How to Keep Your Feet From Sliding Forward in Hiking Boots
In this article, we’ll share some lacing techniques to stop your feet from sliding forward in hiking boots, and share some other tips that might help.
Why Do Feet Slide Forward in Hiking Boots?
Most likely, your hiking boots are too long, which makes your feet slide forward and backward. This causes excessive rubbing and friction, which in turn greatly increases the chances of getting blisters and causes pain in the toe area.
But it could also be that your hiking boots are too short. In this case, your toes are pushing in the toebox, which results in a similar pain area in the toes.
Very frequently, both of these issues can be fixed with a simple lacing technique.
Learning to Tie a Surgeon's Knot
To use these lacing techniques, you'll first need to learn how to tie a Surgeon's knot, shown in the picture above. It's essentially a regular overhand knot, just with one extra turn.
- Cross one lace over and under the other one (this is a regular overhand knot, which you most likely already know)
- Do another turn around the other lace to finish a Surgeon's Knot
Lacing Technique #1: When Your Feet Are Sliding Forwards and Backwards (Or up and Down)
Ideally, there shouldn't be any movement inside your hiking boots (up and down or forwards and backwards). This can be achieved by lacing your hiking shoes or boots in a way that the area around the ankle is very tight.
This is usually achieved with a Surgeon's Knot, which allows you to tighten the laces more, and they don't come undone when you move on to the next loop.
- Tie the first 2-4 loops normally until you reach the ankle area
- In the ankle area, do 2-3 Surgeon's Knots. This will allow you to tighten the ankle area much more and keep your feet from sliding forward or up and down.
Lacing Technique #2: When Your Toes Feel Too Cramped
Sometimes, the toebox is too narrow, which makes your toes feel too cramped. This is bad as well because it increases rubbing between your toes, especially around the pinky, and it increases the chances of getting blisters.
The lacing technique below is my favorite lacing technique because it adds more room in the toebox area, while allowing the ankle area to stay tight. This is because the Surgeon's Knot in the middle isolates the loose area from the tight one.
- Skip the first 2-3 loops and instead, don't cross the laces.
- Immediately after that, do a surgeon's knot.
- Tie the rest of the shoe normally. Optionally, you can add another Surgeon's Knot if the ankle area feels too loose.
Why You Should Be Afraid Of the Hiker's Toenail
If you’re new to the world of hiking, you probably haven’t heard of “hiker's toenail”, but if you have, you’ll agree that it’s one of the most disgusting aspects of long-distance hiking. Essentially, “hiker's toenail” means that your toenail eventually becomes black and falls off completely. It’s a very painful experience, but it doesn’t mean that you have to stop hiking. It’s just a part of long-distance hiking that eventually happens to most people.
You can avoid hiker's toenail by making sure that your toe isn't pushing too much into the toebox, especially when walking downhill. If you're using the lacing technique above, you're most likely in the clear.
Another important aspect of avoiding hiker’s toenail is to regularly cut your toenails as short as you can, which will reduce the pressure from your toenails brushing against the shoe. So bringing a multitool or a Swiss Army knife with scissors on a long hike is really important.
Other Things That May Help With Feet Sliding Forward in Hiking Boots
Wear Two Layers of Socks
When your feet are sliding forward or up and down in hiking boots, chances are that they’re a bit too large for your feet. You could try fixing that by wearing two layers of socks or wearing thicker socks. The best combination that you could choose is wearing a thinner, moisture-wicking sock underneath (polyester or nylon liner sock) and a thicker, cushioned merino wool sock on the outside. This combination is great for comfort and blister reduction.
When Walking Downhill, Always Tie Your Shoes More Tightly
When walking downhill, your feet are naturally sliding forward because of gravity. That's why, before long downhill sections, I usually readjust my laces if they feel too loose. Otherwise, the toe will push into the toebox, and I'll get some pain around the toe.
When the downhill stretch ends, I usually readjust my laces to make them a bit looser. Otherwise, I'll get too much pain around the ankle and the top part of the foot.
Get a New Insole With Better Arch Support
When hiking boots get worn down, usually, the arch support of the insole gets too thin, which can cause your toes to start pushing against the toe box. When the arch support is in good condition, the insole is curved to the shape of your feet, and when your feet are curved, they’re a bit shorter. But when the arch support wears down, the bottom of the shoe becomes flat, and your feet become a bit longer in that position, which pushes the toes forward.
That’s why it’s important to regularly replace the insoles, and preferably, invest in high-quality ones with a lot of cushioning around the arch support and around the toebox. Getting a high-quality insole often fixes most issues with foot slippage in hiking boots.
Use a Thicker Insole That Fills the Gap at the Bottom
If your feet are sliding up and down, a thicker insole might help with keeping them in place. There are special insoles made for this purpose, so you might want to try them out if a regular insole with good arch support doesn’t help.
Use a Tongue Pad
Another accessory that helps with feet sliding forward is a tongue pad. It’s attached to the hiking boot tongue and keeps the hiking boot closer to your heel, instead of the toebox. Tongue pads are a good idea even if there’s no foot slippage because they act as additional padding around the tongue. Often, the tongue is too thin, and you can feel your laces brushing against your feet, so having a bit of padding there helps.
Always Try on Hiking Shoes In-Store
Although this isn’t a solution to any boots that you currently own, this is something that you should keep in mind the next time you’re buying hiking boots. Purchasing boots online can sometimes work, but it’s really a gamble because no matter how good the reviews are, everyone’s feet are unique.
So the next time you buy hiking boots, make sure to go to a reputable hiking store and get help from a professional. Ask the store employee to help you find a hiking boot that’s a good fit for you. They’ll usually know which boots are more comfortable and which have issues with feet sliding forward. Make sure to try out many different pairs and to walk a few minutes around the store to see if it’s really the right boot for you. Also, make sure to wear your hiking socks instead of your regular socks.
Another thing that helps is properly breaking in your hiking boots, which will improve the overall comfort levels and reduce blisters.
Try Different Types of Hiking Footwear
If you’ve tried all of the points mentioned above and your feet are still sliding forward in hiking boots, maybe it’s time to try out other hiking footwear instead. Next time you go to a hiking gear store, try on various hiking shoes, lower or higher-cut hiking boots, and trail runners to see if maybe some of them feel better on your feet.
Although boots provide the most support and generally are better for mountains and when carrying heavier loads, hiking shoes can often achieve the same results. That said, it’s a good idea to do some ankle mobility exercises if you’re switching to lower-cut hiking boots or to hiking shoes, as they are more likely to cause an injury if your ankles aren’t mobile enough.
Final Words
When your feet are sliding forward or up and down in new hiking boots, you might think that it isn’t fixable, but in reality, there are a lot of things that you can do. You can use various lacing techniques to keep certain areas tighter than others, add insoles with better arch support, add tongue pads, or wear thicker socks. You just need to adjust certain things, and your hiking boots will feel comfortable again.