REMINDER!
Price Increase
Due to exploding costs and demand, Van Gorkom boots prices are
rising to $1500 per pair on Jan. 1, 2007. Boots paid in
full before Jan. 1 will remain at $900 per pair. As
always, this price includes shipping. |
Van Gorkom in the News
Van Gorkom Custom Boots was
recently featured in Interior News. Check out the PDF
article here.
(Note: Be patient as it takes a while to download!)
Reviews
Read Reviews about Van Gorkom Custom Hiking boots on Trailspace.com:
here
And here is another great must-read
review: here
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Taking a closer
look at the Van Gorkom Custom Hiking Boots.
(Submitted by Martin on top of Mount Pilatus.)
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Order your free measuring kit
today!
email: customboots@bulkley.net
WEBSITE:
http://www.hikingbootshandcrafted.com/
Address:
Van Gorkom Custom Boots
Box 3488
Smithers, B.C. Canada, V0J 2N0.
Phone:
1-888-738-3818
Van Gorkom Enews is produced by
Trish Williams, PR & Marketing Consultant, website
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How do I prevent blisters?
Some socks are more
abrasive than others, possibly depending on the synthetic materials used.
Moisture softens skin until even the slightest friction will cause a
blister. The thickness of the sock under the stress of wearing it
needs to match the ones I made the boots for.
If you keep yourself in shape in a gym all winter and then build up to a
big hike and go, your legs and the rest of your body will do well, but
your feet will suffer, because they themselves have to be toughened up and
broken in. At the gym you are wearing soft cushy gym shoes---not the
same as all leather-hiking boots. Also, the boots need occasional
wearing to some extent just to keep them limber, so the one big hike of
the year is not also the one big break-in of the year.
Some things to
prevent this: Put some research into getting a back-up pair of socks
that matches your favorite pair.
Next, take small hikes in your boots throughout the year to keep them and
your feet in shape for the big one.
This next step will help most of all: It’s the broomstick handle
trick that will shape your counters more perfectly. Make a solution of one
part rubbing alcohol to one part water. Take the footbed out of the
boots and apply a sponge soaked with the solution to the inside of the
boot where the blisters were coming from----about 1.5cm up from the base,
and just off center to the outside. You can wet the whole counter.
Then take a wooden broom handle, and bracing the screw end against the
floor and in the instep of one foot to keep the handle from slipping,
insert the rounded wooden handle into the boot and press and work it into
the place in the counter where you were getting the blisters. You
can actually shape the counter this way and push the place out just a
little where rubbing was making the blisters. Work the handle around
so that you don't leave any ridges in the softened leather, but leaving it
still concave just where you need it to be. When you are done, put
the foot bed back in and try them on. When you've got it right, the place
where the blisters were being made will no longer be rubbing.... the
alcohol would have taken some of the oils out of the leather, so when the
boots are dry, re-oil and wax the inside of the boots.... This
should do it.
Note: Where some blisters develop most is
also a place where bone spurs develop. You may have bone spurs
starting to grow. I don't think this is a problem medically
speaking, but for the fit of your boots it is.
Blisters around the heels: If you take a 50% solution of rubbing alcohol
and water on a sponge and apply it to the area where you are getting the
blisters, then use a short wooden or plastic handle of something that will
fit in there, you can work and reshape the area that is causing the
blisters. You can even use the rounded end of a broom handle, the
other end braced in your instep on the floor, to reshape the leather
counter when it is wet with the alcohol solution. You just want to
concave the leather around where it is rubbing, so it better fits the
shape of your heel and doesn't rub any more.
If you have other questions, be sure to check out our FAQ
page for answers!
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