Ballet Boot Advice

[blahblahblah]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice. I have been a big fan of ballet boots for a while now and I'm looking into buying some. I really want to learn how to stand in them and eventually walk. What balet boots are the most comfortable for walking, offer the best foot support, etc. I have also heard that wearing actual pointe shoes inside boots that are big enough can help you walk, but I doubt it. I have also heard that boots from The Little Shoe Box are good for walking, but they are very hard to find. What do you think? P.S. I know to use toe pads inside. Thanks.

[Rockpup]

Heya, I'm probably the one you heard about the pointe shoes from, although thats still in the experimental stages at this time. The boots from Devious don't seem to be a good choise for beginers, and TLSB are pretty much an Ebay only item now since they are no longer made. I've yet to try either Extravaganza.de or punitive shoes, although both pairs seem to have a more relaxed angle of the ankle then the Devious boots so they may be a good starting point if you plan to walk in them for any amount of time or distance. The padding is critical, expect to play with a few diferent types and combinations to find the setup that works well for you. My current thought is to find a way to protect the foot from injury, -then- work on endurance. So far I can stand and walk around the house for a little over an hour but I put too much stress on the 2nd toe nail and damage it causing the new nail to grow under it, so my setup isnt quite done yet. I have the acct balletbootguy on youtube, and you can see me put on the pointe shoes I use before putting the boots on in a very recent video. If you can think of any other questions please feel free to ask. There are a few older threads in this forum that you might want to review as there has been a bit of info shared over the years from people. Another member had good luck using silicone gel to create a custom toe pad that became part of the boots. That might be an option but I havnt tried it yet.

[blahblahblah]

Ok Thanks. I've seen some of your vids on youtube. I'll think about what you've said.

[blahblahblah]

I looked at the Punitive shoes site and they look very stable, the discription of the care put into the constuction also makes me confident in the durability. The only problem is that I'm kind of short on cash, same thing with the LSB boots, if I ever find some. I'll keep looking though. Maybe I'll find a good deal on e-bay.

[Rockpup]

The boots used in my videos are from Devious. They can be walked in but you have to be very carefull not to put stress on the heel by bending it toward the toe area. That appears to be their weak point and a few people have mentioned they broke the heel off that way. Unfortunatly since the ankle is held at that angle it's very tempting to put the foot down when it's not perfectly verticle, which means the heel is angled, resulting in stress on the heel. Basically, you can not walk in these like you would normal shoes, I've noticed that I have to put my foot down with my shin perpendicular to the ground already, which means the foot is already in the correct position. This might be a goofy walking style, but since they were not intended for walking in you have to make adjustments I have spent time walking in the Devious boots without the pointe shoes. It can be done just for shorter amounts of time. Try 1-2 sizes over your shoe size if your male, or pretty much street shoe size if you are female. The boot should be pretty snug around your foot, but you do not want your toes to touch the bottom as you will need that space for padding. I recomend finding a gel toe pad with a fabric covering to keep it from getting hung up inside the boot. Ouch pads by bunheads are my current favorite. Give em a shot. loose wool padding from dance shops can also be a good idea as you can stuff it down to aproximate the shape of your toes inside the boot. As I said, play around with padding types untill you find something thats either comfortable, or not bad. If you try standing up and something hurts stop and adjust right away. Pain is bad, hehe.

[roniheels]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice. I have been a big fan of ballet boots for a while now and I'm looking into buying some. I really want to learn how to stand in them and eventually walk. What balet boots are the most comfortable for walking, offer the best foot support, etc. I have also heard that wearing actual pointe shoes inside boots that are big enough can help you walk, but I doubt it. I have also heard that boots from The Little Shoe Box are good for walking, but they are very hard to find. What do you think?

P.S. I know to use toe pads inside.

Thanks.

Have fun, but be very, very careful.

[DR Who 3]

I have a pair of Devious ankel boots with the locking ankle strap. I can walk around /stand for over 2 hr. I use leo's gel pads with toe saver gel pads placed inside where my big toes meet the leos pads. I also use some foam padding on the top of the Leo gel pads and also have the foam cover the higher area of my toes. When you put your foot in the boots and start to put your weight on them you will find that a lot of pressure is placed on the top of your toes agenst the front inside of the toe box. Padding is a must here but it must not move up and down as you walk or you will blister the top of your toes. For me I find that if I wear the boots barefoot I can wear them longer because my foot is held higher in the boot allowing less contact with my big toes on the serfice I'm walking on. I tighten the boot laces very tight on my feet and I find that I only have some ankle pain and it eventualy goes away after walking for a while. I try to make my walking/standing sessions as long as I can until my toes are needing relief. My boots are size 12 and my shoe size is 10 US. I hope to increase the time and lengh of my walking sessions as I get a great work out with these things with much less havic on the rest of my body as other exercise methods. Also I have fashioned a ( gusset)conection between the boots sole and the heel making the heels very stable and makeing the heels unbreakable. I did this before I started walking in them because I didn't want the down time trying to fix a broken heel. By this time I was hoping to post some pictures but haven't been able to as yet. I hope this helps and if you have questions please don't hesitate to ask. Best to you in finding a pair to start you on a, on your toes adventure. Dr. Who 3

[Rockpup]

Dr Who: The gusset is a good idea. I've pondered the idea of fabricating a wedge heel to a pair of devious boots, but am not sure what material I should use to form one with. Would be tempting to fabricate a 'foot' to fit in a pair of shoes/boots, although someone would probably notice that my legs are several inches longer then they should be.

[DR Who 3]

Because I have access to fiberglass products I fashioned the gusset from a piece of fiberglass aprox. 3/16" thick and abour 2 1/2" long x the width of the distance from the sole of the boot to the inside of the heel. I built up the sole with fiberglass matt from the toes to about 1/2 way up the sole to renforce the toe area to keep it from crushing( I have read that the boots tend to crush with walking time) this was aprox 1/8" thick at the toes and tapering to almost nothing at the top of the sole just before the heel conection. I fitted the gusset between the sole and heel and cut it to a gothic looking shape ( I didn't want to make the boots look like wedge heels) so there is an open space at the top of sole where the sole meets the heel and there is an open space at the bottom between the sole where the heel plate is fastened. I used 40z.fiberglass cloth strips to wrap the heel and gusset and to fix the gusset to the sole on each side. This looked quite messy until I sanded everything well and mixed up a coat of blaack gel coat and covered every thing with it. The finished product looks quite nice and the boot's heel is stable as a rock no worries of breaking it off with normal use. I hope to soon take some pictures and post them but as I have to do most of this stuff in secret I haven't had the opportunity yet. I was away out of town a while back and alone so I wore the boots quite a lot of the time I wasen't working. Around the house fixing my meals, taking out the trash (a bit of a hike) and so on. I was hoping to weare them shopping but it didn't work out. I realy enjoy these things even though they are painfull at times. If you have any questions please ask and I'll try to answer as best I can. Until then Keep on your toes. Dr Who 3

[cheyenne]

I just recently purchased a pair of knee high ballet boots from Devious. I have been able to take a few steps at a time. It was way more comfortable on carpeted floors. I now know that I will need to get some padding for the toes. Do you know where can I find some? I know what you mean about taking it easy at first too. Once I get them on, I don't want to take them off, but the logical part of my brain says to take them off after about 15-20 minutes so I don't hurt myself. I am also a runner and I don't want to injure myself with these boots either. That could ruin my running career. I am planning on a little wearing each day until I can build up to some longer durations. I love these boots.

[Rockpup]

Cheyanne: Congrats on your purchase. Most dancewear shops carry toe pads, you will need a pair for pointe shoes. Might be tough to find a pair that fits if you have larger feet I also can't afford to injure myself wearing these boots, so I've taken it slowly over the years. Your running should help as alot of the muscles in your lower leg/ankle should be used to getting a workout. Don't think I need to tell you to listen to your body to know when you're starting to over to it.

[DR Who 3]

Try a local dance supply store. I found most of the padding I use from our local store or look on the web for Ballet dance products you should find a good assortment of padding products. I use Leo's gel pads I got them localy but you can order them from All About Dance.com I hope this helps. Also very important ! Stretch your feet in the pointe position for a few min. before and after a walkin/standing session. Dr Who 3