During this Christmas season we viewed the 1988 classic movie “Die Hard” where John McClane gets stranded with bare feet to battle the international thieves posing as terrorists.

At one point he dispatched a thief and hoped to use his shoes but alas they were too small.
His bare feet led to major pain and injury during this ordeal.

This shoe scene took place on an unfinished floor of the Nakatomi Plaza Building that had a power saw available. He could have cut out the top of the toe area on the shoes that would in effect have converted them into sandles, allowing room for his toes and would have been a game changer in his fight against his foes.

In emergency situations where shoes are lost or left behind and alternate shoes can be found that are too small, this modification can be achieved by using a knife, hatchet, or saw.

The photo illustrates how I was able to put my 10 and a half shoe size foot into a modified 8 size shoe. I used a utility knife. It works.

Footwear like this can make a huge difference in comfort and safety in an emergency situation.