If you are into hiking or friends with some hikers, you must have come across people who have lost their toenails or has some horribly blue/purple bruised toes. Today, we are here to save you from those painful-looking toes and toenails with some of our major boot fit tricks. In the first place, you should be aware that not everyone has the same-sized toes. While some of us own sets of unbelievably big toes, the others may have extremely tiny toes as well. Therefore, the very first step is knowing your feet well.
Besides, hiking boots are made specially to serve only one purpose; making your hiking trip worthwhile. Also, you must keep in mind that people from all over the world are manufacturing hundreds if not thousands of different types of hiking shoes to serve this cause. As a result, we suggest you research very well before you make that purchase to hike comfortably and in style. Let’s not delay any further and let’s get into all the hiking boot fit tricks before you go to your next hiking adventure!
Tips and Tricks to Get That Perfect Fit
While choosing a pair of hiking boots, never settle for the regular fit that you usually choose for your street shoes. We always suggest hikers start trying on boots when buying physically from shops at least a half size larger. No matter if you have larger toes or some smaller ones, you will always need enough room around your toes.
As mentioned before, manufacturers keep track of a whole lot of things for the comfort of a hiker. Now, it is your responsibility to select the comfiest one for maintaining those healthy feet. We hope the next tips will come in handy for you and you will get a pair of perfect fitting boots for that hiking trip if you follow these easy tricks. Get more info about the best hiking boots for plantar fasciitis from menfashionhost.com to learn some valuable insight about it.
Perfect Time to Go Shoe Shopping
There have been several pieces of research and the final conviction many researchers agreed on is that: your feet get swollen naturally at the end of the day than how it was when you wake up. So, it is better if you go shopping in the evening rather than going in the morning. As weird as this might sound but you are meant to get a more perfect fit this way.
Why Going Bigger With the Size is the Way to Go?
One more thing before we move into the next step. At this point, you might think ‘why are they preaching all about taking larger boots than my feet?”. Let us make this clear to you, you will not have the same shoe size after being on the trail for 10 hours. You will most likely have a half size bigger feet at the end of the day. After a week on the trail, this might stand out to be a full size bigger. However, it is very natural to have swollen feet and that is why it is extremely important that you keep this in mind.
Try Them on with Your Hiking Socks
Always bring a pair of socks to the shop to put it on before trying. It is better if you bring the pair of thickest trail socks from your closet to avoid getting the wrong size. When you are hiking, you are definitely going to put your pair of hiking socks be it a pair of wool socks, synthetic socks, or any other of your choice. Hence, keeping them around while trying your pair of boots on is the wisest way of all.
This is the only hiking gear that you must bring along while making the purchase. First, put on your socks and boots, then see if you are feeling any big gaps or some tight squeezes between the boot and your foot. If you are getting a snug fit and can wiggle your toes on the inside freely, it is most likely that you are wearing the perfect size now. You should also walk around a little to see if you are sensing any kind of discomfort or hot spots. By any chance, if there is a feeling of discomfort at this very point, you are going to end up with ugly blisters and very unhappy feet at the end of your hiking trail.
The Famous Toe-Tap Test
This test is one of the most reliable ones among hikers to win at choosing the right size. Remember sizing also depends on different brands and different styles of boots. So, it is not necessarily the case that you will always have the same size for all your hiking boots from all the brands. Hence, you should better try on the pair before purchasing and try doing this test. You will be happy to know that many boot fit experts also suggest taking this test after you have put on your hiking socks and boots.
To begin with, stand still and tap your toe against the front of your boots allowing as much as space to clear up around your heel area. This step works well when you tap your toes against the heel of your other feet. At this point, it should be very easy for you to slide down two fingers at the back of your boots. If your fingers are comfortably placed there, congratulations! You already got that perfect and surprising boot fit. If that is not the case then feel free to go a size/ half a size up or down to get that desired fit.
Conclusion
Finally, along with all the tips and tricks be sure to walk on a downward slope as well which can be found in the apparel stores. On the other hand, please keep in mind that you must give the utmost priority to your own comfort and liking rather than abiding by the rules all the time. So now, put your clean socks and newly bought boots on and hit that trail!