Say Goodbye to Blisters: How to fit your Hiking Shoes

Unlike jackets and trousers, it is difficult to find the perfect footwear.

Sometimes it feels fine at first, but would rather throw them away after the first hike.

Sometimes it felt absolutely horrible, but the store staff did a little something to make it felt good.

Everyone has their own way of fitting their normal shoes but you might want to check a few more things if you are going out of the city.

I will share my steps and tips to fit hiking footwear below.

Before putting them on

A fresh new pair out of the box, you are excited to put them on, I get it. But you might want to keep a few things in mind to set the stage right.

1. Do not fit shoes after a big hike: people’s feet may swell or ache after hiking, this would make the fitting less accurate and comfortable, not to mention ruining new shoes that you might not buy with smell and sweat.
2. Bring your own socks: Although shops usually provide socks for trying, there might be hygienic concerns and they might not be suitable for what you want the shoes for. Have a think about what you want to use the shoes for, thin crew socks for light trail shoes, or thick calf height ones for b3 boots. Unless you wear the shoes bare-foot, the perfect shoe has to fit your feet shape with the added thickness of the socks.
3. Undo the laces all the way: no one knows how long the shoes has been in the box, and for that time the laces are slightly tightened to keep the shape of the shoe. However, this means they might not have the intended volume and releasing the laces all the way just sets the shoe to its default state.
4. Ask the staff for description: You might already did some research about the shoes but a well trained staff would tell you much more about them. For example, many shoes are not vegan-friendly because horse bones are a common ingredient for glue used in footwear, or that some shoes are extra wide to accommodate people with bunions, some shoes have a different color because they are not waterproof ! Asking the staff just reduces a lot of guesswork and narrows down the amount you have to fit.

Feet in the shoe

Now put your feet in the shoe.

How do you feel.

Uncomfortable? Boom, next pair. Simple as that. There is no point in tying up because it is at the most relaxed state it can possibly be.

The most common reasons you feel uncomfortable are the length and the width.

If your toes are touching the front or even curled up, that means they are not long enough and you might solve it by increasing the size.

if the front sides of you feet are squeezed, it means the shoes are not wide enough, and most likely you need to change the shoe model for this.

Lace Up!

Tap you heel firmly to the ground to slide you feet to the heel.

Maintain a nice 90 degree joint angle and lace it from the very front of the shoes, one by one.

This is to ensure your feet are not at a random place in the shoe, and you are not leaning forward or backwards when tying up which may affect the fitting.

Rise and tip-toe up the ramp

Once they are laces up, have a general walk around the store. If there is anything uncomfortable, tell the staff about it and they should help you out.

A proper shoe shop should have a ramp to test the shoes. A lot of people thought they are to check the grip, but they are actually made very grippy so people can try walking in weird positions simulating path conditions on the hill.

People have different ways to check their feel of the shoes but I like the tip-toe method which gives a very clear idea about the fit of the shoes.

Essentially, lift your heel of the ground and walk on your toes, as if wearing imaginary high-heels. Keep your balance in this position and walk up the ramp, turn around and walk down maintaining the tip-toe. This does a few things:

1. Tip toeing up simulates a common technique of making big elevated steps where you only have the front part of your feet in contact.
2. it raises your heels to expose gaps if the shoe heels are not holding your heels well. Heel lifting means your heels will rub every time you walk and casus bruises.
3. coming down applies body weight to push your toes to the front of the shoe. Your toes will touch the front of the shoe if the shoe is not holding the feet well enough, causing bruises and nail problems (black toes).
4. The whole tip-toe process amplifies the uncomfortableness of wearing the shoes. It would be much more obvious to feel the length and the width of the shoes. Also it checks if your lacing is done right.
5. Tip-toe means you are bending your toe joint outwards, which will inevitably cause creases on the shoes. But there should not be bulging out or excess of material at the bending point. This usually does not impact the comfort but the life of the shoes since it would cause much more wear.

After the test ask yourself these questions

Are they comfortable? Are my feet moving around? Are my toes touching the front? Are my heels lifting? Is the material bulging or folding?

If you answer is no to all then you have a good chance of she shoes being a good fit.

in shoe fitting, no news is good news

Troubleshooting and tips

If your answer is yes, or just on one feet, then talk to the staff.

They might get a new pair for you to try, or do some trickery to hopefully help.