I think you'd be better off just not tying them so tight!

I have had this problem a lot. I don't tighten my laces at all until I get up to the ankle, at which point I have to pull them snug enough to keep my heel back. It seems to work, though I often have to adjust the lacing once during a session.

As for the repeated punches.

Leather tends to go back to where it was. Unless it is shaped the way boots are made in the first place - heat, moisture, a lot of time and pressure.

Here is a way to punch leather that will stay pretty long: Condition with Lexol (or something lighter if your boots are suede). (Water works better, but tends to crack and rot leather unless you know what you are doing.) Use the stretcher for an hour, as tight as you dare. Then retighten it. Wait about 8 hours. Retighten again. Wait a day. This procedure works because leather stretches best when it is stretched gradually. If you can, get the boot up near 100 degrees first, and use a low temperature boot dryer that doesn't get above that during the stretch. If you go much above that, you are re-heat molding your boots, and everything will go out of shape.

I heard on TV that Michelle Kwan has major problems with her feet and boots. Not sure she is a good example. She was pointing her foot that shows the larger gap in the picture, which probably enlarged the gap.

I was just trying to illustrate that having a slight gap at the top of the boot isn't a bad thing. Having the top edge of your boot practically plastered to your leg isn't necessarily the goal, doesn't mean your boot is properly tied, or tight, and having a gap doesn't necessarily mean that your boot is loose.

That's all.

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