5 Helpful Tips for Breaking In Your Duckfeet
Duckfeet shoes are natural, unisex shoes that are great for your feet, but they can feel a little stiff at first.
After working our way through the collection, we’ve worked out how best to soften up our Duckfeet, without causing discomfort to our feet.
Here’s 5 helpful hints on how to break in your shoes, without breaking a sweat:
1. Sit down
Our favourite method of softening up our shoes is to wear them at night when you’re sitting down relaxing. Your feet will be slightly bigger due to the natural swelling we all experience from being active during the day, so this is a good time to break in your shoes.
Pop on a pair of thick socks, and wear your shoes. The slight pressure this puts on the leather will help relax the leather fibres, as will your body heat.
A week of hanging out in your Duckfeet at night should help them soften up nicely.
2. Leather conditioner
We recommend cleaning your Duckfeet with natural leather conditioner, as this nourishes the leather, like a moisturiser would nourish your skin.
An initial coating of conditioner helps soften up the leather, especially on any spots that you feel ‘rub’ on your feet.
No conditioner? No worries. We hear raw potato or butter are just as good, although, we haven’t tried these out ourselves.
3. Massaging
Generally, people often wear shoes to break them in which, depending on the shoe, can be a painful, blistering experience.
Save your feet the hassle, and massage the leather by moving it around. This mimics the action of wearing them, so you’re saving your feet from any discomfort, and causing the rigid leather fibres to relax.
Good spots to focus on are any points that you feel put pressure or rub on your body, and leather conditioner can help this process speed up a little.
4. Hammer time
We know, hammering your shoes sounds a little extreme, right? It’s a surefire way to relax the leather fibres quickly, and is actually a little bit fun!
Cover your Duckfeet with a towel, preferably folded in two. Then go nuts on the points you want to soften up quickly.
5. Have a bath
Legend has it farmers used to go for a swim in the river with their new boots, to help break them in. The water soaks the boots & instantly gets to work on softening up the leather.
The contemporary answer to the tip is to submerge your boots in lukewarm water for a few minutes, towel them dry, and wear them for an hour or two around the house. A thick sock will help you out here too.
While you’re wearing the boots, they will relax and mould to your body, making them truly ‘yours’. Let them dry off over night, and see how they feel in the morning. A coat of conditioner will restore their subtle low shine.
Do you have any tips? Share them with us on our Facebook page, or on Instagram.
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