Well, that's special.

Some weeks ago I finally bit the bullet on a pair of Chaco's PedShed shoes. I love my Chaco sandals and thought these would be the perfect addition to my winter footwear wardrobe. Especially since they came with the promise of being able to go sockless for at least part of the winter given the identical eva footbed that the sandals use.

When they arrived I was pretty pleased. The leather feels soft to the touch and the sole has great flex. They just felt a little tight. So I tried out this shoe stretching trick I learned a few years ago: insert a ziplock bag into the shoe, fill part way with water and seal. Place shoe, with bag of water, in the freezer overnight. In the morning, let the shoe sit out for 10 or so minutes before removing the bag of (now) ice. Use a towel to wipe out any excess condensation or ice. Ta da! Since water naturally expands when frozen the even expansion helps stretch your shoe. Works best on leather.

So, I tried the trick. Not once, not twice but many times and still the tightness won't give. It gets the tiniest, smiggiest bit better and then, by the end of the day, they feel tight again (I blame this on my feet swelling during the day, as all our feet do.) You can imagine what it was like trying to put these closer-than-a-glove shoes on this morning. When I travel and walk a metric ton every day my feet swell and I abuse the crap out of them, making them see one more street, one more shop, one more sight before considering turning back. This morning the shoes barely went on, but they did go on. By the time I got back to the Colisseum I was dying. I pulled my Toms out of my bag and slipped them on. In comparison it felt like slipping my hurty feet into little clouds of sleepy heaven. Now, I brought the Toms thinking they would be relief shoes. I did not think I would be wearing them all day. Cause really, they're not supportive enough for that. Tomorrow it's back to the hiking boots. And when I get back stateside I will ice the Chacos. Again. And again. And again.