Breaking in Shoes by Getting them Wet

I heard many times that getting a pair of tight climbing shoes wet and wearing them for a while while wet will help to break them in, but I have never tried it, nor heard how else it affects the shoes. 

What has your experience been? 

Leather uppers, yes. Get in the shower with them on, wear them a while after then dry them. Synthetic uppers, try just warming them a little and wearing them, wet doesn't help much.

Where's Walden wrote:

What has your experience been? 

I've done it to every pair of leather shoes I've purchased for the past ten years. It works for me, with no deleterious effects to the shoes.

Wearing them in the hot shower is my preferred method.

Rinse the inside and go climb, works on leather like a charm. My feet are 3/4" different in size. The key is climbing in them until they dry or they'll shrink back up, especially in the desert.

100% also works with synthetic uppers as well. Its basically just like skipping the first 5-10 times wearing a shoe while they are still brand new.

Confirmed - I tried that on TC Pros and it worked great. 5 min of room temperature shower (on shoes only, don't think the rest of your body matters:)), 10 min of walking in them on flat surface, then stuff them as tightly as you can with paper towels and leave to dry in the shade for a couple of days.

Newspaper stuffing also keeps the stink away, mom will appreciate not losing half a roll of paper towels.

Matt Griffin wrote:

100% also works with synthetic uppers as well. Its basically just like skipping the first 5-10 times wearing a shoe while they are still brand new.

Totally agree.Game changer for me with one or two models that I wear that had troublesome break in periods

I stomp around on my toes with mine on in a hot shower and it does wonders

I break in my TC Pros in a hot shower while wearing them with a thick pair of socks. I then go about my morning routine with them on. They shape perfectly to my feet with a little room to spare when my feet swell in the afternoon. 

I did this several times over with one pair of Black Diamond Aspect shoes that seemed to keep shrinking in the Las Vegas heat.

I apparently over did it because the leather ripped along the inside of my foot where rubber met leather towards the front end.

ripped on both shoes within a week of each other.

This technique works but be careful. 

Excessively sweaty feet have a similar affect.