FINAL Boot question on fitment

[muzzyman88]

This will be my final question about boots, I swear. haha.

I pinned down the perfect boot for my foot, the Crispi Nevada. They just feel awesome right out of the box to me. Now, with that said, I took my hunting socks this time and tried on both a 12.5 and a 13. With my socks, the toe area on the 12.5 with about right, maybe a touch snug. I walked around in them for a while and they seemed great. I tried the 13 on. A bit more room in the toe box, rest of the boot felt about the same. I could really wiggle the hell out of my toes in the 13. I felt like I could snug them up a bit more to get rid of what I felt was a tiny bit of access slop in the toe area where as the 12.5s didn't leave much room in adjustment in that area.

So my question is, for mountain hunting, should i just go with the 13 and have plenty of room in the toe area, especially if I would pack out heavy down hill? Both sizes felt great, I just feel as a bit of added insurance in the toe area, the 13 may be the way to go. For what its worth, I believe the 13's are technically a 12.5 on most american shoes as I found the EU sizing was off a 1/2 small compared to what most US shoes are. I normally wear a 12 shoe but the 12 in crispi is just plain too small.

Anyway, I'm glad to have found my boot, just curious on if I should just go with the 13 for toe room as well as a little more freedom in sock selection.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Can only speak for myself but I try to get as snug as possible with mountain boots assuming the comfort is still there.

My experience has been if you "leave wiggle room" that will turn into blisters, especially a healthier toe box when it comes time to carry weight downhill.

my $.02

 

[Mosby]

Hard to say what is too much or not enough. Its more of a "feel" thing. I want snug but not tight. I don't want my toes touching the end of the boot. I like to have enough room to comfortably wear a bit heavier sock. I tape my feet before hunting. Feet swell after hard use. I try to take all of that into account for fit.

 

[def90]

I wear thin/lightweight socks, I also leave a little room in the toes because your feet will flatten out a bit and swell over time when doing a ton of hiking in rough terrain. Also leaving some room in the toes prevents black toe nails from your toes jamming in to the end of your boot when walking down slopes with a pack on your back.

 

[muzzyman88]

Its weird to me. Both boots fit and felt great. The larger 13 felt just a tad bit looser in the toe box, but the same in the heel and ankle area. I really didn't tighten the lacing down anything crazy across the toes. I of course will be running a different insole in them that may change the snugness as well.

I guess my question is, in the toe area would having too much room there be just as much of an issue as having too little?

With my heavy weight merino socks, I had about 1" in front of my toes when they were laced snug in the ankle area as I would wear them. Hope that makes sense.

 

[dtrkyman]

One inch in front of toes seems way too big.

 

[Catahoula]

I have the Crispi Nevada’s and I went a half size larger for the slightly extra toe box room. Wonderfully comfortable boot.

 

[ElkNut1]

Snug fit!!!! Anything else will cause slippage especially with severe downhilling & sidehilling, you will regret it! Plus, your present snug fit on the 12.5 will expand a bit with more miles on them & mold to your fit as individuals! No left & right feet are identical.

ElkNut

 

[Lowg08]

My answer may not be popular but the appropriate fit for boots for hiking, hunting, mountaineering is as follows. You need to have an index fingers width between your heel and the heel of the boot. I took this advice from a friend of mine and also my father (avid) hiker mountain hunter. It works good especially down hill and side hill

 

[def90]

My answer may not be popular but the appropriate fit for boots for hiking, hunting, mountaineering is as follows. You need to have an index fingers width between your heel and the heel of the boot. I took this advice from a friend of mine and also my father (avid) hiker mountain hunter. It works good especially down hill and side hill

That follows ski boot sizing and follows the idea of having extra room in the toe box if your heel is tight in the heel pocket. Putting your foot forward and measuring from the back is probably easier than guessing the amount of room you have up front.

 

[muzzyman88]

So it sounds like I should go with the 12.5. Slightly snug throughout and still room in front of my toes. I've never owned a pair of what is considered a mountain boot so this is all new to me. I'm a whitetail guy and am just used to the feeling of having plenty of room in the boot for two pairs of socks for warmth. The socks I used were the expedition weight Minus33 sock (Killer stuff btw). I imagine I won't be wearing a sock quite that heavy for my elk hunt.

I guess my concern is once I add a new insole to the 12.5, its going to take up volume in the boot and I may end up on the side of too snug. From what I've been reading, your feet are going to swell a bit and also elongate during the day. I'm just thinking that i can always take up a bit of volume with insole as well as lacing them down a bit more. This is nerve racking... lol.

 

[Moserkr]

I started with size 10 crispi summits and loved them. My toes didnt touch the end when I got them, but were snug with full cushion darn tough socks. I ordered them a 1/2 size big at the time knowing my foot would swell with hard use. After 3 years, I ran i to issues last seasons. My toes started to touch the ends of the toe box and would jam going downhill after long days on the mountain. My toenails turned black. I put 1,000 miles on the boots in 3 years, hard miles, and heavy loads. My feet flattened (i have high arches). Now Im looking at size 11 and im staying with crispi of course. I should have started with a 10.5 which was a full size larger than my foot size 3 years ago...

As it relates to you, i would go at least a half size up. If you do a 12 mile day in steep country, Id be surprised if your foot doesnt swell. Also, learn to “lock” your heel in place with your lacing so your foot doesnt slide forward. That allows a comfortable toe box even if it has a little extra room for potential swelling or sliding forward in downhill descents. If the 12.5 are a little snug then Id go 13 if it still feels right. You will appreciate that toe room after a long hard day, especially with a heavy pack.

 

[def90]

It’s counter intuitive but sometimes wearing heavier socks or doubling up just makes your feet colder in the end. I would go with a thinner merino wool sock personally. I wear the same socks I wear downhill skiing which are almost as thin as sock liners but they are wool and I don’t have issues with cold feet.

 

[thewileyone]

Sounds like the 12.5 is plenty big. I personally don’t wear that heavy of a sock. I wear a medium weight merino and if need be there are lots of companies who make a sock liner. One pair of heavy weights is plenty or too much. As previously mentioned, too much insulation will make your feet colder. It will also allow for too much slippage which causes blisters. If the boots end up too big, replace the insole with a slightly larger one to take up some room. 1” of room in the toe box is way too much.
Just my opinion.

 

[muzzyman88]

Sounds like the 12.5 is plenty big. I personally don’t wear that heavy of a sock. I wear a medium weight merino and if need be there are lots of companies who make a sock liner. One pair of heavy weights is plenty or too much. As previously mentioned, too much insulation will make your feet colder. It will also allow for too much slippage which causes blisters. If the boots end up too big, replace the insole with a slightly larger one to take up some room. 1” of room in the toe box is way too much.
Just my opinion.

I probably exagerated quite a bit there. haha. If felt like I could slide foot around in the boot untied more than I realized. I have a fingers width in the heal with my toes touching the front of the boot. I had my feet measured recently and it turns out, I've been wearing the wrong size shoe for quite some time. My feet measured out at 12.5 M. With that said, I went with a 13 crispi Nevada and they feel way better. I have a little room in the toe box and the rest of the boot feels great. I took them turkey hunting this past week and aside from messing with lacing, they did well. I have a tad bit of heel slip that I'm hoping gets better as they boot break. The only thing that is a bit off at this point is having a bit too much volume in the boot. I snugged them down a bit more and kind of went too snug. I'm going to play with inserts now (i was using the horrible stock ones that day) to see if I can tweak that a bit.

 

[Honyock]

Now get some insoles for the Nevadas. I love my Nevadas but the insoles had to go. You'll get a million opinions on what insole is the best so for what it's worth I use Lathrop and Sons Synergy.