Boot stretchers and boot jacks

The first week in cowboy boots teaches everyone the same lesson: they are harder to take off than to put on, and the usual method - standing on the heel of one boot with the toe of the other - crushes the counter and scuffs the vamp. A boot jack is a notched block you step into; it grips the heel and you simply pull your foot out. The wooden ones are a few dollars, last forever and are the single most-used accessory any boot owner has. Get one before you get the boots.

What you give up: You give up portability. A boot jack lives by the door - it is not something you travel with, so you will still need the careful hands-on method away from home.

A stretcher is the right tool for one specific problem: a boot that fits except for a pinch at the ball, the little toe or a bunion. A two-way stretcher widens and lengthens, and the models with bunion plugs let you push out one targeted spot rather than the whole toe box. Use it with a stretching spray, leave it in overnight, and expect a half-width at most. What it cannot do is fix a boot that is a size too small, and trying will ruin the shape - if the heel is slipping or your toes hit the end, the boot is wrong and should go back.

What you give up: You give up precision. Stretching is slow and modest, it works on leather but barely on synthetics, and it cannot be undone.

The boot problem nobody warns beginners about is the shaft collapsing: leave a tall boot standing empty for a few months and it folds at the ankle, and the crease becomes permanent. Boot trees - or the cheaper boot shapers - hold the shaft upright and absorb moisture while they do it, and cedar does the second job better than plastic because it actually wicks. For a first pair this is a $20 purchase that protects a $200 one, which makes it the highest-return thing on this entire site.

What you give up: You give up closet space, and cedar needs light sanding every year or so to refresh its scent and absorbency.

If cedar trees are more than you want to spend across several pairs, plastic or fabric shaft inserts do the structural half of the job for a few dollars a pair. They hold a 13-inch shaft upright so it cannot fold at the ankle, which is the fault that actually ruins a tall boot in storage. They do not wick moisture, so give the boot a day to dry before inserting them, and do not use them as a substitute for drying a soaked boot properly.

What you give up: You give up moisture absorption and the cedar smell. Inserted into a damp boot they make things worse, not better.