Boots are highly fashionable as well as practical until they start announcing their presence with loud squeaky noises. The sudden tabbing sounds may draw unwanted attention and leave you embarrassed at times.
Also, if you are into hiking or hunting, it’s evident that you wouldn’t want your boots to disrupt the natural balance of your surroundings.
Thankfully, there are some effective ways to make boots quieter that ensure you walk carefree while wearing your favorite pair of boots.
Also read: Quiet Hunting Boots: Most Quiet And Comfortable Hunting Boots
In our article today, we will be looking into the main noise sources of your boots and guide you towards handling these issues to tone down the noise. So, without any further ado, let’s get down to boots and learn how to keep them nice and quiet.
Top 10 Best Ways To Make Your Boots Quieter
Every time you take a step with your noisy boots, it is obvious to feel self-conscious. To make your boots quieter, you need to begin by identifying what is causing the noise.
The heels of your boots may be making a clicking sound as you walk on smooth floor surfaces. Similarly, your boot insole, outsole, or instep may be making squeaking noises too.
However, it’s not always the old boots that are the main culprits. New boots are likely to make sounds if they are made of thick leather. The same goes for damp boots.
Regardless of the reason, there are some great ways to prevent boots from squeaking or making strange noises. Here are our top 6 tips for making boots quieter.
Fix Noisy Boot Insoles
The rubber sole of your boot may rub against your boot insole to emanate noise. This is more likely if your insole is damp and if you have sweaty feet. Once you figure out the issue, you will have a few options to sort it out right away.
Apply Talcum Powder To Reduce Moisture
After a long walk in the rain, you may start noticing an awful squeaking noise with each step. For quieter walking boots, just go ahead and remove your insoles. Pour a generous amount of talcum powder to reduce friction between the sole of your boots and the insole. The heel of your boots should be fully covered as this part will make the most noise. While doing so, ensure that the powder is distributed evenly.
After this, leave your boots in a dry place for a day or two so that all the moisture gets absorbed by the talcum powder. Before inserting the insole again, carefully throw out all the powder and wipe it clean with a dry cloth. Now, you can wear it and enjoy a quiet walk.
Put Some Petroleum Jelly To Reduce Friction
Petroleum jelly is another great way to fix noisy insoles. While applying it, the goal is to create a layer in between the sole of your noisy boot and the insole. This will reduce friction with the replacement insole and make your boots less noisy.
Wear Thick Socks To Prevent Sweaty Feet
As mentioned above, one of the major reasons for noisy insoles is sweaty feet. To prevent this, you may use thick or sport socks. They will ensure that the insides are no longer wet. Also, your feet will remain dry without fail.
Replace Insoles With Dryer Sheets
One pro tip you might not have known, quality dryer sheets can be used to deal with moisture insoles. Get measurements for your insole and cut them to the size. Using them overnight regularly will help reduce the sound from your insoles in the long run. You can completely replace your insole too. Just make sure that your replacement insole is cut-to-size.
Use Glue For Proper Affixation
Sometimes the insole and your boot bottom do not stick to each other properly. It causes more friction when you walk and create noises. You can use strong glue and attach both parts so that there’s less friction and less noise during movement.
Soften Up The Outsoles
Your boots may have rubber outsoles that will make squeaking noises against wooden floors, granite, etc. The sound will become more prominent against these flat surfaces with new boots. So, how can you make your new boots quieter? Here’s how:
Wear Out The Outsoles
One way of stopping noisy shoes would involve stretching them out. You can start by wearing your new boots often on cement roads. The outer base will thus become supple and your outsole will have less grip. As a result, the squeaks will disappear.
Sand Down The Bottom
If practice-walking seems like a lot of work, a quick and efficient way would be to use sandpaper. Generally, a 60 grit sandpaper can wear down the outsoles pretty well. In this method, you can apply sandpaper at the section for the forefoot, the outsole grooves, and the outer surface. Rubbing against the sandpaper will wear out the new outsole and prevent it from making any sound.
Dry Up The Outsoles
If your outsole is wet and full of debris, it will make squeaking sounds. Try to keep your outsole clean by wiping it with water and then drying it under the sun. For outdoor boots, use a boot scrubber to remove the dirt. Then, wipe the outsole trenches with a damp, warm cloth. In this way, your booths will not make noise while walking.
Loosen Up The Tight Insteps
If the instep of your boots is too tight, the resulting friction will make a squeaking sound. To solve this issue, you have two great choices.
Use A Boot Instep Stretcher
A boot instep stretcher can be adjusted to the expansion level you need. Once you put it in, leave it inside your boots overnight. The results should be there the next morning. Your boots will fit perfectly and there will be no more annoying noises!
Method B: Get A Saddle Soap For Stretching Insteps
Saddle soap can also be used if you want instant results. First, wipe the instep with a damp cloth. Repeat the process, only this time dip the cloth into the saddle soap. To ensure that the leather is smooth and soft, apply the soap both internally and externally. Remove the saddle soap and leave your boots out to dry. Wear it when it’s completely dried up and free of angry squeaks.
Always Keep Your Boots Dry (Always!)
If your boots get wet somehow, they will squeak the next time you wear them. The leather will become dry and stiff to make your boots noisy. If your leather boots are wet for too long, expect a creaking sound every time you take a step. Therefore, make sure you get your wet boots dry as soon as possible.
Use A Boot Dryer
Using boot dryers is a fast and effective way to dry up damp boots. It will go into your shoes and use light heat. You can also hang your boots upside down and insert vertical boot dryers inside. This method will stop fungus and odor-causing bacteria from growing. The result is faster than leaving out in the sun and thus, is a quick escape from noisy boots.
Apply Boot Conditioner
Mink oil is a great boot conditioner to prevent boots from squeaking. This works particularly well on waterproof or water-resistant boots.
Break In Your New boots
Boots are usually made with heavy-duty thick leather. These are prone to squeaking, especially in new and unused conditions. Sometimes the safety toe is rubbed by the stiff leather to make an annoying noise. Therefore, try to wear your boots everywhere so that they can adapt to your feet. Get thick socks so that your feet are comfortable during the 1-3 weeks breaking in period. When your boots are past the breaking stage, they will hardly make any noise. If there are still any noises, here are some methods that you can try out.
Put A Boots Softener
With leather boots, check the type of leather that your new boots are made of. It can be suede, full-grain, or nubuck. Make sure that you are using the correct type of quality cream or oil to soften the leather. Cover the entirety of your new boots with a good-quality softener and get rid of noisy boots.
Take Advantage Of Heel Inserts
You do not want your boots to be both noisy and ill-fitting. If your boots are slipping on the rear side, use heel grips. You can use several of them to take up the extra room. They will absorb the impact from walking and the sound will be less pronounced. Thick gel inserts will also serve this purpose well enough.
6. Wear Sneek Boots While Hunting
If your loud boots scare off your target while hunting, wearing a sneek boot may be the total game-changer for you. Sneek boots are designed with state-of-the-art sound elimination technology which effectively reduces the noise of your moving. These boots have Polar Fleece soles with webbing extended all around. So, you can easily wear over your hunting boots to move quietly without breaking any twigs.
7. Attach Heel Caps To Your Boots
If you hear a clicking sound from your boots, look at your heels. Stacked leather heels have individual leather slabs piled on top of each other. This sound is more noticeable when you are walking on a wooden or marble floor. To avoid this unwelcoming sound, purchase rubber heel caps and glue them to the heels of your boots. Rubber is soft and elastic and using rubber heel caps will quiet down your boots significantly.
8. Fix Your Old Heel Caps
You can choose to remove your old heel caps completely if they are the main source of the noise. However, it is best to go to a cobbler if you want to replace the heel caps on your boots. An alternative to this would be attaching duct tape to the heel of your boots. This is an effective and cheap means to address noisy boots.
Replace The Half Sole
The half sole can break your peace too. You can replace it to minimize the tab sound of the hard base. Take the help of a cobbler to do so. However, remember that you will be able to replace the half sole only once.
Use An Adhesive On The Soles
You may have a perfect pair of boots that doesn’t make much noise as daily wear but requires extra attention for your hunting endeavors. In this case, you can opt for temporary adhesives so that you can remove those when you don’t need your boots to be extra quiet and add them again when you need to.A quick and temporary method of fixing a noisy sole is using duct tape or gaffer tape that will dampen the sound at least 50%. You may also use anti-slip shoe grips. These adhesive pads will help your boots become quiet even on flat surfaces.
Tips To Walk Quietly Tn Your Boots – Simple Solutions For Walking Silently
While you can try out any of our aforementioned methods to fix your noisy boots, there might still be some noise when you are outdoors. Although it’s natural to step on some crunchy leaves or fallen twigs, the noise may beware your targets while hunting. To avoid these, you may need to switch up your walking style a bit so that you get the maximum benefits out of your quiet boots.
Shift Your Weight According To The Place
While it’s more common to experience a noisy walk while being outdoors, sometimes your boots might make a click-clack noise when you are climbing stairs. This occurs when it exerts more of your weight on the heels of your boots. To avoid this, you can grab a hold of the stair railing. This will minimize the weight you put on the heels and make your walking more comfortable and quiet.
Walk On Tip-Toes
If you want to minimize the noise from walking while moving closer to your target, try out walking on tip-toes. Basically, start each step by placing your toes on the ground first, then slowly place the heel. This will ensure your weight is evenly distributed throughout the boots and reduce the sound considerably.
Watch Where You Step
Sometimes paying attention to the ground can also play a major role in walking quietly. If you watch your obstacles while treading outdoors, you may be able to avoid stepping on autumnal leaves or dry twigs. This will ensure that there’s no unwanted noise while you are moving in a forest.
Frequently Asked Questions For Quieter Boots
Why do my boots make noise when I walk?
Your boots may be noisy due to their poor design or due to excessive friction. There are many parts of your boots that may rub against each other to make the squeaking noise. Usually, boots that have a stiff upper surface are loud. The outsole will make a squeaking noise against surfaces that are smooth too. Then again, the laces of your boots will make an annoying noise when it rubs against your boot tongue. Sometimes the insoles of your boots will have shifted if you have worn your boots for a long time and make noise while walking.
How do I stop leather boots from squeaking?
You can stop your leather boots from squeaking by identifying the source of the squeak. You will need to reduce the friction in that part of your shoes. A conditioner or mink oil can be used to soften the insoles in new boots. For outsoles, use a sandpaper to roughen it up. Whether it’s a new or old pair, keep the boots dry and clean to prevent any awkward noise.
How do I prevent boots from clicking on hard floors?
The outsole of your boots will make clicking noises on hard floors if it’s made of hard material. Add a sound-absorbing material, i.e., rubber soles at the bottom of your boots. These are anti-slip and will not create noise while walking.
Why are my boots making noise after using them for a few months?
Your old boots will make squeaking noises when they are wet. To avoid it, check if the insoles are removable. Chances are that the insole and the sole are rubbing against each other to make the squeaky noise. Apply talcum powder or petroleum jelly for optimal results.
Final Thought On How To Make Boots Quieter
As you can see, there are several options to make your boots quieter. The key is to identify the source of the noise at first. You can tailor your method according to the source. You will not need to worry about any sound from your boots after this. This will increase the longevity and comfort of your boots.
Whatever you do, try to avoid any random DIY method to soften your new leather boots and stick to professionally engineered products to maintain your expensive and high-quality footwear.