How to choose the size of your hiking shoes
Choosing the right size of your mountain shoes, depends on several details that you need to consider. From the choice and placement of the socks, to the space of the foot inside the boot, or the way to tie them. These are necessary aspects to walk as comfortably as possible and to be able to go trekking without any inconvenience.
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Read on, here are some tips on how to find the perfect size hiking shoes.
What to consider when evaluating the size of your hiking shoe?
1. Try the boots at the end of the day
You should know that... During a walk your feet will swell a little, so it is necessary that the boots have a certain amount of slack, so that they do not fit too tightly and produce blisters by friction.
The end of the afternoon can be the best time of day to try on hiking boots. It is normal for your feet to be slightly swollen after the day's activities and to be at the peak of their swelling.
Please note when testing the size of your mountaineering footwear, to use the same shoes, to use the same socks that you would use for a hike. This way, you can test it in more realistic conditions.
2. Check that there is enough room at the toe of the shoe.
The simplest way to check that your hiking shoe size is correct is to remove the insole and place your foot on top of it. Check that your heel is positioned correctly over the back of the insole and then check that there is a gap of one finger between the toe of your foot and the toe of the insole, no more and no less.
3. Check that there is space at the back of the boot.
After checking that there is a gap at the fingertip, it is necessary to verify that the adjustment of the footwear is appropriate. To do this, loosen the boot laces and insert your foot so that the toe of your foot touches the toe of the boot. In this position, with the boot loose, your foot on the ground and your leg perpendicular, insert a toe between the heel of your foot and the footwear. The finger should fit easily, without extra space.
4. Check that your footwear is not too tight
To test the fit of your hiking shoes, pull your heel back so that there is no space between your heel and the boot. Then, place the tongue in the correct position and tighten the laces by pulling them, starting at the toe and working your way up.
Avoid overtightening the laces. The laces should not be too close together, but in their natural position. Tie the laces all the way to the top, as the idea is to test how the boots will fit in conditions similar to those in use.
5. Try both boots
Our body is not symmetrical and it is normal to have one foot slightly larger than the other. It can also happen that there is a manufacturing defect or that we notice a different sensation in one foot and in the other. For this reason, you should always try on both boots.
6. Walk a little in your shoes
After adjusting and putting on the boots, as explained above, stand up and pay attention to the sensations of your feet. From the very first moment, you should feel that the footwear fits the shape of your foot and, above all, very comfortable.
A hiking shoe should be comfortable right from the start. You may have heard it said that shoes "need to be broken in". If your hiking shoes don't feel comfortable from day one, don't buy them - they won't be comfortable when you're walking. Obviously, when you have worn it for several days, it will lose some stiffness and gain some comfort.
7. Don't rush
The feeling of comfort that a hiking boot should produce is personal. A boot that feels comfortable to someone else will not necessarily feel comfortable to you and vice versa.
The size of your hiking shoes is a fundamental factor in choosing the right footwear.. Take the time you need to buy the right hiking boots for you.
If you buy your mountaineering footwear in a onlineDo you know how to measure the correct size of your hiking shoes?
But what if you decide to buy hiking shoes online, how can you measure your foot size correctly? The process is quite simple and is based on measuring the size of your foot.
Place a sheet of paper on the floor next to the wall. Place your foot on it so that your heel and the sheet of paper are in contact with the wall. With a pencil perpendicular to the floor, mark on the sheet of paper where the longest point of your foot reaches.
Also, to make sure your shoes are the right size, remember to wear thick socks when measuring and to do so at the end of the day, when your feet are most swollen.
Repeat this procedure with both feet and take the longer measurement as a reference.
Measure from the end of the sheet to the pencil mark. This measurement will be the size of a snug-fitting shoe. To that measurement, add the measurement of the width of 1 toe (1.5-2 centimetres) to make the shoe fit comfortably.
Once we have the your foot measurement in centimetres, all we need is your convert it to a European scale. To do this, we can consult the table of equivalences on the manufacturer's website and choose in this case the Spanish/European format.
