boot/trail runner sizing question-should your toes be able to touch the front of your shoe

There are a number of factors to be considered here. Ideally, your toes shouldn't touch the front; a bigger problem is this: are your feet sliding forward in the shoe to impact the front? If so, then you'll also have major problems with heel lift. The other way your toes could touch the front is your foot overpronating, which results in the arch flattening and the forefoot elongating. This can be corrected with a footbed, but you have to have enough volume in the shoe to allow for proper fit.

Proper boot/shoe fitting is part science, part experience. There are so many factors to consider, the only reasonable advice I can give is this: seek out a good boot fitter. You'll probably spend more money up front; in the long run, the experience and knowledge you gain, and the pain you DON'T experience (remember backpacking is walking, you gotta walk) will make it seem like a bargain!

Hi Eric! This isan important question for you to settle as nothing can ruin a hike quicker than ill fitting boots. I once wore some snug boots into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for a 60 miler, and since they felt ok on the street I figgured they'd be ok on the trail. Wrong! I ended up with bloodied toenails and a very slow and painful hike out. The first place to start is to get your feet measured at a shoe store; that's your street shoe size. Then add a half size for hiking. Shoe manufacturers vary so you may have to add a whole size. Unlaced, you should be able to slide a fat finger down between the heel and heel cup of the boot easily, if you can't the boot is too small. Allow for sock thickness. Down an incline your feet may slide forward some, but not to the point of bunching up your toes, so adjust the lacing across the instep and ankle. Happy trails!

Your toes should not touch, a very simple test is to put on and adjust the footwear as would normaly be used and tap, or bump, the toe of the boot/trailrunner on a hard surface floor. If your toes touch you need to go up a size and test again. This is a simple test and others will surely offer more profound insight in regard to this issue but I hope this helps. Also remeber your feet will swell if your planning for high miles per day and your footwear selection and fit needs to accomadate this as well.

> should your toes be able to touch the front of your boot or trail runner?
NO!! NO!! NO!!

Let's be very very clear about this. NO!!

If they start to even lightly touch the front of your shoe you will find at the end of the day that your feet are in screaming agony. Repeated bumping is an extreme form of torture. You may not be able to walk the next day.

Also, it is highly likely that you will lose several toenails from just bumping lightly.

Good practice would be to have about an inch clearance at the front when you stand in the shoes with the laces done up and a small finger inserted down the back of the shoe between the heel cup and your heel.

So you have big feet. OK, that's what you have. Treat them nicely! Thick wool socks and generous room inside your shoes.

Cheers

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your help. The NO,NO,NO, made it very clear, lol. I wish they made a 13.5 that I could try. I definitely think the 14 will be too big. I may stick with the 13 and give the boots a shot on some small hikes before I set out on anything big. I'll give them a serious trial run and see how my toes do. I'm also going to try on some additional style boots and sizes before I do anything though. Thanks again, Eric

Eric, just empathizing with you. I wear size 13 shoes and, to greatly complicate matters, have a narrow foot (B) with narrow heel. With no 13.5 size available, getting a shoe that is large enough without my heel lifting out is extremely difficult. 14's are usually just boats.