hiking boots that run large

[THE WINTER WONDERER]

was wondering if anybody knows of any particular brand of hiking boots that tend to run large. the problems i have are my big toes contact the front of my boots on steep descents and i end up getting black and blue toe nails and yes i trim my nails before every trip. i have in between a size 13 and 14 so finding a boot that runs big is tricky at best ...any input would be much appreciated.

thanks.

 

[Nessmuk]

Have you made a visit to Pete Limmer in Intervale NH? Best fitting boot I ever had. They will build you a custom boot if the stock boot doesn't fit.

 

[egilbe]

Cant buy a size 15 somewhere?

 

[jfb]

The first thing I do when trying on boots is to slide my foot forward until the toes touch and check that I can slide my index finger between my heel and the heel cup. If so, then the length is OK. If your boots are long enough and your toes are touching on descents, you may have boots with too much volume. In that case, wearing thicker socks or a using thicker footbed may help.

 

[TCD]

^^ What jfb said.

Many times the problem is volume, not length. Lot's of hiking boots have too much volume over the instep (I think it's cheaper to make them that way - easier to pull out the last, and also "the big box fits everyone" thought, which works until you have to go down hill). Footbeds help, as he said. Also, you can add padding under the tongue to fill volume and hold your foot in the right position - I do this with a lot of boots.

 

[BISCUT]

I am a dead on 13 so I feel your pain. My advice is try as many as possible. Zappos is great simply because you will make good use of the free return shipping when they don't fit. I am going thru this now with Smowboard boots. Unfortunately many 13's are to tight for me. I've found Solomon to be a little generous in the cut (if your problem is not volume as mentioned above). La Sportiva leans narrow but I have multiple pairs that fit me fine and they are my favorites (although heavy!). I've also found Vasque to be a little on the small side and Nike to be narrow.

All just my personal feelings from trying on many. You are kinda stuck with trial and error.

 

[egilbe]

Oboz boots seem to be a low volume boot. The arches are lower. My gf switched to Oboz because her Vasque Breezes left too much room in her boots. She bought pads for the tongue and that seemed to solve that problem. When she switched to Oboz, she no longer had to use the padding. I bought a pair of Oboz Bridgers in a larger size than what I was accustomed to and found the space over the instep to be too low and I laced up my boots so there is no lacing crossing that part of my foot.

Its hard to find a pair of hiking boots that fit right.

 

[Breeze]

If you have space between your toes and the boot toe box when you try them on, your problem is not length of the boot. The problem is your foot is sliding forward with gravity on descent. A longer boot is not going to stop that from happening, more length will give your feet more room to slide forward. You may also give up the advantage of having physical awareness of your boot support/foot positioning when using toe-holds on ASCENTs as well.

A trick skaters have used for a very long time is to lace yourself in so your foot cannot slide forward. That protection happens over the instep, the top side of the arch of your foot. Being secure at the instep prevents sliding forward, and also prevents heel slippage that causes blisters from rubbing against the boot heel.

Try a half hitch or two in your boot laces at the point over your highest arch, often times where the lacing turns from " holes" to " speed hooks".

If the boot is too stiff to lace down snugly over your arch, ( and you may WANT that stiffness in the boot for other reasons), as others have said, use a footbed, full or partial, to raise your foot higher in the boot, or use a little padding under the tongue of the boot when you lace up. It's about securing your foot so it DOESN'T slide forward.

Skiers have the same issues. Feet are not mass produced, and many people find when it comes to high- performance footwear, that even their own 2 feet are not the same.

 

[THE WINTER WONDERER]

thanks guys for all the great input I have a pair of vasque not sure the model off the top of my head and they are a 13 i think i need to go to a 14 ...i am kind of a cheap skate and i think i need to bite the bullet and not worry about price as much and just buy a boot that fits. 80% of my hiking is backpacking with between 40 to 60 pds and have been hiking for 15 years and and never once come close to twisting a ankle so i don't think i really need a super stiff boot. I have had problems with boots were to big in the past and got blisters on my heels so trying a foot bed to take up some volume might be the way i need to go. Again thanks for all the info.

 

[bignslow]

^^ What jfb said.

Many times the problem is volume, not length. Lot's of hiking boots have too much volume over the instep (I think it's cheaper to make them that way - easier to pull out the last, and also "the big box fits everyone" thought, which works until you have to go down hill). Footbeds help, as he said. Also, you can add padding under the tongue to fill volume and hold your foot in the right position - I do this with a lot of boots.

100% the problem I ran into before switching over to trail runners (and still run into with winter footwear and mountaineering boots). TCD's advice about adding padding between the tongue and laces is exactly what I do to fill up the volume in my footwear (I have large (13) flat feet, which don't take up a lot of volume in the shoe, but require a lot of width).

I've had good luck with getting craft foam (the kind kids use for cutting out 3d shapes for arts and craft projects) and using it as padding/spacer. Old sleeping pads work as well because you can shave them down to the correct thickness. I've also used plastic from bottled water jugs to provide some structure and pressure distribution to the foam/laces. Sportiva actually uses a movable secondary tongue on their mountaineering boots to provide this functionality (its a shame their boots run narrow). Finally, there's a commercial product developed for ski boots called "The eliminator" which accomplishes this same purpose as well.

One experiment I haven't run yet is taking an old pair of sneakers/trail runners, and removing the tongue to use as the spacer/padding in my other boots.

 

[DayTrip]

These are very interesting comments. Just to clarify: If I put my boots on and push my feet forward so the toes touch I should be able to slip a finger between my heel and back of boot all the way to the bottom and touch the sole? Is this check done with bare feet/thin liner sock or a sock of the typical thickness usually used hiking? If that is the case my boots are in fact too small. I can't get a finger back there at all. I've always done the reverse buying boot: make sure my heel was locked in back and make sure I could wiggle all my toes comfortably. I've always tried to get boots that fit snugly across the ankle area in the same place you'd wrap a sprained ankle. That is a challenge for me but this foam stuffing idea may help with that issue if I am understanding it correctly.

And on the foam/adding volume thing, do you literally just stuff it in your boot and then just lace up? This doesn't cause pressure points on the instep that cut off circulation or hurt? Is firm foam or lighter foam better? Home Depot carries cheap 2'x2' squares of foam (approximately 1.5 inch thick and very compressible). Could certainly cut this up into whatever shape you wanted pretty easily.

On the foot sliding issue, I recently read an article about boot fitting that suggest two-sided tape on boot sole to prevent feet from sliding forward. Anyone on here ever try something like that?

 

[jfb]

These are very interesting comments. Just to clarify: If I put my boots on and push my feet forward so the toes touch I should be able to slip a finger between my heel and back of boot all the way to the bottom and touch the sole? Is this check done with bare feet/thin liner sock or a sock of the typical thickness usually used hiking?

That's how I do it, with the socks that I plan on wearing when hiking. Also, when standing on one foot, make sure the boots are wide enough so that your foot can spread out as if you were barefoot. And make sure the shape of the arch on the boot matches the arch of your foot. I lace my boots snugly around the foot, but not around the ankles because I prefer flexibility when hiking uphill. If you walk into a store with the idea that you want to buy a certain boot because you've heard good things about it, you may end up with a boot that doesn't fit well. I have a pair of Sole footbeds to reduce the volume in one pair of my boots.

http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/web/hiking-footwear-101.cfm

 

[bignslow]

And on the foam/adding volume thing, do you literally just stuff it in your boot and then just lace up? This doesn't cause pressure points on the instep that cut off circulation or hurt? Is firm foam or lighter foam better? Home Depot carries cheap 2'x2' squares of foam (approximately 1.5 inch thick and very compressible). Could certainly cut this up into whatever shape you wanted pretty easily.

I put it between the laces and the tongue of my boot (in this case, it would be exposed to the outside elements). The benefit here, is that you get the padding of the boot/tongue, and you're only taking up the volume for the lacing structure. Mine typically goes right over the top of my foot where my foot meets the ankle (because I have very low volume feet). This allows the boot to actually lock my foot down, and reduces blisters from heel slippage.

Regarding the foam, I'm uncertain of the density of the stuff at HD; if it is "fluffy" like a couch cushion, I don't think it would work well, but if is more dense like a sleeping pad (or those foam mats you use in play rooms and workshops), I think it would work better.

 

[egilbe]

I think my gf got her instep pads at Lamey-Wellehan. They had one sticky side and she placed them between her foot and toungue of the boot. That didnt work that well, hence the reason she replaced the boots.

 

[peakbagger]

I have to wear steel toes boots for work and even with wide shoes, the tow caps are standard size so I end up going one size larger which means my feet are floating around in the boot. I use a high volume super feet and use a piece of closed cell foam glued to the tongue of the boots to keep my foot from sliding forward. I taper it using a belt sander. 3M spray on adhesive works pretty well to glue it in