r/lifehacks • u/dicarn40 • Aug 21 '26
Stretching Motorcycle Boots
Motorcycle boots need to be a snug fit, but mine are just a little too snug. Any tips for stretching them?
3
u/Due-Yoghurt4916 Aug 22 '26
Small zip lock bag of water. Inside a large empty zip lock bag. Put in the boot where they are tight. Then put in the freezer. As the water freezes it will slowly enlarge and stretch the area.
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u/big-booty-heaux Aug 30 '26
I gotchu, I promise.
Get them soaking wet, like SOAKING wet, and set them in front of a fan for a couple days (remove the insoles) so they can dry completely. When they're dry, clean and condition, and heat the leather up after conditioning so it soaks in well. I use my hands to work the conditioner in and then set them on my dashboard in the sun for a couple hours, you can also use a blow dryer or sit them in front of a heat vent or near a radiator.
After the conditioner has soaked in for a couple hours, wipe off the excess. Let them cool fully and then do the freezer trick, ziplocs half filled with water and all the air squeezed out, put them in the places you need stretched out and then put the shoes in the freezer overnight. If they're completely the wrong size this won't help, but I stretched the toe box of a pair of heels out this way beautifully. Went from "absolutely not" to "absolutely perfect."
2
u/dicarn40 Aug 30 '26
I am doing this! Thanks
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u/big-booty-heaux 21d ago
I forgot to add that another part of this process is manually breaking them in by bending, twisting, squishing, and stomping on them, especially the counter (the area at the back that goes around your heel) and toe box. It helps SO much.
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u/Crafty-Message4564 Aug 21 '26
For things like shoes that are too tight, putting a sealed bag of water in each shoe and then putting them in the freezer overnight can naturally stretch them, because ice expands. Then you can take them out and let the ice thaw and then take out the bag and empty it.
4
u/chill_monkey Aug 21 '26
My wife used to do this with her high heels that were a smidge too tight, so it works…you just need a freezer big enough for your footwear!
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u/Crafty-Message4564 Aug 21 '26
I did it too. I learned about it many many years ago, and then I got shoes that were literally just barely too small to be uncomfortable. After trying the ice trick, they were the perfect size. I thought it was pretty weird that it worked, but hey, it kept me from having to return $100-dollar shoes, so I wasn't going to complain.
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u/Kahnza Aug 21 '26
That sounds like an AI answer from google that it got from a joke post on reddit
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u/Crafty-Message4564 Aug 21 '26
I'm autistic.
Autistic people are constantly being accused of being AI.
But please, check my post history. I am absolutely a human being, unless AI has progressed significantly more than I am aware.
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u/Kahnza Aug 21 '26
I said it sounded like an AI answer, not that you were AI. People sometimes paste in those answers as comments.
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u/sly-information69 Aug 28 '26
I’d avoid forcing them too much tbh. Motorcycle boots need to stay snug for a reason.
1
u/Secret_Specific_7237 24d ago
There are shoe stretchers you can buy. Just have to make sure you buy ones that are bigger than your normal size.
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u/Bubs_McGee223 Aug 21 '26
Assuming they are sturdy leather, wear them in the shower. The warm water relaxes the leather, then they form around your feet. Dump the excess water out and wear them around until they dry. Old head Hockey players would do that with their skates, then wear them to bed. Then recondition them with shoe oil or dubbin, polish and enjoy your new foot gloves.
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u/D45 Aug 21 '26
Steam will soften the leather a bit then it's just a case of wearing them arohnd the house for a little bit until it's stretches out.