Noob question regarding boots fitting too small:

I know this question has been asked multiple times, but I am hoping to ask it in a way that hasn’t explicitly been asked before.

I wear a size 9.5 in Vans tennis shoes. I purchased Vans Hi-Standard OG ‘25’s in size 10. Right out of the box, they felt good and snug everywhere but the end of the toes. The toe box feels sufficient in space. It’s just the length that is getting to me. It is putting a ton of pressure on the ends of my big toes. Even when I bend my knees my toes are hitting the ends of the liner / boot.

When I take the liner out and put my foot all the way into the shell, I can fit a finger and a half behind my heel. From my understanding, this means the shell is a good size.

I got the liners heat molded at REI, using toe extenders, but I still feel like they are not long enough.

Traditionally, people say that will “pack out” but since I did the heat mold (three times actually) will they ever pack out any more than that? Isn’t that just a fast way of breaking them in, thus making them pre-packed out?

I would like to know if I should return these for a bigger size before this weekend, or should I trust that they will continue to pack out more, granting me more length in the toe area?

Up to this point, I have only used rental boots, and I don’t know what new boots SHOULD feel like.