Scott,
Merry Christmas to you and yours.... And a wonderful new year.
Another tip I'll throw in , on how I use to break in boots, to include my combat boots in Basic Training...
Take a pair of wool socks and then underneath a pair of polypropoline socks. Make your boots one half a size larger than your normal street shoes.
Put them on, and pour a tub of hot water. Sit on the side of the tub with your feet and boots in the water for half and hour or more.. keep topping off the tub with hot water as it cools down. Afterwards, wear your boots for the rest of the day, and walk around in them until they dry., or its time to go to bed.
With this they will have formed to your feet, and are pretty much broken in. This is what I've always done with new boots.
I did the same thing when I was in basic training. We got two pair. First day I did that in the morning, and then just worn the boots all day.
Next day I did the same with the other pair they gave us... They marched us a lot in basic... and drill us a lot....so much that in 8 weeks ALL of us needed to have new boots issued to us once again...
Of 200 guys in my battery thru basic, I was the only one that went all the way thru with NO Blisters. Most of the guys in my platoon, did the same thing with the new boots we were issued, before going to their prospective AIT assignments.
and where did I learn that? BOY SCOUTS.
You were ahead of your time. I'll give you a funny story of my ignorance of breaking in boots when I was a young 18 year old Marine.
Well, I got the fleet in Okinawa with 3rd Marine Division. I got issued a pair of brand new steel toe safety boots and thought they were the cats meow.
Well the first chance I had to wear them I thought in all of my experience lol I laced em up on our MCRES (MC readiness evaluation) if I remember right. Anyhow I believe it was a 20 miler with all our gear. You can imagine the shape my feet were in at the end of that one!
