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uzziah
May 18, 2005, 8:10 PM
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Registered: Oct 5, 2004
Posts: 35
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any other extremely wide-footed climbers in the room?
i wear new balance 4E (yes; that's quadrouple E, and btw: buy them at shoebuys.com......off topic), and their STILL a tad snug. you can imagine what i go through with climbing shoes
i have yet to go alpine climbing. my experience is extensive moderate trad climbing; but i long to get into alpine/ice/mountaineering
i have already learned that la sportiva is out of the question as they run cruelly-small which is sad since i think highly of their quality. i know very little of other alpine-brands. i can't afford a brand new pair of shoes necessarily so i'm suspecting i'll be trying on boots near home (boulder, co so lots of places to try on stuff), and probably (sadly) going to sierratradingpost or the like to purchase.
so i ask: wide-footed friends: can you point me in the right direction? which brands/models should i try on?
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angelaa
May 18, 2005, 9:29 PM
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Registered: May 21, 2003
Posts: 598
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are you looking for leather or plastic?
In my experience Solomon's seem to run wide
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perswig
May 19, 2005, 1:16 AM
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Registered: Mar 31, 2005
Posts: 42
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Would suggest Salomon, as above, and Asolo in some models, including the Annapurna (leathers) Garmont makes semi-wide boots but I don't think a technical ice boot, just good alpine boots that would accommodate a semi-rigid crampon or 10 pt mountaineering 'pon. Scarpa alphas might be a choice but stay away from the Freneys, wicked narrow like La sportivas. If you're buying used, most consignment shops (at least here in the northeast) have lots of packed-out Asolo plastics, so they'll be as loose on your very wide feet as they're going to be. Be careful of pressure points, 'cause you'll get NO give over a long day with pre-used liners. Good luck.
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guanoboy
May 21, 2005, 9:20 PM
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Registered: Jan 2, 2004
Posts: 244
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I have a pair of Lowa civetta double boots that run narrow. I have another pair of Asolo's that are much more comfortable. Double boots in general are pretty comfy/sloppy/wide so you should have fewer problems than with other footware. If you buy boots for high elevation climbing you need to buy boots almost a size too big to allow for expansion of the insulation at low pressure. Anyway- double boots are more comfy than most footware in my wide but not 4E wide experience.
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nedsurf
May 21, 2005, 11:24 PM
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Registered: Nov 9, 2004
Posts: 387
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I have the same problem, though not as dramatic. Man, you have some hobbit like feet. Anyway, I settled on the Asolo APS model (blue) and the Guide model by Alico. I tried on Koloflaches and they seemed to work OK also. Can't remember why I passed them up, probably expensive.
The Alicos I ordered from www.sierratradingpost.com thinking they would get sent to the returns dept. immediately. To my suprise they impressed me so much I took the time to break them in. I couldn't be happier. These boots look like they came out of a time warp; big heavy boots with red laces. They are heavy and they did take quite a bit of hiking and oil to break in. But now they fit perfectly, have not let water in, and I can even fit my toe bail, pnumatic crampons (Charlet Moser) on them. They come in wide and hopefully they will fit you if you are looking for a summer boot. That is what I use them for, I use the Asolos for colder climbs.
Good luck and don't settle until you find the right fitting pair. You might even have to ask a manufacturer to custom make a pair for you with such wide feet. Sucks, but I think ill fitting boots and shoes are worse than fire ant pit wrestling.
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drake
May 22, 2005, 1:13 PM
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Registered: May 24, 2004
Posts: 136
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I have a wide toe box. I can't find any rock climbing shoes that fit my foot without my toes throbbing half way through the day.
I have the Alpha's with the thermofit Intuition liners. I had to have the shell's "blown out". Stretched by by AMH in Anchorage AK. They fit but they are snug enough that they will not work above 17K (not warm enough).
I recently tried the LS Nuptse. I had AMH stretch the shells in the toe area. They felt ok but the shell has more memory than plastic shells and they started to feel a little snug after a few hours *because of the rubber rand.
A big sloppy fitting Scarpa Inverno or the big yellow Asolo Artics (whatever they are called) would probably work but they make any technical climbing very difficult.
Sounds like you need to find a good boot shop that can stretch your boots and assist in fitting.
Good luck
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