Achieving Booted Bliss

This rand has peeled away due to improper care

Crossing the laces forms a pulley to make tightening easier

Keep your feet warmer on the trail - leave your sweaty driving socks in the car!

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Like the bumpers on your car, the rubber strip called a rand that extends up the sides or at least the toe of many boots does a great job of protecting wear-prone areas of your footwear. It also helps keep water away from the leak-prone junction of the boot upper and the sole. That is until it starts to peel back to form a neat little gutter that collects water and increases the chances of it soaking inside the boot. On quality boots, the glue-jobs holding the rubber rands to leather are now quite reliable, but the bond will still succumb to abuse. Here's how to keep the rubber on the leather:

• Don't overheat the boots - especially at the toes around campfires!
• Don't dry wet boots too quickly. At home, let them air dry in a cool, dark place.
• Don't over-apply leather treatments along the edge of the rand. Substances in the treatments are reputed to weaken many glues over time.

Lace With Oomph

People whose hands are not strong or who have soft skin often have trouble putting enough tension on the laces. The unforgiving nylon cords even produce friction blisters in that tender skin fold on the underside of pinkies. An ace bootfitter showed my wife this trick, and for her it was almost worth the cost of the boots. A simple difference in the way you hold and pull the laces gives you the needed tension, but you use barely more than half the normal amount of force.

• Loop the two laces around each other like the touching parts of two links on a chain.
• Hold one loop while you pull the other. This pulley effect produces a 2-to-1 leveraging advantage and develops almost double the tightening force on the laces.
• Make sure the sides of the"chain links" are almost parallel — don't pull upwards — otherwise you'll diminish force.
• Hold the tension and, with some arm-crossing, loop the laces around the next set of hooks.

Avoid Starting With Cold Toes

Toasting your toes under the car heater feels good on the drive to the trailhead on cold mornings, but you'll pay for it later. Your socks and boot insulation can become wet as feet perspire, which can lead to an immediate cool down once you get out of the car. There's a different way to approach a hike:

• Don't wear your boots in the car (even if you aren't driving!).
• Change into fresh dry socks at the trailhead before you start your trip.
• Hang your damp driving socks over the rearview mirror or the sun visors, or drape them on the dashboard - they'll dry out considerably during the day if there is any sunshine at all. Then they'll be ready to use for your drive home.