The problem
The customer has hallux valgus, as she calls it herself: her big toe angles inwards and the joint sticks out on the inside of the foot. That's exactly where her leather hiking boot was too tight. Every step downhill pressed on the spot.
Otherwise the boot was good: right length, firm heel hold, broken in. A new boot would have had the same problem in the same spot, just new. So we made room in the boot she already had, where it was lacking. For us, bootfitting doesn't stop at ski boots; in summer, hiking and mountain boots are our main topic.
What we did
Find and mark the pressure point
With the customer wearing the boot: where exactly does it press, how big is the spot, in which direction does the leather need to give?
The boot before the work 
This is where it presses: the ball of the big toe Prepare the leather
The spot is moistened with leather stretching spray. It makes the fibres supple for a short time, so the leather can stretch without tearing or creasing.
Clamp it on the stretcher
The boot goes onto the boot stretcher; a metal bracket sits inside exactly at the big toe joint and pushes the leather outwards. A protective film keeps the surface safe.
The boot stretcher 
Clamped in, pressure right on the spot 
From the side Leave it to dry for a day
Under tension the leather dries in its new shape. That takes about a day; it can't go faster, or the leather pulls back.
Unclamp and try on
The next day the boot comes off the stretcher. The customer tries it on; if needed, we stretch it a little more.
Photos: Sport Schindele, workshop in Ronsberg, October 2026. Customers kept anonymous.