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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I can't be the first generous footed woman to need walking boots

55 replies

Flatfootinneedofboots · 27/05/2018 10:08

So I arrived in the Lake District yesterday for a few days holiday. Dug out my size 7 walking boots to find they are too tight. Google says I might have fallen arches.

I've been in several shops and they look aghast when I ask for size 8s!

DD is only 14 but loads of her pals are tall with - ahem - long feet!

Surely I'm not that much of a freak that a town full of walking boot shops can't help me.

I know this is AIBU but please be nice our I'll spend the rest of my holiday shuffling from cafe to cafe rather than walking and getting fit Smile

OP posts:
DuchyDuke · 27/05/2018 10:35

In my experience every brand does womens size 8. I wear that size and have never had a problem.

DSHathawayGivesMeFannyGallops · 27/05/2018 11:09

I used to sell walking boots - although I wasn't the trained fitter! From spending time in the bootroom though, you should be able to get ladies 8s and you can try mens ones - depending on the fit you may prefer that. Have you tried Scarpa, they're narrow fitting. I've always just sold people things that fit their feet, sometimes you have to ignore the labels.

I have the opposite- my feet are quite small and I am on the cusp between kids and adults.

ItWentInMyEye · 27/05/2018 11:19

Yep, I buy men's trainers too.

EthelHornsby · 27/05/2018 11:21

I have smaller (6) but vvv wide feet - would be better with men’s but they don’t come in a 6! I hope you find what you need

BestIsWest · 27/05/2018 11:21

I’m An 8/9, men’s are far too wide for me and would slide. I’m not sure about boots but North Face go up to a 9 in the more rugged trainer style shoes for women - I have Hedgehogs. Would they do at a push?

Spudlet · 27/05/2018 11:23

Also, if you have fallen arches, you should mention that as you might want to try some orthotic insoles. I have some green ones in my wellies for my flat feet, although my Salomons have a nice amount of support so I just wear those as they are. A proper shop should let you try all sorts of combinations, go up and down the stairs and hopefully a slope, and generslly take ages to find you the right pair - I was really impressed with my Cotswold fitter on that front.

CornishMaid1 · 27/05/2018 11:28

Size 10/11 here and I've been wearing men's shoes for years. I'm 'lucky' as my feet are quite wide so they fit fine.

You don't get the pretty colours but as long as you don't mind try on a few and see how you get on.

Flexoset · 27/05/2018 11:31

It's amazing how conditioned we are to shop for "women's range" stuff even when there may be little or no reason for it. I only recently realised I should be scoping out "men's" trainers, as they were much more likely to have what I was looking for.

Similarly I saw a review of girls' vests on the M&S website complaining that all the vests had scratchy lace trim which irritated the reviewer's daughter. Why no vests without lace trim?! Er... those were available in the "boys'" range, exactly the same vest but no trim. But it had never occurred to the reviewer to look there. Wouldn't have occurred to me, either, if I hadn't just bought them for my son.

NormskiNamechange · 27/05/2018 11:39

This actually really annoys me. I’m a size 8/9 and went shoe shopping yesterday for my holiday sandals.

I went with my mother who is a size 6. She had two whole racks of shoes to choose from with lots of different styles. I had half a rack of what can only be described as rubbish. Ugly with no heels available.

It’s as if designers think that as soon as you hit a size eight, you no longer want feminine styles or heels. It’s beige/brown/black flat shoes of the type my grandmother used to wear.

This is fine if it’s what you want but it’s not what I want.

I was complaining about this to the manager and she told me they generally only get one pair of eights and one pair on threes in each delivery. So if you are at the bigger or smaller end of sizing then you can struggle.

Anyway, I’ve waffled on. I got my size eight walking boots from Aldi. They are the most comfortable shoes ever. However, I think they may have been a middle aisle special so I don’t think they are a permanent seller

Onlyoldontheoutside · 27/05/2018 11:44

My teeth have grown since I was 40,apparanyltly it's not uncommon and so people go up half a shoe size over 19 yes.Used to be a size 6 and now a 7 so some ofy very nice special occasion shoes don't fit.

chockaholic72 · 27/05/2018 11:56

My feet have grown (arches dropped, bones spread out etc) now I'm in my 40's. I do a lot of trekking/hillwalking/mountaineering and am/was a size 8. With my 8s, I was ok in the flat or going uphill, but coming down from Everest Base Camp I suffered from really bad toe pain because my feet were jamming in the toebox on the descent.

I tried Scarpa in a size nine - far too wide; I have narrow feet with a very shallow instep. I then tried a pair of La Sportiva trail shoes as I was doing a run, and tried an 8.5 - result! I've since bought a pair of La Sportiva Trango Trek in a 9 (43 Euro) which are a B1 boot which fit perfectly with a pair of walking socks (and are Goretex so v waterproof) for trekking and hillwalking, and a pair of Trango Towers in a 9 which are a B2 boot for when I'm wearing crampons in the winter hills.

I spend a lot of time up in the hills and was dispairing that I couldn't get boots to fit, but La Sportiva have been great - the boots are like a women's fit in larger sizes, rather than my feet rattling around a pair of men's Scarpas.

Original poster
Flatfootinneedofboots · 27/05/2018 12:51

And WTF is it doing being so HOT in the Lake District?!

OP posts:
specialsubject · 27/05/2018 12:55

all boots are different fittings and very few make actual wide fit for men.

boots made for women are pricier, have ickle cute pink and sparkly bits and will not last as long. That's the difference.

NotARegularPenguin · 27/05/2018 12:58

Everyone I know says the place to buy hiking boots from is Keswick Boot company on station street. I’ve always found George Fishers shop to be excellent.

MereDintofPandiculation · 27/05/2018 13:05

Has anyone else had their feet grow in middle age? Yeah, it's normal. There's a reason why Hotter and Comfort market towards older women.

boots made for women are pricier, have ickle cute pink and sparkly bits and will not last as long. That's the difference. That's a bit unfair. Serious walking boot manufacturers (Brasher, Zamerlan etc) make the women's boots to the same standards. They just tend to be a narrower fit.

scoobyd2 · 27/05/2018 13:05

Another fan of men's boots. I'm a size 8 normally, buy size 9 for walking boots so it has to be men's. And having just come back from the Lakes even those felt tight in the hot weather and with the orthotic inserts I need now to offset plantar fasciitis! The shops up there are really good though, I often use Cotswolds in Keswick and find the staff are much more knowledgeable than those in the city stores. Keswick Boot Co is very good too. Make sure you try any on with the sort of socks you normally wear, and spend a good 10 mins+ walking round the shop and up & down the ramp if they have one.

fishybits · 27/05/2018 13:14

I'm female and a size 8 in walking boots, I wear men's to get the right width.

Rudgie47 · 27/05/2018 13:21

I'm a female and wear mens size 7 as I have a wide foot.
Go at the end of the day to buy a pair with your walking socks on and concentrate on the fit when you come down off the ramp.

AuntieStella · 27/05/2018 13:21

"Similarly I saw a review of girls' vests on the M&S website complaining that all the vests had scratchy lace trim which irritated the reviewer's daughter. Why no vests without lace trim?! Er... those were available in the "boys'" range, exactly the same vest but no trim. But it had never occurred to the reviewer to look there. Wouldn't have occurred to me, either, if I hadn't just bought them for my son."

This is why the John Lewis decision to rearrange how it displayed children's clothes, so it was by garment type not sex of wearer, was a welcome move for many. If shops (real or online) just had all vests placed together, the 'problem' wouid never have arisen.

But some men's footwear is made on a wider last than for the women's ranges, so you may well have to try on, try insoles etc.

AuntieStella · 27/05/2018 13:24

"Has anyone else had their feet grow in middle age?"

Yes, feet often grow during pregnancy (heavier body pressing down during a time of soft ligaments, and it doesn't really go back), also sizing is a bit more variable (curse them!) and of course you need tomsize up be 0.5-1.0 size for footwear you expect to be seriously active in (eg trainers for running, rather than for general wear)

StripeyDeckchair · 27/05/2018 13:26

Go to the Keswick Boot Co shop in Keswick

They will find you a pair of boots that fit and take as long as it needs to do so, I walked round the shop for 10 mins in a pair then changed my mind as they weren't quite right. The pair I bought are fab & so comfy.

Minniemountain · 27/05/2018 14:07

I've got North Face hybrid boots in size 8. I have narrow feet and they fit well despite me being a 9 in most other types of shoes now.
Can anyone recommend a brand that are narrow in size 9 for smart shoes? Most seem really wide.

buttyblahblah · 27/05/2018 14:13

I think my feet have grown recently. I used to be a 6 1/2 but the last two pairs of boots and trainers I have bought have been an 8. I'm 41, is this a thing and will they get any bigger?

Tiddlywinks63 · 27/05/2018 14:23

I'm 64 and my narrow, high instep feet have gone from a 6 to at least a 7, size 8 in walking boots and shoes.
I have Karrimor walking trainers and Berghous walking boots. My worn out boots are men's Jack Wolfskins.

Original poster
Flatfootinneedofboots · 28/05/2018 08:06

Went to George Fisher in Keswick (thanks to those who recommended)

Fantastic customer service. They explained my problem was fallen arches, told me to bring my old walking boots (size 7) in, fitted insoles into them and it did the trick - no new boots needed Smile

Walked up and down the ramp and then round Buttermere and the insoles really took the pressure off my achey knees 😃

OP posts: