Boots for irregular feet?

“Hi all,

as i'm currently reading a lot of stuff about selecting the right boots i ran into a problem.

Taht problem is my feet. Or actually the left one which is almost 1 european size larger (something around half a size in us i believe) than the right.

My current plan is to get boot that have a good fit for the bigger foot and compensate for the smaller foot in the other boot some other way. What kind of compensation would be best? Additional socks would come to mind but i'm a bit afraid how that would affect the thermal climate in the boot.”

“Yes, you wouldn't want to get the right boot Too Small...

Extra padding (or a thicker insole?) might do it, but it would be great to find a store that took customer service seriously --- people who would sell you a mismatched pair and work it out with their supplier.

Unfortunately, that seems more rare these days.”

“yeah hard to find that kind of shop :/ Usuallly for my casual shoes its not that big of a problem. I can live with one boot thats a bit too sloppy but i wouldnt want to go hiking with it.

I have a shop specializing in outdoor an dhiking in the city where iw ork and if i get the time i might visit them next week. I want to take the afternoon off so that i have enough time to talk with the people there and try several pairs of shoe. And maybe i'm lucky and they offer msimatched pairs. At least some people had good experience with them (though non of those wo recmommended the store has mismatched feet).”

“If I were you I would find someone who had the opposite problem and both of you buy the same boots and switch. Sound far fetched? I know that there are places, probably even on the web, set up for this. My oldest son has a rare syndrome called Klippel-Tranauney in which one side of his body is larger than the other side. To his fortune it does not affect his skeletal system at all, but merely his flesh and muscle. But some people have feet which are 1 or more sizes in difference and so there are places in which shoes, brand new shoes, are traded in like this in order to find the mate of the appropriate size. This way no shoe is thrown out, no one has to buy two pairs of shoes in order to have one fitting set.”

“i'll ask around for it if we have something like that here. (No point if its too far away since we will probably both get the boots we ant and try them on before we buy them)”

“Maybe a Podiatrist would know. A foot doctor.”

“Yes, boots for backpacking are under lots more stress so you need to get the best fit you can. They can't be too loose and yet you have to have room in the front so you don't jam your toes going downhill. It's really the uphills and downhills that expose problems, I find.

It's about 7 AM here in Georgia (southeastern U.S.).”

“That mean's it's about 4 am here and 1pm there.”

“tilt is right, there are websites for people with unique shoe situations....I have a friend who lost part of his foot, he has a guy who they buy two pair of shoes and exchange the ones they don't need.”

“Feet are too important to skimp on. If I couldn't find someone to exchange with, I would buy two pairs of boots.

I save my pocket change each day so I can buy backpacking gear "guilt free" (between my son and I we own 10 tents and are about to buy two more). My pocket change amounts to about $200-300/year. In a short time you could have enough to buy a second pair of boots.”

“www.russellmoccasin.com
They will custom fit your boots based on tracings and measurements. Great boots. A little expensive but well worth the money.”

“I too have one foot 1/2 size larger than the other.
This is not very unusual.

I swear one of these days I'm going to find some good trail runners on Sierra Outdoors at half price and buy two pairs, each a 1/2 size different, and throw the two unused shoes away. ;-)”

“A search for "Boots" on this site will uncover lots of information. I clipped some from the following string:

Hiking Boots

THE shoes
“I have a pair of meindl army pro(heavy leather/ goretex) and a pair of meindl safari (hot/dry weather, lightweight) and i will never put anything else on my feet again when i'm adventuring! They will cost you some bucks, but i've seen a lot of guys ruining feet, knees and back with "regular", cheap boots. German perfection dude!”
Daniel van Nieuwenhuyzen
9:28:54 PM
1/14/07
ignore this user

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This outfil may be able to help you with a special order:
THE shoes2
“Use the right socks, and keep in mind; your feet will swell after several miles. Goretex isn't always good in a wet environment, like jungle for example. My meindls are holy to me, but Lowa's are about equal. They fit me as if i was born with them! Style, colour and design is bull#&%!$, you wan't quality gear that will get you from a to b without hurting you and keep doing it for a lot of years. Good luck, check out those Meindle's!”
Daniel van Nieuwenhuyzen
9:57:02 PM
1/14/0

”

“thx 2 pair would really be the best option i know. but right now its not possible because i have to keep an ye on the cash maybe next year ill be able to afford the second pair but i wouldnt throw them away but rather try to give them to another hiker who could use them.

Oh and ill look into meindles and russel at once”

“Fengor, often it is just the overall lenght of the foot that is different, get measured ad see. the important lenght is the lenght from the heel to the ball of your foot. Space cna be taken up with a heel cup but it might not be comfortable for a long hike. My feet are different also, right foot biger but it is in my toes not in my foot, so it doesn't really affect boot size.”

“I have the same problem too. I love the idea of custom boots, but can't afford it right now.

Ideally, you'd want a pro to help fit your boots & advise you on inserts.

But, for a cheap stopgap solution, this is what I use to cut down on heel slip:
http://www.drscholls.com/product.aspx?prodid=32&

I don't do major mileage, though - not usually more than 7-10 miles a day.
last edited: 2/02/07 11:47:07 AM”