Hiking boot heel liners

It's a bit of a bodge but having destroyed the heel liner in some trail shoes I smeared a layer of silicone over the damaged area and got a good bit more use out them.

Yeah I have made my own a couple of times using either thin leather that I scavenged from old shoes or thin foam. Glued in with evo stick.

Both worked pretty well and were comfy.

I think you can also buy leather from craft supplies. You can also cut the foam from a insole, it's quite robust. 

If he's repeatedly wearing out the heels are his boots a bit too big or too wide in the heel? Different lacing patterns can help with heel grip: https://explorerchick.com/journal/how-to-lace-boots-for-hiking/

Could also be because he's not undoing the laces fully before he takes them off? 

Anyway, get some of these: https://lockwoods.com/products/therm-ic-cambrelle-self-adhesive-covers  and trim to size.

Or even better some ski shops have the same adhesive "cambrelle" fabric on a roll- I stick it in the back of my shoes as a preventative measure and it lasts for ages. Easily replaceable too if it gets super wet and comes off.

HTH!

Getting a proper fit may help as well. If you're anywhere near Richmond, North Yorkshire, Altberg are brilliant, with a proper range of widths available. I've had a couple of pairs of their boots for years without trashing the backs of the heels, having done so to a pair of Meindl's and Scarpa's in the past. 

Posted by: steezysix

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If he's repeatedly wearing out the heels are his boots a bit too big or too wide in the heel? Different lacing patterns can help with heel grip:

He may have some sort of deformity/spur on his heel that leads to localised rubbing. It could be heel fit, some lasts have a closer heel fit than others, some - Berghaus for example, as used to be Brasher, have quite a loose heel - others much snugger, really you need to try fit at a specialist outdoor shop with a test ramp where you can have him lace the boots then check for heel lift/movement on upwards gradients which is where heel lift is generally a problem. 

In some cases, you can use a volume adjuster - either under the heel section of the footbed/insole to lift the heel slightly into a snugger part of the boot's heel section, further up the taper in other words, and reduce movement/friction that way. Or possibly under the tongue of the boot to improve mid-foot hold.  And as above, lacing techniques to increase heel hold exist, but if the heel fit is slack to start off with, there's only so much you can do. 

If you're somewhere near a really good outdoors boot shop - Outside in Hathersage are great if you're ever over in the Peak, you're in Manchester right? - with a good spread of brands and experienced boot fitters, they should be able to work out what's going on and help choose the best boot option.