Ordering Shoes…?

Yes, I have ordered virtually all my hiking shoes online, as we have no outfitters within a reasonable drive.

Make sure the dealer you order from will accept returns. I figure postage a couple of ways is still cheaper than a 150 mile round trip or so for me to get to a retailer. Look for a retailer that provides free shipping to you such as Sierra Trading Post (with the shipping riddle). Zappos.com provides free postage each way, although I haven't ordered from them yet.

Try the shoes on in the house & wear them around for a day. I then try mine out on a treadmill set fairly fast and on an incline, for about 3-4 miles, just to make sure no stress points show up.

Sierra Trading Post and REI both have full guarantees, so even if you've worn the shoes outside, they will take them back if they don't work for you. I had to send one pair back that passed the treadmill test because it just didn't work on the trail, but only once. I've returned 2-3 pair that didn't fit right out of the box or that failed the treadmill test.

I've kept about 4 good pairs so far.

Use Zappos as much as possible. No charge for shipping either direction!

Also REI has more available online than at their stores, and you can have them sent to their stores for free and try them on while you are there.

I recently went to the drawing board on trail runners. The new Golite offerings got me fired up to really focus on the best shoe for me.

I ordered Golite's, Inov-8, and Montrails based on the reviews at this site. It became readily apparent that Montrail's are never going to be an option for me. I ordered a wide and they were still very tight! The Golite's are probably too far in between sizes (without offering half sizes) to accomodate those like me that have feet that are maybe 7 to 10% different in size. The Inov-8 fit very comfortably, if a little snug, but I did not feel that the Flyrock's composition was substantial enough for those trails that I frequent with sharp granite stair like climbs.

The bottom line seems to be that all of the things that are touted by user reviews….mainly features and functions, it tends to bypass fit…which above all else is the essential first hurdle to making the right purchase.

It would be GREAT if this site or another could not only explain how to self examine your foot size/volume, but also tie those brands which are best for your physic into a nice little package. That way, a guy like me knows right off the bat, that Montrail will never reside in my gear box.

the idea of categorizing different shoe brands by their overall fit tendencies probably won't work. it seems fit (ie. width, arch support etc.) varies as much from model to model within a specific manufacturer's line as it does between the manufacturers themselves. for instance, the salomon xa pro 3d's are much narrower than the GCS pros. i think most people on this site do a good job in describing fit characteristics in their user reviews. i think we're stuck trying to find specifics for each shoe model and just taking the plunge.

thanks alot, I think i'll be ordering some shoes within the next few days :).

Caleb,

I can see your point that the sheer quantity of not only manufacturers but models makes the task of generally categorizing a manufacturer seem daunting. I would only suggest it in the context of the biggest/most popular manuf. and perhaps the most popular models.

Most of the folks do an excellent job of describing a particular shoe. My point about having a section allowing someone to learn more about self foot evaluation was probably the bigger one. Having that info. tied to these reviews as well as "bucketing" the different models was where I was going.

How nice would it be as a relative newbie, to come to the site, then discover what type of foot you have in a "label" sense, and then systematically be able to read up on what actual users think about models they already identified as fitting your general type of foot???

I guess if a manufacturer develops a strong following building to a certain "foot", they continue to do so. Sure there are times when they do not hit the mark, but that is probably more the exception than the rule. I have worn multiple pairs of shoes from the same manufacturers and had exact fits. I also think there are some folks who would agree that Montrails run more narrow as a rule?