UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => equipment => Topic started by: magpie on May 14, 2009, 09:22:45 am
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I know this must be on here somewhere already, and I did search before I started this, but I can't find anything. :boohoo:
Basically, what would be the best way to stretch a pair of climbing shoes?
I've stupidly wrecked my old pair before even getting close to wearing in my new ones (same shoes, same size, so they will definitely fit, eventually), which trust me is a mistake I will not be making again. :thumbsdown:
Obviously the best way to do it is to wear them lots and let them gradually sort themselves out, but I need a quick fix if possible, going away for a week and could really do with being able to wear them. They're currently cutting off the circulation and leave me in agony after about 5 minutes which is doing my climbing no good what so ever.
So, any ideas for how to make them a teensy bit bigger as fast as possible?
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I'll probably be told this is really bad - but put a plastic bag over your feet (believe me it makes it more comfortable) then wet the boots and wear them for as long as you can bear around the house. If they are leather this will help 'em stretch. If they are 5:10's vegan friendly non-leather leather look-alike but not alot-a-feel-alike then this may not work...
But this method used to work a treat with my lasers 8) back yonder.. (it works well at stretching the knobbly bits where the toe knuckles stick up/out)
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get some shoe tree's and stick em in
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They're Evolv, so vegan-friendly non-leather, that probably means the bag trick wouldn't work?
I like the shoe tree idea, that's got to be the least paniful way to do it! Thank you, Jim.
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when you say wear them as much as possible, do you actually wear them round the house? I do this with new pairs, and it stuill hurts a lot, but at least it doesn't hurt while you are trying to climb.
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I had them on the other night, I lasted 10 minutes before I had to whip them off, and that was sitting rather than walking about. I probably should do it more though, unless the shoe trees can do it for me! :whistle:
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Boil a kettle and steam the shoes inside, then get a plastic bag, like Houdini said and put them on. That will help them stretch a bit more. Though maybe not with Evolvs.
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I had them on the other night, I lasted 10 minutes before I had to whip them off, and that was sitting rather than walking about.
Do it. Ten mins at a time is better than nothing. I find doing a few squats on my toes to force them to flex and stretch a bit is short term agony but effective in the long term in loosening them up.
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Years ago I tried to make a plaster cast of the inside of a pair of my worn-in velcros, with the idea of forcing it into new ones to break them in. It didn't work. I'm still wearing the old pair through before forcing myself to put the new ones on, I have gone up half a size though.
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My new Muiras have just bedded in quite nicely. They went from unwearable for more than 3 minutes to bagsters in the space of 2 weeks! I find the stretching of the boot happens in between sessions wearing them rather than within the same session. I only wear Sportivas that are renowned for stretching massively though. I am sure if you keep putting them on for 10 minute intervals and climbing little bits in them they will be fine in a week or so. I have never had a pair of shoes that were too small to wear in the end!
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I have gone up half a size though.
That right there, is probably the most sensible option, although too late for me this time. I don't know why I decided to get them so tight again, they were hell to break in last time and I doubt it makes very much difference to my climbing having them cut off the circulation for the first few weeks. ::)
Chris, you're a proper sadist, you want me to wear the shoes and do squats?! Talk about adding insult to injury! :spank:
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More pain now = more pleasure later. (spoken like a true sadist)
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I think we've found a use for Lagers pebbles! (http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,11001.msg199197.html#msg199197)
In the past I've used hard rubber balls forced into the toes of tight boot, pebbles would work too. Worked a bit but then started buying bigger boots. Personally any gain in performance from painfully tight boots is outweighed by the inability to concentrate on a problem due to the pain in my feet!
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Boil a kettle and steam the shoes inside, then get a plastic bag, like Houdini said and put them on. That will help them stretch a bit more. Though maybe not with Evolvs.
Wot Adam said, although I'd probably hold the shoes aboout 6" above the steam coming out of the kettle as it boils rather than actually inserting the shoes into the kettle, seems a tad drastic to me. BTW although (I tried this once) leaving them in the oven for 20 mins to soften does work, it also softens the glue too consequently delaminating the sole ....so the kettle + plastic bag might be the way to go. Little and often: I think pressure on the fabric causes a sudden release after a while, so persevere.
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i find wearing new shoes outside at the crag rather than at the wall or round the house seems to break them in quicker.i had a new pair out in font that i could barely wear for the length of a problem but after a couple of days pulling them on and off and climbing down and walking about in them.plus sweating in them seemed break them in.
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I did the steam thing to a pair of crux's. They are perfect now
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Cool, soon as I have a responsible adult to boil the kettle and deal with the steam, I'll give that a bash. :thumbsup:
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i have one foot a size bigger than the other so i have to endure pain in one if i want to get a reasonable performance out of the other shoe. What i have been doing to stretch them is; put a thick sock on my big foot and a few tubigrips around the ankle, wear them round the house for as long as i can stand and then increasing the amount of tubigrips until i get a comfortable fit. the sock helps to cussion your toes so you can stretch the shoe faster. It works a treat, you can get them bearable within a day or two. I hav'nt tried the steaming method but will give it a go with my next pair of shoes. It seems like a good idea.
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I've got one bigger than the other too (foot, people, FOOT!) so I have the same problem, the smaller is almost bearable but the bigger one kills. :'( I always wear them with socks if I'm trying to break them in, like you say, added cushioning for the toes.
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I've got one bigger than the other too (foot, people, FOOT!) so I have the same problem
I think most people do.
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I've got one bigger than the other too (foot, people, FOOT!) so I have the same problem
I think most people do.
me too.
I did the steam thing to a pair of crux's. They are perfect now
might try that with my Right Crux, as the width of my toe area seems to be obstructing my big toe being pushed against the end, fully.
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Last time I got new Dragons, I wore them each night for as long as I could whilst sat at the computer. Once I was up to half an hour, I wore them outside.
Magpie, it's all a matter of pain tolerance, so you should be better at this than us boys (if we're to believe the hype bandied about by girlies).
Steam/soaking can help with the softening though, but I've never bothered with all that faff.
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are you lot mad?
SHOE-TREES!
whats all this boiling a kettle etc... mines a tea, milk, no sugar
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are you lot mad?
SHOE-TREES!
whats all this boiling a kettle etc... mines a tea, milk, no sugar
Have you felt how tight my new whites are!
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have you heard of shoe trees?
(http://www.toys-b2b.com/b2b/pics/Wooden_Shoe_Trees.jpg)
worked wonders with my last pair of velcros
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Have you felt how tight my new whites are!
Bit like these?
(http://incredimazing.com/static/media/2007/10/23/79d4d5f99c4edb3/BoundFeetChina.jpg)
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Have you felt how tight my new whites are!
So wrong out of context :lol:
Where do I get shoe trees, I am inclined to agree with Jim here, why stuff my feet in them when I can get an inanimate object to do the breaking in for me?
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Have you felt how tight my new whites are!
Bit like these?
:o
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Have you felt how tight my new whites are!
So wrong out of context :lol:
Only for you Maggers ;) Mind in the gutter :lol:
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:ang:
Apparently Ikea do cheap shoe trees, if anyone was looking.
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Maybe I'm being a bit dim here but surely a shoe tree will stretch your shoe so it fits the shoe tree, rather than your foot? So you end up with a slightly bigger shoe than you purchased but still not a custom fit to your foot. So you might as well just take the shoes back to the shop and get the next size up, non?
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Have you felt how tight my new whites are!
Bit like these?
What you are seeing here is pretty fucked up right now.
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Maybe I'm being a bit dim here but surely a shoe tree will stretch your shoe so it fits the shoe tree, rather than your foot? So you end up with a slightly bigger shoe than you purchased but still not a custom fit to your foot. So you might as well just take the shoes back to the shop and get the next size up, non?
Stop with your sense :spank: I've had them too long to take back, plus I know hat if I can stretch them a bit they will be fine, they're the same size as my other pair. The next time I might just size up, it would seem the more sensible option.
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Well as the saying goes:
Size up or (wo)man up.
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Maybe I'm being a bit dim here but surely a shoe tree will stretch your shoe so it fits the shoe tree, rather than your foot? So you end up with a slightly bigger shoe than you purchased but still not a custom fit to your foot. So you might as well just take the shoes back to the shop and get the next size up, non?
The theory is it doesn't stretch it to the size of your foot, it just stretches it and then when you come to wear them for the 1st time they are semi-stretch and not painful.
Then in the last stage of actually wearing the shoes (breaking them in) they will then finish off stretching (hopefully to the shape of your foot) and you won't end up with really fucked up feet like that old bag and you would of experienced minimum pain.
This could be good with jet 7's, apparently you need to buy them 28 sizes smaller than you can actually fit on your feet
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I'm a big jessie so the max I ever sized down was a size and a half in Sportiva Vipers. That was a bit nippy. Some mates in their self harming mid 90's phase went ridiculous like from a UK 9 street shoe to a 6 or even smaller. Max I now go is a size down in Evolvs and they don't seem to stretch.
You've no-one to blame but yerself and you know fine there's no magic trick solution! Walk those mutha crunchas in! Wear them for a full session of cooking your dinner or summat. A Pot Noodle doesn't count btw.
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The cheap Ikea shoe trees are pish; they couldn't stretch an elastic band. >:(
Jim, are you using special industrial strength ones?
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I've got some decent wooden ones, 69p plastic ones aren't going to cut it I'm afraid
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It did seem to good to be true ;D
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your dad or a middle aged male relative or friend will almost certainly have some, try and borrow some wooden ones for a week
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Already tried that, my mum threw them out recently as apparently; nobody uses proper shoe trees anymore ::)
I looked online but I'm not overly keen on spending nearly £60 to stretch a pair of £60 shoes, I'd be better just buying the next size up, or manning up and breaking them in myself.
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Do both? Go up half a size and you'll have something usable after a couple of sessions. Meanwhile persevere with stretching the smaller ones and in a few weeks/months you'll have an even better pair. Only downside being £££ but depending on what size you are there are still some of these (http://www.rockrun.com/products-Stix_FT-RB-STIX.htm) available. Should be ok for a bird as I have narrow feet and HEART them.
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Its probably not good for the shoe but I've had decent results oven baking shoes at 80c ish and them wearing them around the house with socks on. You get toasty warm feet for the eve if nothing else.
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Only downside being £££
Short term downside though, long term will make no odds. Might even save a bit depending on what prices of shoes do relative to inflation.
Magpie, have you tried to convince anyone to walk a mile in your shoes for you?
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Try Somebody's Fool, he'd walk five hundred miles.
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Jasper, those ones don't fit me right, but thanks for the heads up. This saga isn't helped by the fact I have mutant feet and can't get any pair of Scarpa, Sportiva or 5.10s to fit, I'm somewhat limited in choice.
Magpie, have you tried to convince anyone to walk a mile in your shoes for you?
My mum used to do it with my high heels for me but I doubt she'll go for it this time.
You're right, what I really need is a shoe bitch to break them in for me. 8)
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I did wonder why you'd bought Evolvs. ;)
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I did wonder why you'd bought Evolvs. ;)
Marketing? :-*
(http://touchstoneclimbing.com/images/photos/sharma_shoes.png)
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They're the only ones that I can actually get to fit snuggly without them totally killing me, well, after they're broken in that is ::) I like the soft rubber on the Evolvs too, which I know isn't everyone's thing but it makes me feel more secure.
It is nothing to do with Mr Sharma, me and him are done. :thumbsdown:
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It is nothing to do with Mr Sharma, me and him are done. :thumbsdown:
Damn straight. Now it's all about the TNFGaz/James/KeithBumBanditEuroShagFestTourTM. Right maggers. :)
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Something like that, Jasper, something like that. :whistle:
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This thread came at a perfect time for me as I was in the process of breaking in some cripplingly small boosters. I spent last night soaking them in hot water and wearing them with my feet in plastics bags and it seems to have done the trick! :thumbsup: i tried them on again this morning and despite being cold and damp i could keep them on for the 20 minutes i was sat drinking coffee and trying to wake up, result!
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They can shrink again as they dry - keep them on as much as possible.
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They can shrink again as they dry - keep them on as much as possible.
as i discovered this morning - they were far tighter today than they were yesterday :'(
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My old ones used to shrink back pretty badly when I washed them, the only good thing was they would bag out again after a couple of wears so it wasn't like going back to the start again. So at least once they are broken in, they stay that way, doesn't help for the first time though.
The stretching is not going well :'( I might look into having a toe removed.
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also try to put them on when your feet are cold, they swell up a lot when they are warm
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My old ones used to shrink back pretty badly when I washed them
You washed your boots?
Where's the fun in that, how can you cultivate the magic black gloop?
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and that unique aroma.
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You clearly haven't had Evolv shoes? Their magical vegan synthetic properties make them smell like nothing on this earth, and not in a good way. They don't breath, at all. :'(
After a few weeks of regular wear without socks I get distracted while wearing them on routes they smell so bad, I keep looking around for the dead thing, it really isn't becoming of a lady, it does have the added benefit of clearing a space around whatever panel of the wall you want to climb on though which can be cool.
It's a really weird smell too, not like normal feet, it's... well, it's weird, that's all you need to know. And it isn't just me, it's only these shoes and other people support my blaming them rather than my feet, honest. :whistle:
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Try using cleaning them in a bucket with Napisan (or whatever the equivalent thing is). It's like a washing powder designed for terry cloth nappies and it freshens them up reet bo. My Evolvs were stinking too until I exorcised the demons within.
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or buy some shoe deodorant
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You clearly haven't had Evolv shoes? Their magical vegan synthetic properties make them smell like nothing on this earth, and not in a good way. They don't breath, at all. :'(
It's the lining - added comfort, perfect home for bacteria. Mine really pen and ink. Tea tree oil is meant to be good for getting rid of smells.
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or buy some shoe deodorant
Does nothing for them, neither does talc (well, that's a lie, it makes a vile goo when I put my feet back in them after adding the talc but it doesn't help the smell). What's the problem with just chucking them in the washing machine? I don't use much soap powder and do it on a low heat, doesn't seem to do them any harm. Might have a go with the Napisan though, that would definitely kill off the nasties.
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Bicarbonate of soda can help with odoriferous climbing shoes.
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I think, instead of all these things, I might just do the unthinkable and start wearing socks with them, that way they won't get so stinky in the first place.
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So Fiend's influence is wearing off on on you.
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I think, instead of all these things, I might just do the unthinkable and start wearing socks with them, that way they won't get so stinky in the first place.
Don't do it! You'll be playing Warhammer, using V grades and enthusing about Big Macs next. It's a sliippery slope!
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:-[
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Here you go maggers.....
http://www.klenzeurope.com/climbers-special (http://www.klenzeurope.com/climbers-special)
.......bargain.
:o
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Don't they have one of them at one of the walls down your way, your way being Sheffield. I'm sure someone mentioned it somewhere before. :vague:
I wonder if it really works? :-\ Not that I am even thinking about buying one.
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Here you go maggers.....
http://www.klenzeurope.com/climbers-special (http://www.klenzeurope.com/climbers-special)
.......bargain.
:o
That picture (top right, guy in yellow shirt) is from the UKC archives (http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=52504), I wonder if they paid royalties (to the photographer of course).
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Well I wouldn't have seen it on there, now way :whistle:
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That picture (top right, guy in yellow shirt) is from the UKC archives (http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=52504), I wonder if they paid royalties (to the photographer of course).
I got a card with the same pic on recently. Image must be available somewhere.
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That picture (top right, guy in yellow shirt) is from the UKC archives (http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=52504), I wonder if they paid royalties (to the photographer of course).
I thought that, found it on UKC and all the comments below are about it being used on various sites so I assume it's all kosha.
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get some shoe tree's and stick em in
I tried that before. I didn't have very much success.
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ongoing pain and whinging about my 5.10 anasazi velcro tings resulted in a friend telling me before putting them on i should stretch them by twisting them, which i can only describe as like ringing the shoe out vigorously. I was quite skeptical but it seemed to create the extra few mm which made the difference between discomfort and ingrowing toe nails. On the other hand you could go outside the box and try and make your feet smaller, when you get to where your going to climb, sit down take your other footwear off and chill let them shrink a little. I'm guessing the difference in size between what you have and what you want is actually tiny.
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I'm guessing the difference in size between what you have and what you want is actually tiny.
I'm afraid my genes weren't that kind to me ;D
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What's all this getting shoes wet business... here's the dope.
Fill a washing up bowl full of really hot water.
Put your new climbing shoes on your feet.
Get some tough placcie bags (rucksack liner or sandbag) put them over your shoe clad feet and use and elaccie band to secure round the ankles.
Stand in the bowl for 10 minutes (or as long as you can bear).
Step out of the bowl and rinse the bag/shoe/foot combo in cold water.
Works a treat
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Another one from Mr Timmy Emmett
http://www.planetfear.com/blog.php?id=175 (http://www.planetfear.com/blog.php?id=175)
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Sounds like a recipe for disaster, I may give it a go later since my shoes still hurt. :)
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Sounds like a recipe for hot boiled shoes. Wonder what bacteria would mutate in mine if I heated them up?
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I wonder if this would work?
Stretch Your Shoes With Ice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf5mJ7aR2t8#)
You may want to keep watching for the gratuitous leg shots near the end. ;)
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.....and the nice pussy.
I suppose it would work but the difference with climbing shoes is that you want them to stretch to the shape of your feet, no?
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Well that would be ideal, but first I want to be able to get my feet in them without crying. ;)
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Sorry I forgot you were a girl. ;)
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:spank:
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Sorry I forgot you were a girl lady. ;)
Any better?
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I am not crying because of my lack of penis! I am crying because they are too tight and they really hurt. (http://www.themockturtle.com/Amock/images/smilies/drama.gif)
The lady is appreciated though, Slackers. :-*
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man up magpie get in touch with your inner testicles and man up
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man up magpie get in touch with your inner testicles
Sounds terribly uncomfortable!
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:'(
It's probably sound advice. ;)
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Boil a kettle and steam the shoes inside, then get a plastic bag, like Houdini said and put them on. That will help them stretch a bit more. Though maybe not with Evolvs.
This worked for me with a pair of ani velcos a few years back so hopefully will do with the Evolvs.
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Another one from Mr Timmy Emmett
http://www.planetfear.com/blog.php?id=175 (http://www.planetfear.com/blog.php?id=175)
I've tried this today, seems to work quite well. Did it with the right foot and now you can really tell a difference when I try to put the left shoe on.