Now you have invested in some boots or shoes it’s time to make sure they are the right fit at home before wearing them outdoors. Here are a few pointers to go through before deciding to keep your new purchase

Check the size on the box and the size inside both boots correspond to the size you ordered and have a quick look over the boots for any defects.

Put your hand inside and remove the footbeds, lay them on the floor and stand on them making sure to line your foot up correctly, you should now be able to see that there is a gap of around 10mm between the longest toe and the front of the footbed

Replace the footbeds making sure that they are flat and aligned well to the shape of the inside of the boot

Put on your favourite walking socks and put the boots on, lacing them up firmly. Our rule of thumb (or finger in this case) is that you should not be able to wiggle your finger under any of the lacing points, if you can they are probably too loose and you will notice some movement of you foot inside the boot

Try placing your hand across the forefoot and squeezing the sides of the boot, is there much movement of the leather or fabric, if so, the boot maybe too wide for you. If you can feel immediate pressure or discomfort across the width of your foot it is likely the boot is too narrow

Walk around the house and leave them on for periods of half an hour to an hour at a time, if you have stairs try them up and down a few times

Are you noticing any discomfort?

Common Issues

Toes touching the inside of the front of the boot when walking downhill. This normally means the boot is too small, however relacing firmly with the foot as far back in the heel cup as possible often fixes the problem

Toes touching the top of the boot when walking uphill as the boot flexes. This normally means the boot has a little too much volume for your foot. This can sometimes be fixed with a volume reducer and a thicker sock

Can you feel the boot pressing in on the sides of your foot at all? This will normally cause a dull ache after a few minutes. If you experience this then the boot may be too narrow however this feeling often goes away after an hour or two of wear if it is only a mild ache. Try a thinner sock if you have one.

Any hot spots? by this we mean areas on your foot that feel quite literally hot. This normally signifies rubbing due to movement of your foot inside the boot. Relacing firmly often helps alleviate the problem, have you got a good quality well-fitting sock on?

If you are experiencing any problems then please follow the link expert footwear fit help where one of our staff members will be able to help

If you are confident that none of the issues above are going to cause you any foot pain then its time to get out there and use your new Boots. ENJOY!