There are only a few things in the world that are more embarrassing than a toe hole in your shoe. Apart from the fact that they can be immensely uncomfortable, they can also harm your toes. Shoes are meant to protect your feet, but toe holes just leave some space for the elements to get inside.
How do you prevent toe holes in shoes? You can prevent toe holes in shoes by using quality toe protectors ahead of time. Keeping your toenails trim also helps immensely. You can use those or other methods to protect your precious shoes from holes in the toe area.
How Do Toe Holes Form in Shoes?
1. Friction
This is the main culprit and the cause of toe holes in shoes. Because your toes are continuously in a rubbing motion with the upper part of your shoes, you’re going to experience a wearing away over time.
The mesh of your toe box is delicate, and depending on the quality of shoes you buy, it can easily wear away. This is the leading cause of toe holes in shoes.
2. Poor Shoe Maintenance and Excessive Use
If you overuse a pair of shoes, you may cause it to tear up at the toes, and even other places. This can also happen if your shoe maintenance is poor. Exposing shoes to water, fire, and so on can weaken the construct.
3. Ill-fitting Shoes
Ill-fitted shoes will make your feet uncomfortable. Your toes will constantly fight to make some room and will end up expanding the shoe material. When this is done, the shoe may open up at the toe area, and the hole will keep getting worse.
4. Wide Feet
With wide feet, you’re going to expand your shoes and that may lead to tearing. That’s why it’s important for you to get well-fitted shoes. Consider the fact that your feet are wide and shop for accommodating shoes.
5. Oddly-Shaped Feet
Oddly-shaped feet also aggravate the wear and tear in shoes. If you have irregularly shaped feet, you should see a podiatrist to help recommend solutions and give you pointers on how to purchase shoes.
6. Wrong Use of Shoes
If you use walking shoes for running or other high impact activities, the shoes may lose their essence. Shoes are designed for different purposes and you should note this to avoid damaging your shoes.
7. Tearing from Sharp Objects
If you hit a sharp object while walking, it can easily cause a hole in your shoe. Although this is not a common cause of toe holes, it can happen.
10 Methods to Keep Toe Holes Away
Having seen how toe holes happen in shoes, you may have already guessed why you had one on your old pair of sneakers.
Well, since prevention is better than cure, it’s time to see how to avoid getting toe holes in your shoes.
Technique 1. Buy Durable Shoes Only
Investing in durable shoes once and for all always saves one a lot of stress. The surefire way to prevent toe holes is to buy shoes made with durable materials.
Although the truth is that even durable shoes sometimes get toe holes because of wrong use and maintenance. But you would have raised the bar significantly and made it more difficult to get toe holes by buying durable shoes.
Technique 2. Look for Shoes with Deep Toe Box
If your toes are constantly looking for a room, you’re going to get toe holes sooner or later. It won’t matter that you got durable shoes. That’s because your toes will relentlessly continue to hit the mesh of your toe box.
It’s best to get shoes with roomy or deep toe boxes. You can make sure of this by trying your shoes on at the store before you buy them.
If any of your toes leans over another when you wear the shoes, the toe box is most likely tight. If you’re ordering online, you can go a half size up to get a room for your toes.
Technique 3. Patch Ahead! (Shoe Armour)
This is an act of being proactive that can save you a lot of money, and more, your shoes. Take your new shoes to a professional cobbler to help you make a shoe armor.
They would make a patch inside the toe area of your shoes so that even if rubbing were to occur, the armor will take the hit.
Technique 4. Use Quality Running Socks
Using quality socks when you wear your shoes can also help immensely. It reduces the friction against the toe box.
Technique 5. Keep Toenails Short or Trimmed
Surprisingly, long toenails can poke holes in your toe box. Keep your toenails trimmed to prevent this.
Technique 6. Use Toe Protectors
Toe protectors are also called toe caps. They help to cover the toe area of pointed shoes especially.
Rubbing during friction is thus minimized and you can enjoy wearing your shoes without the embarrassment of toe holes.
Technique 7. Avoid Shoes that Rub
You should also avoid shoes that rub. If you purchase a pair of shoes and notice that they’re rubbing excessively against your toes, heels, ankles, or other areas, consider sending them back.
Rubbing does no good. It harms your feet’s skin as well as damages the shoes You can buy shoes with fair return policies to ensure you don’t run at a loss because of rubbing shoes.
Technique 8. Rotate Your Shoes
It goes without saying that you can prolong the lifespan of your shoes by rotating them. Don’t excessively use just one pair of shoes.
Technique 9. Keep Your Shoes from the Elements
Maintain your shoes properly. Except they’re designed to take the brunt of the elements during temperamental weathers, don’t expose your shoes.
Technique 10. Avoid Ill-fitted Shoes
Ill-fitted shoes are a pain in the feet. They don’t just distort your posture or cause toe holes, they are also capable of giving you pains in your feet and lower back. You’re better off without them.
Why Do I Get Holes in My Heel Lining?
Just as toe holes occur in shoes, holes also occur in the heel lining. This is also due to wear and tear. Ill-fitted shoes can aggravate this. So can excessive pronation of the wearer.
To prevent this, you can get shoes with good heel padding and reduce pronation by purchasing corrective insoles.
Why Do My Toes Poke Holes in My Shoes?
Overall, shoes poke holes in shoes because of friction that occurs when your toes rub against the mesh of your toe box.
Ill-fitted shoes also cause your toes to poke holes in your shoes. If your nails are sharp, this can also happen.
Can a Cobbler Fix a Toe Hole in Shoes?
Toe holes are better prevented than fixed. Your cobbler may be able to sew a patch onto the toe hole from inside. But it’s not usually an attractive option.
It can also be embarrassing if the patch comes off when you’re out. The best thing is to prevent toe holes from happening to your shoes.
Happy Shoes, Happy Feet!
If your shoes are in perfect shape, your feet will be too! The health of your feet is more crucial than you may think so avoid wearing bad shoes.
Prevent toe holes to elongate the life span of your shoes by using any of the ten methods we’ve explained. Keep toe holes away and look good always!
