Re: Wide Last Xplorer Boot?
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 9:58 pm
That explains why the US equivalent sizes on Alfa's boots are wrong (the 43 Guards and 43 Skarvets are labeled as US 9, which is far outside typical conversion ranges). The formula for converting foot length to EUR shoe size is (0.15 * foot length in millimeters) + 2. The way you would arrive at the above strange foot measurements is if you take the EUR size and subtract 3 instead of 2 before dividing. Huge algebra fail on Alfa's part.
(BTW that formula is how you can tell you are a size 42 if your feet are between 265mm and 270mm).
At-home foot length measurement using a paper and tracing is not very accurate: it depends on how thick your pen/pencil is and how much you angle it, and if you do it yourself your foot pronation will be off, which affects length. Even a Brannock device will be off if the most prominent part of your heel is above the lip of the device (me), or you wear thicker socks while on it. Then there is the variability from foot swelling, maybe you are tired and your arches are low, etc. etc. The best you can do is determine whether your feet are between 26.5 and 27.0 centimeters.
IMO toe box shape is the most important part of getting a wide boot to fit in the proper length. You can stretch out boots for width mid-foot, but toe caps usually cannot stretch out. Far too many "wide" shoes have toe boxes that are too narrow. Then you either have to wear a size too large (and get heel blisters), or find a better shoe. Fortunately, Alfa Guard, Skarvet, and Horizon all have good toe boxes.tkarhu wrote: ↑Sun Oct 15, 2023 5:26 pmOn the other hand, my issue with the 44 Guards were heel blisters, and I do not understand how toe box shape would be related. Yup, I do agree that for wide feet, toe box is important. However, a wide toe box has helped me mainly to avoid several toe area issues.
I suffered 15 years of buying oversize shoes before I knew better. Proper fitting shoes took me from a week of foot recovery after a 25km day hike, to easily backpacking 30+km days with no discomfort. It really is life changing. There is no reason to get "bored" of Compeed.