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Rymanocerous

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For those of you that had asked, I'm 99% sure these were mine and they have the last mislabled.


 

wordfool

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Folks, I have been wearing my BHs for a mile or so walk in the evening, not exactly every day, I am lazy.
These boots have double midsoles so they are quite heavy. I walked a little less than a mile yesterday (Sunday) and today when I was wearing AE Higgins Mill in the office, I felt a strange pain in my right knee. It's still hurting when I walk, I wouldn't term it excruciating. Am I overdoing by walking in the Bounty Hunters? I thought it would help with the break-in process.

Yes, I have found the same in varying degrees with some of my White's boots, most noticeably my heaviest and chunkiest (BHs on a Vibram 100 sole). The thickness and stiffness of the soles when new, the fresh, unbroken arch support, and the overall weight of the boots all serve to slightly alter your normal foot/ankle position and gait, putting strain on muscles, tendons and ligaments that have to work harder to try to keep your body walking the way it's used to. It goes away over time and I just consider it one new aspect of break in to consider.

In my case I feel it the most in my Iliotibial Band -- the ligament that runs down the leg past the outside of the knee. Google "Iliotibial Band Syndrome" or ITBS and see if that is what you're feeling.

I actually find the logger heel of some of my pairs of White's alter my gait more than block heels, perhaps because my body is used to my heel striking the ground slightly earlier than it does with the logger. For that reason I now have more pairs of White's with block heels than with logger. They just feel more "normal" when walking. YMMV
 
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ThatDudeOrion

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chicagoan2016

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Thank you all for the helpful insight, appreciate the feedback.
I have these boots for over a month but I have walked in them for around 10 miles, in addition to being lazy I got my COVID vaccine (two shots, both in March) and I was sick for several days.
These boots have double midsoles, extra heel height and leather half slip. They were my first White's and I guess I didn't realize they would get so heavy.
After wearing them for around 10 miles they are comfortable to wear in the office but it was Sunday evening walk that put too much strain on my knees especially the right knee. I haven't worn them since and now on Tuesday my knees are feeling better.
I got the knee compression sleeves from Walgreens and I going to try them.
@Alaskaking you mentioned this
Straighten your knee as far as it goes.... then straighten it another 1/4” beyond your end range- one potential impact... if you don’t have the extra 1/4” beyond the end of your kneemovement, you’ll beat up your knees or have to make it up somewhere else, like your back.

I can straighten my knees but I don't follow straightening them another 1/4 inch ?
Could you please elaborate? I was a little concerned reading that I could beat up my knees : )
 

Jimk4003

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Thank you all for the helpful insight, appreciate the feedback.
I have these boots for over a month but I have walked in them for around 10 miles, in addition to being lazy I got my COVID vaccine (two shots, both in March) and I was sick for several days.
These boots have double midsoles, extra heel height and leather half slip. They were my first White's and I guess I didn't realize they would get so heavy.
After wearing them for around 10 miles they are comfortable to wear in the office but it was Sunday evening walk that put too much strain on my knees especially the right knee. I haven't worn them since and now on Tuesday my knees are feeling better.
I got the knee compression sleeves from Walgreens and I going to try them.
@Alaskaking you mentioned this


I can straighten my knees but I don't follow straightening them another 1/4 inch ?
Could you please elaborate? I was a little concerned reading that I could beat up my knees : )
I think part of this will just be expectation management; a boot with double midsoles, plus a lineman shank, plus an extra heel lift, is always going to be a stiff and heavy boot. That's kind of the point, linemen and arborists want that level of stiffness when they're strapped into gaffs or standing on climbing spikes. But even linemen won't necessarily want to wear the boots they wear up poles as casual boots, because they're not necessarily the most comfortable things for walking around in all day.

I'd still be a little concerned that even after a month you're only able to manage a mile or less in them with each wear, and that even that is leaving you with knee pain that persists the following day. You certainly shouldn't have to be buying knee compression sleeves from Walgreens just to facilitate wearing some boots.

Properly fitting boots, even thick and heavy boots like yours, shouldn't ever cause persistent pain. Snugness, stiffness, and maybe a bit of rubbing until the leather is broken in? Yes, quite possibly. Barely being able to walk a mile a day in them after a month, accompanied by a persistent joint pain? That really doesn't sound right to me. I'm sure if you spoke to White's lead fitter, or one of the guys at Bakers, or indeed a specialised podiatrist, they'd tell you that you shouldn't be getting persistent knee pain out of a good fitting pair of boots after a month. Especially boots that you're not even wearing every day, and are only walking for a mile or so in when you do.

Maybe give Bakers a phone and talk them through your fit experience thus far, and see if they have any advice. Something with the fit sounds like it's not quite right to me.
 
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Woodtroll

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These boots have double midsoles, extra heel height and leather half slip. They were my first White's and I guess I didn't realize they would get so heavy.

Not only heavy, but STIFF - that’s the main purpose of the half-slip and double midsole, as Jimk has already pointed out. I doubt ten miles is going to begin to touch the break-in on those boots unless you’re a real big, heavy guy. I’m betting the stiffness is contributing to your pain, because your foot and ankle aren’t flexing as normal and your other joints and muscles are compensating.

These boots WILL break in, eventually, but will never be as flexible as, say, even a Smokejumper with single midsole and Vibram 100s. Certainly never sneaker-flexible, but that’s not necessarily bad ( I HATE wearing sneakers. ;) )

Don’t let them whip you or hurt you. Maybe you’d have better luck wearing them around the house, or at work, where you’re typically moving only short distances with lots of breaks in between, rather than trying to break them in a mile or two at a time.

Good luck!
 

chicagoan2016

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Not only heavy, but STIFF - that’s the main purpose of the half-slip and double midsole, as Jimk has already pointed out. I doubt ten miles is going to begin to touch the break-in on those boots unless you’re a real big, heavy guy. I’m betting the stiffness is contributing to your pain, because your foot and ankle aren’t flexing as normal and your other joints and muscles are compensating.

These boots WILL break in, eventually, but will never be as flexible as, say, even a Smokejumper with single midsole and Vibram 100s. Certainly never sneaker-flexible, but that’s not necessarily bad ( I HATE wearing sneakers. ;) )

Don’t let them whip you or hurt you. Maybe you’d have better luck wearing them around the house, or at work, where you’re typically moving only short distances with lots of breaks in between, rather than trying to break them in a mile or two at a time.

Good luck!
A gentleman here had mentioned 50-100 miles of walking for break-in.
I have worn these boots to shopping and also in the office and didn't feel any discomfort so I am going to act upon your advice : )
 

theofficialhung

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Coincidentally, Nick's just released a video entitled "5 Boot Options You Might Regret". The first option they cover is the lineman shank, and they explain why:



That was a great video, highly informative.

Let's say you got a lineman shank and it's not working out for you. Can't you just have it removed on a resole or is that like rebuilding the whole boot?
 

iamntbatman

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I apologize if this is out of line, but that's a hell of a lot of boot to be strapping to the end of a long lever arm. If someone is generally unused to exercise and suddenly begins lifting weights above a very beginner level, he's going to experience pretty severe DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) and possibly joint pain if the involved joints are not used to those movements. Putting a heavy leather boot on your foot after a lifetime of significantly lighter footwear, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, is going to mean simply walking around in those things is going to involve muscle and joint strain your body isn't used to feeling. I don't think extreme shooting pain in your knee is really something you should just ignore, but manageable soreness is likely your body adjusting to this change.
 

chicagoan2016

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I apologize if this is out of line, but that's a hell of a lot of boot to be strapping to the end of a long lever arm. If someone is generally unused to exercise and suddenly begins lifting weights above a very beginner level, he's going to experience pretty severe DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) and possibly joint pain if the involved joints are not used to those movements. Putting a heavy leather boot on your foot after a lifetime of significantly lighter footwear, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, is going to mean simply walking around in those things is going to involve muscle and joint strain your body isn't used to feeling. I don't think extreme shooting pain in your knee is really something you should just ignore, but manageable soreness is likely your body adjusting to this change.
A good point and I am thinking along the same lines. Before COVID my only exercise was swimming for an hour, not regularly though ( lazy bum).
When COVID started I began walking in the evenings wearing AE boots (mostly their Higgins Mill and Long branches) and they don't even compare to White's when it comes to weight (of course that's not the only difference).
The knee pain is not bad today although I can feel a little soreness when I bend my legs.
 
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Jimk4003

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That was a great video, highly informative.

Let's say you got a lineman shank and it's not working out for you. Can't you just have it removed on a resole or is that like rebuilding the whole boot?
I think you could have it removed (I assume that's why the customer sent his pair back to Nick's in the video), but I don't know whether that would be classed as a rebuild or a re-sole. I imagine they could reuse the existing uppers, but they might need to replace the existing midsole and insoles that the lineman shank was nailed into.
 
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