UKC

A friend has a pair of all leather Meindl boots. Perfect fit when bought a couple of years ago but she's now finding them increasingly constrictive, especially around the heels. Weak arches maybe? She's a hard up student so doesn't want to bin an otherwise good pair of boots and buy new. Any cheap remedy suggestions?

Edit: she"s read about a company offering a steam stretch service, can this damage sole bonding?

If the foot has got longer because of week archers then get the problem fixed rather than adapting the boots to fit. Get an appointment with a podiatrist and get assed. (Free on the nhs)

Ignoreing an issue with week arches can lead to other joint problems.

Try a pair of Superfeet - they might do the trick of stabilising the foot, and can be refunded if they don't.

Also good boot shops might have a rubbing bar to have a go on, if there are particular spots that could do with stretching, if you ask nicely

Worth trying and cheap. Lots of good high street cobblers do boot stretching but it might not work if there is an external rand.

The first thing would be to look at her feet. 

The first weird thing would be to ask to look at her feet.

How often does she wear and wax them? Where does she store them? If they’re stored in a dry climate the leather will shrink.

I used to have a pair of Scarpa Trionic Sls that used to blister my heels. I soaked them in boiling water and smashes the heel cup with the ball section of a hammer over a vice. Those boots lasted me 20 years with no further problems except 3 resoles. 

After that sort of treatment they were probably too terrified to give you any more problems.

I imagine she's the sort that looks after her kit properly. Should see her tomorrow so I'll ask.

Edit: personally I don't use anything but HS12 cream on leather. Brilliant stuff used sparingly.

It did work though

I'd forgotten but after heel blisters I used that successfully on a new pair of boots years ago (softer basher, probably a rubber mallet, but didn't think of using using boiling water).  Like you boots used for years after ( a goretex membrane might get damaged however?).

It’s a valid technique and would sooner have comfy boots. Membranes will hopefully die out

Your post doesn't entirely make sense to me to be honest. The heel area is almost impossible to actually stretch because they'll be a stiffener there. You would also expect a boot to typically take the shape of the persons foot with time, rather than do the opposite, so it would becoming less constructive. If they haven't stretched naturally after a couple a could of years then they're probably going to be hard to stretch by other means also. The leather is probably very stiff. Something else is probably at play. I'm guessing it's the back of the arch on the inside of the foot where she's probably feeling the pressure, rather than the heel proper. Ie more the midfoot. She could try some insoles of some sort as an experiment  Don't know what else to suggest though, other than try to find some boots that better suit her foot shape. 

Many peoples feet increase in size as they age, especially in their 40s (mine have increased by about a half size). Google it, it's a common enough phenomenon. My friend however is in her late 20s which is why I queried weak arches as a possible cause.

This doesn't answer your question, but I had a pair of Meindls, they fitted great for about 3 years, then seemed to shrink slightly to the extent that I could no longer wear them as my toes now touched the front. Definitely not my feet growing, as other boots/shoes weren't affected at the time. A friend had exactly the same experience with his Meindls.

She could get the shop the bought the boots from to send them to Meindl to have the heel counter stretched out or re-shaped to widen it a little. I think they do this by heating then re-shaping the plastic.

I don't need to Google it. Look at my profile. I've worked as an orthotist for over a decade. I probably fitted a few 1000 pairs of prescription footwear during the time I worked in the NHS. I wouldn't like to guess how many insoles. Even if your friend's arches have collapsed a little, and the feet increased in length slightly as a result, it still doesn't explain tightness in the heel region of the uppers. The problem probably lies in the fact that you're speaking behalf of someone else, as commendable as it is, and maybe the finer specifics to the problem are being lost. Best that can be done with a tight fitting heel is to wet the leather and jam something big in the heel region to try and open the stiffener a little. It's going to contribute to heel slip potentially if the problem isn't actually at the heel.

Thanks for the reply. So in your professional opinion is she as well seeing a podiatrist, as suggested up thread?

I'll let her know. Not owned Meindl myself but I'd always thought that they were a quality brand.

Difficult to say to be honest. Probably not if the problem is exclusive to this pair of boots. If it's a more general problem with foot pain then it might be worth seeing a podiatrist or orthotist. Worth trying off the shelf insoles first as the evidence for custom made insoles being better is still weak. I've got a hunch that stretching the boots is going to be the answer but it might be worth showing the boots to a cobbler or two and see if they have any suggestions about stretching. It's probably one of those things that if I could actually see the problem I'd know straight away how to sort it out. Always harder via Internet forums of course to understand the problem clearly.