TKBoots ankle too wide to fit shin armor?

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

So I'm having a bit of a struggle here. The TKBoots I have are way too wide for my shin armor to fit around. This is pre-trimming for fit. And I'm not a big buy at all. I'm 5'11" and about 150 pounds. The picture on the TKboots site showed the armor comfortably fitting around the boot, yet I have quite a bit of extra leather, and can only get the armor around the boot if I really shove the leather underneath the plastic, but then the armor refuses to line up properly. Has anyone has a similar issue with TKBoots? Is there anything I can do to the boot to make the ankle opening not so wide? Because I can't shim, as the armor will look weird with slim cut thighs, arms, and then huge bulging calves, and the opening of the ankles without the boots on has a lot of extra room between my ankle and the plastic.

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by gmrhodes13
photo updated

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Actual "TK Boots" TK boots? Mine are about 9.5cm from front to back. No dramas at all getting them under the shins once the shins were together.

 

My first pair of cheap painted boots were really wide, so I slit the elastics so I could squash the front and back together until I could upgrade.  I wouldn't want to do that with actual TK Boots though.

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

Actual "TK Boots" TK boots? Mine are about 9.5cm from front to back. No dramas at all getting them under the shins once the shins were together.

 

My first pair of cheap painted boots were really wide, so I slit the elastics so I could squash the front and back together until I could upgrade.  I wouldn't want to do that with actual TK Boots though.

These are "TKBoots" brand TK boots.

 

EDIT: Just measured mine. 2-3 mm under 13cm front to back.

Edited March 26, 2016 by RadioactiveMicrobe

[Coastertk]

I just received an email from them after inquiring about a pair of B Grades and they tell me that "Our newest version of the TK Boots is slightly narrow." Which tells me that they may have recently changed supplier or manufacturer? What size boot did you order? It would be nice to compare to an older version of the same size.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Wow, that's quite large. Mine are size US10. And new but second hand when I bought them, so no idea when they were actually manufactured.

 

I'm guessing you haven't built the armour yet? Maybe build it as wide as you can at the bottom and see how you go...

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

Mine are size 11. Slightly bigger, but I don't really expect that much of an increase in size.

 

As of now, I'd have to shim to get the boots to fit around the ankles. But that will look... weird, as I have to trim the top to fit my shins properly. 

Edited March 26, 2016 by RadioactiveMicrobe

[pandatrooper[TK]]

What armor make is it? That would help.<br><br>

My guess is the distance from front to back needs to be wider and distance side to side needs to be narrower.<br><br>

If so, the armor can be reshaped by gently heating with a heat gun and squeezing the armor in the direction you want. You need to overshape it slightly as it will bounce back a bit.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

I have a pair of TKBoots also. The earlier versions were pretty wide. I just tucked them in and trooped. 

[BuckeyeTK]

I just started trimming my shins yesterday and I'm experiencing the same issue with my new size 10 TK boots. I'm thinking I will have to use the bra hooks along with Velcro to make sure the boots don't force the shins to pop open.

 

 

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[Mcott65[TK]]

Could you not add a strap maybe velcro to the very top of the boot to pull the top in a bit?

[fuumantroop[TK]]

It always helps to have the boots on when trimming shins to size.  That is really the best thing you can do to avoid a situation like this.  I just tuck mine in slightly, or you can try the heat gun to reshape them.

[TD42115[501st]]

I just ran into this same issue, I have been good with my older boots all the way up to MEPD deployment. Now that im going into swat territory my boots needed to be replaced. 

 

Thankfully i had a brand new set of TKs that i ordered with the plan of going TK originally. So i weathered them a few days ago and are now ready to go.

 

Did a test fit last night and they are much wider then the older boots i was using. I have done a bit of heat treating on the backs and sides of the calve armor with heat gun, they are not perfect but should hold with trooping.  

 

Im running AP armor.. 

Edited May 26, 2016 by TD42115

[Reccetrooper]

I've run in to the same issue. Figure heat treating the ankles on the shin plates may work. Baring that, maybe there is a way to narrow the ankles on the boots themselves.

I'm also working with an AP suit.

 

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Edited April 25, 2016 by Reccetrooper

[Talon2000]

Having the same issue with Anovos, and new TK Boots. I am able to shove the top of the boot enough to get the shin to come close to closing on the back. I'm still about 1/8" over on the cut line. Looking at the pictures of what the ankle area looks like on completed armor compared to mine, mine look huge and fat. 5'-10" 155lbs size 10 boot. 

[shockmatic[501st]]

i just ran across this when getting a new pair of TK boots for my ap armor.

 

the original size boot i had was a little too small for my feet. but i had no problem fitting under the shin.

 

its only one size up. i will try the heat method

[russellr2d2[TK]]

I have the same problem with one of my ankles.  Really tight inside the shin armor over the boot. I fold and mash the top of the boot up into the shin.

I installed 3" wide soft elastic stirrups into the shins. They hold the shins down over the boot (not hard...just keeping them in place) and now the shins do not turn out while trooping.

They are attached with velcro inside the shins on the sides and I can adjust them a bit by moving the velcro end up or down.

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Edited February 3, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link not working removed

[Tacblue[TK]]

I was thinking of using velcro cable ties to hold the neck of the boot shut. As it is it's waaaaaaaay too big for my CFO, and probably my ollllllllld AP as well. My pair of Imperialboots boots are way narrower in the neck.

[humperdingle]

White duct tape is very useful for binding the top of the boots' ankles. Nobody will see it, but it helps stop the shins riding-up.

[zv288bot[TK]]

Could you not add a strap maybe velcro to the very top of the boot to pull the top in a bit?

If you search "An ATA for tampa bay" in the ANH build thread you can read about his fix on a similar problem. It's close to the end of his thread if you want to jump straight to it. Sorry I can never figure out how to cut and paste in tapatalk.

 

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[TK Reaper]

I have the old FX armour and had the same issue with my newly purchased US10 TKBoots. I found if I glued some velcro on the front tab on the boots and the front inside shin worked really well. Just for piece of mind I also run some white tape around the boot tops to bind them in smaller as this area is pretty wide (which I assume is due to the extra height of the boots). 

Edited August 3, 2016 by TK Reaper

[kman[TK]]

Interesting. I've heard of these issues with the new TK boots in larger sizes (11 and up), but the smaller sizes always seemed fine. I did not trim anything off the bottom of my Anovos shins, but they fit over my size 10 TK Boots with no odd-looking pinching of the boot top. It's a close fit, but no problem, otherwise.

[Ksunole[TK]]

I did the same thing as Russell with my build. I have Imperial boots and wear a 13. I could tuck the boot into the shin, but it would come out/shin slips up when I moved. I used the elastic strap method to hold the shin down on the shoe and haven't had a problem with it.