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Red Wing 8092
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Hi,
I'm after tapping into the collective knowledge:I've always used shoe trees for my shoes to preserve the shape, reduce creases and generally care for them when they're not part of a regular rotation.
I've never thought to do this for my boots (a couple of coats of obenaufs a year and the occasional brush to get rid of dirt seems to be enough to keep them going.)
Cleaning up a pair of old Whites SDs for the autumn/ fall got me wondering whether 'boot trees' could be worthwhile to keep the boot's shape during the summer when they're not getting much attention.
My shoe trees won't fit and are clearly the wrong shape for the White's 55 last, probably because of the arch support.Does anyone use "boot-trees"?
Any recommendations for something that fit White's boots?
Thanks all! -
I’ve never really used shoe trees or boot trees. I take that back, I do have one pair of shoe trees and a pair for some Viberg slippers, but only because I bought them years ago.
To me, shoe trees make the most sense if you’re a suit-and-tie guy wearing dress shoes every day and you want them to stay looking as immaculate and structured as possible. For heritage footwear, I’ve just never really understood the obsession with them.
Unless you’re storing your boots in a way where they’re getting mashed down, stacked on top of each other, or otherwise losing their shape, I don’t really see what a boot tree is accomplishing. It’s not taking out creases, it’s not preventing patina, and it’s not going to stop the leather from molding to your foot over time. I’m sure it can help maintain the general shape and structure a little bit, but ultimately wear is going to dictate what your footwear looks like, and a shoe tree isn’t going to change that.
I know there are die-hard shoe-tree people, and that’s fine. I’m just not one of them. I also know plenty of guys who are really into heritage footwear who never use them and feel pretty much the same way.
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@northsouthdenimguy Agree, I have a couple pairs that I rotate, really only use after a long, hot day. i figure the cedar sucks up the moisture
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Although cedar is porous, it really doesn’t pull out nearly as much moisture as people seem to think. If moisture is the concern, you’re probably better off lightly stuffing them with newspaper or another absorbent material, or using a boot fan or some other form of airflow.
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Natural Lous
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@dan79 I use shoe trees in all my footwear, including boots. It takes ages for my boots to look worn as a result (which may not be what you want). The generic ones ft well enough, even in my Whites.
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@dan79 I use shoe trees for my oxfords and formal shoes, and boot trees for the boots that I want to hold their shape such as my cowboy boots and my redwings/service boots.
For my engineers I do not use boot trees as they have a soft toe and I want the horsebutt to roll and a boot tree would significantly increase the time for this to happen and also make the rolls less prominent.
Trees can also help if you're in humid environments (like me in Australia) for shoes/boots that you either wear very often or that just get damp from wear/sweat/water etc. Obviously this only goes for cedar or similar wooden trees; cedar is preferable for its ability to reduce odours.
In my opinion, for people that don't spend the time looking after their shoes/boots with regular cleaning and the occasional oil/condition/polish etc shoe trees are a very easy way to extend the life of your boots. If you're good at doing regular maintenance to your shoes then trees are honestly just good for odour and shape retention.
Edit: Added photos. My redwings and chisos boots here are both about 2yrs old with very regular wear and have always had boot trees and a lot of care put into maintaining them. My Addict Engineers are now about 1.5months old with lots of regular hard wear and no shoe trees and only minimal brushing for maintenance in order to test and increase potential patina. They are just starting to form rolls now and if I had been using shoe trees I doubt they would be rolling so soon.
