Growing feet. At 40?

"Am I little crazy?"

Perhaps. Only time will tell.

But "growing feet" is a common lament for many taking up hiking. And it doesn't necessarily stop at 40.

Just keep buying what fits and feels good. Forget about the number on the box.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=85598

Read Jennifers posts in above link.

I've always worn 12, but then started getting blisters so I tried a 13 which seems to fit better

But then I did a couple trips with my old 12s and didn't get blisters

61

13s have sort of a "clown shoe" like feeling

I hope I'm a little crazy! :)

If ever I need a good foot doctor who understands what I put my feet through I just may have to make a trip to Austin for an appointment with Jennifer.

If you are reading this Jennifer please write another piece for your blog. It fills a much needed void in the backpacking web.

As we get older things don't hold together as well as they used to. (like waistlines) As feet wear out it can result in spread, both in width and length. This also seems to happen a lot on thru hikes. My experience, posted on a thread focusing on thru hiking:

I started my PCT hike with boots that fit comfortably but not over sized and good insoles, superfeet, and my feet didn't change size at all. Half way through I changed to trail shoes but forgot to put the good insoles in them. Two weeks later my feet were bigger and squeezing the sides of the shoes. A little after that I scored some superfeet and my the fit in the shoes actually got better. For me the change in foot size was not swelling but a lack of good arch support causing them to collapse and spread out, and this even reversed when I got arch support again. I know everybody will have different experiences but for me strong arch support is essential. I find the deep heel cups on the superfeet also add to balance and control.

Not quite what your are talking about, age related, but very possibly the same cause and effect going on.

Yup. In my early 20's I wore 9's. Now at 60, it is 11's. Found a deal on 10.5 Keens yesterday and I was like one of Cinderella's stepsisters. THEY HAVE TO FIT!!!!

Hope mine have stopped. Really hard to find 15s let alone anything larger. Miss those size 12s from my youth.

At 21 i wore 9.5. Now its 11.5-12 depending.

My 15 yr old son wears 14-15. Shoe clerks look at him and say "sorry buddy, i dont think were going to have your size". I tell him never to get red shoes cause hell look like a clown.

I am in my 50's and out grew the boots I bought in my late 40's. I recently have noticed I now prefer a larger toe box in my everyday shoes. I agree with the comment that your feet tend to spread with age.

When I started running at age 30 my feet were size 9 1/2.
Within the next 4 years, they grew to an 11.

As everyone else has noted, YES.
They may be still growing at age 60 if you are still walking.
And getting wider – YES. That too.

Cheers

>> do feet grow that much as they get stronger

No, but it does with age. Hate to tell you but it's not just limited to feet.

You can attribute it to strength and fitness if it makes you feel better. ;)

Apparently it varies from person to person. I had never heard of feet growing past childhood until a friend of mine mentioned it a couple of years ago. He was amazed to hear that I wear the same size shoe and boot that I did when I was 20… about 4 decades ago.

billy

Mine grew from a 10 to an 11/11.5. They grew wider, too, so narrow boots that used to fit me, my feet feel cramped in them. Pretty strange.

I'll be 47 this year and my feet went from a 13 to 14 last year. More than a little upset, but what can I do?

14's are harder to find.

Not necessarily growing, but getting bigger yes. for most of us as we get older our arch flattens out and our toes splay more. The result is wider and longer.

At nearly 55 years of age I recently had to move up a size on my shoes. Hurt the most (cost wise) when I finally concluded that my alpine climbing boots are really to small and had to be replaced. Went from a 43 to a 44. (9 to 10.5)

I used to wear an 8.5 – 9 depending on the boot. When I bought a pair of hiking boots I was surprised that I had to go to a 10.5.

However I recently bought a pair of work boots and they fit me at 8.5.

I talked to someone at a hiking gear store and she told me that the sizing has changed and is now tremendously variable from company to company but by and large they are sizing them smaller for some reason. She told me that women come in and try on a boot and when they find that size 7 doesn't fit them and they are now a size 8.5 for that particular style they insist that "no I am a size 7" and buy that size despite the fact that it is uncomfortable.

This is one of the reasons I never buy footwear on-line. I have to try on each pair because I have no idea what size will fit me between 8.5 to 10.5.

> she told me that the sizing has changed and is now tremendously variable from
> company to company but by and large they are sizing them smaller for some reason.
I have my doubts about this. There are international Standards for shoe sizes – especially Euro and Jap, and there are tables of correspondance between them all. Also, there's the Brannock Device which measures foot size (length) and width.

I suspect that the girl may be confusing shoe LAST with size – lasts do vary between manufacturers, and in addition she is gaugeing things by her own feet, which she does not want to admit are getting larger as well!

As to women always buying a shoe size too small for their feet – yeah, that's very well known in the shoe trade. Stupid, yes, but you can't tell them.

Cheers

"This is one of the reasons I never buy footwear on-line."

Zappos.

Free shipping and free return shipping.

"As to women always buying a shoe size too small for their feet – yeah, that's very well known in the shoe trade. Stupid, yes, but you can't tell them."

Women are NOT the only ones to do this, there are plenty of men with the same issue.