly across the toe area? I used to have a "Shoe Stretch Spray" made by a common shoe care company for use on breaking in leather shoes. It was sprayed on the shoe during wear and did not cause any damage to the leather, but allowed the leather to expand to fit the natural contours of an individual's foot. This was especially helpful to me as my feet are wider across the toes and very narrow in the heel. Does anyone know if this is still available and if it would be safe to use on the military issue shoes?</p>
<p>Hi does anyone know if you can put inserts into your boots, like arch supports or heel inserts? Just wondering. Thanks.</p>
<p>ya you can put orthotics into those</p>
<p>Anonogram: Yes the alcohol just dries the skin out. I used to run ultramarathons (~60miles) and it worked like a charm for me :).</p>
<p>Don't bother breaking in low quarters. Although I do think it was helpful to break in the ACU boots a bit.</p>
<p>Hey, potential USMA cadet here. I was wondering what brand of low quarters were good? Also, what all do you need to bring to BEAST?</p>
<p>first of all, dont break in your low quarters or boots. thats the point of beast and the experience. as a matter of fact, dont even think about west point before you go. you’ll regret it. they say you need a pair of low quarters before you go but thats a bunch of crap. they just give you two pairs instead of one if you come without them. besides Rday wasnt even hard or a pain. it was more funny than anything.</p>
<p>and if you must know about low quarter brands- dont buy Capps. they fall apart. buy Bates.</p>
<p>Posted on West Point Parents Facebook page today:</p>
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<p>Take note of the last paragraph about breaking in your shoes, boots and feet.</p>
<p>This boot/low quarter break in is absolutely unnecessary. I fell for it too. Unless you have extremely sensitive feet (and hence maybe should reconsider choosing a profession involving ruck marching dozens of miles at a time), it just doesn’t need to be done in my opinion. </p>
<p>Typically, all this leads to is New Cadets showing up with the wrong boots, temperate instead of hot weather, the wrong sizes, or unauthorized versions. The ACU boots aren’t like the old BDU one’s…there is no long and tedious break-in. As far as low quarters, you get used to it (I think you get broken in, NOT THE SHOES!)</p>
<p>…or you can join the soft shoe profiles…</p>