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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author
DIY Shoe Stretching?
johnk
22-Apr-2004
10:37:55 PM
After buying a new pair of Scarpa Eclipse shoes last week Size 43 and reading all the threads and info people have put on Chockstone, it was time to try and do something about these shoes which appear to be a wider version of the Scarpa Inferno's (unlined).
Was'nt too keen on waiting three months to break then in and did'nt like the "soak them in a bucket and wear them" trick as both sounded painfull. Neither did I like the idea of paying $25 plus postage to send them off to a climbing shoe "stretcher" as they gave no warranties anyhow. Despite paying the local shoe repair shop $7 to try to stretch them, it did not work.
So.....it was DIY time. Not sure if this will work for others but this is what I tried:
DIY SOLUTION
Stuffed bits of newspaper in the front toe section, then jammed a spray can cylinder behind it, and using a screwdriver I levered the handle of another screwdriver to replicate my heel at the back of the shoe. Then used more bits of newspaper between the screwriver handle and the spray can to create maximum pressure in the heel area. Levering the screwdriver really allows you to do this. I found that it is really important to stuff the front of the shoes very well and push the screwdriver handle right down to the base of the heel section.
THE RESULT?
After two days I have close to half a size stretch evident visually by a number of the stiches popping and a defenite leather and rubber stretch resulting in a more comfortable fit.

- THE WRITTER OF THIS THREAD ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGED SUSTAINED TO YOU OR YOUR CLIMBING SHOES AS A RESULT OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE!! - (ie. try it at your own risk but it worked for me!)



Rich
23-Apr-2004
11:54:43 AM
a problem with that that i can see is that traditional stretching methods (ie wearing it!) will ensure that the shoe stretches to your foot size, this method may result in hot & cold(?) spots.. ie tight and loose areas on your feet.

Rupert
23-Apr-2004
1:43:15 PM
Does anyone here recall seeing that photo that was floating around on the web a few years back of an x-ray of a foot in a snug-fitting climbing shoe? - Ancient Chinese foot binding was very similar.
James
23-Apr-2004
4:38:04 PM
popping stitches?? sounds like your doing more damage than good. I would just buy shoes that actually fit properly. They should stretch to comfort in a few good sessions.

jens
24-Apr-2004
10:28:14 AM
I used to go out with a babe that owned a shoe shop. They used a mixture of water and metho and applied it to the offending area. Then just wear them till they shaped to your foot and dried (around 15min).
I would have thought that the metho would soften the glue, but this didn't seem to happen.
Never actually had to perform this myself, as I try to get a good fitting shoe to begin with, but then again, I don't have to have toe-cramping as I don't climb that hard and prefer longer routes.
Hope this helps!
johnk
24-Apr-2004
5:59:58 PM
James,
after talking with people that resole and stretch shoes, poping of one or two stitches is apparantly quite normal in the stretching process.
On the isssue of comfort, my Cliff Blues which were initially just comfortable, ended up not being tight enough after 3-4 months. I guess it's a question of compromise at the and between comfort and perfrormance.
gfdonc
25-Apr-2004
9:04:58 PM
All Chockstoners need to be made aware of the dangers involved with playing with pressured cans, screwdrivers, applied force, smelly shoes and a ferret. Be careful.
- Steve
Jessome
15-Jul-2017
9:48:07 PM
As most people know the common way to stretch shoes is to have a cobbler put the shoes in a stretching machine pushing out the shoes in the places where they are too small. The stretching lasts are increased gradually, and the leather is treated with moisturizing agents to handle the stress better. However, in some cases when it comes to shoes that are a bit too small at only one or a few specific places, a DIY shoe stretching can be a good alternative.
https://www.bestshoesstretchers.com/how-to-stretch-tennis-shoes/

[Moderator edit: User ID Jessome disabled due to being a spammer, however this post is on topic and semi-relevant (including the link), so it has been left intact.]

There are 8 messages in this topic.

 

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