AT Boot fitting question

I am looking at some new AT boots for this season and will probably buy online for the savings.

I normally wear a mondo 28 or 28.5 and want to know if it is typically easier to make a boot bigger or smaller. I will go to a professional fitter but should I get the 28 and possibly be a little too tight or the 28.5 and possibly be a little too big.

By all means smaller is better, There is nothing worse then stuffing all sorts of inserts and crap into a boot to fill space.

Start with a shell fit, You should be able to get 1-1 1/2 finger tips behind the heal of your foot and between the shell with no liner in the boot and your toes touching but not smooshed into the front of the boot.

So many ways to punch a boot in trouble spots and even mellow grinding will do. When your liner is formed or fit, should fill it out nice.

Stay away from the big boots.

Depending on the mfg'r, the shell is likely the same for the 28 and 28.5, the liner is what makes up the difference. Just go try them on somewhere and be up front about your intentions, who knows, maybe the shop will make you a deal.

Edit - didn't see the professional fitter part. In that case, why not call the fitter you intend to use?

One other point, depending on the shell material, you may not be able to punch or grind the boot much, if at all. I've read that Pebax can't be punched and is too thin to do any significant grinding.

You can blow the boot out but you can't shrink it.

Boot companies generally make the shell is the same size on the half increment. That being said, not all manufacturers follow the same convention so keep an eye out for that.

Most companies make the 28/28.5 the same sized shell (BD, Garmont, Dynafit)and the only difference between the two is the size of the liner (which will size up or down slightly when being thermo-molded).

Scarpa, on the other hand, rocks the boat and blows convention (and reason) by making their shells the same size on the 27.5/28 split.

Best way I've found to keep it straight is to go to Backcountry.com, look at a boot from a given brand, and click "Size?" right under the size drop-down. Scroll down in the sizing chart and you'll see the Boot Sole Length chart which shows how a given brand splits their shells:

Scarpa- backcountry.com/store/sizin…

BD- backcountry.com/store/sizin…

Dynafit - backcountry.com/store/sizin…

Garmont - backcountry.com/store/sizin…

Wade,

I would honestly suggest going into a retailer to, at the very least, try the boots on and get their opinion. In the front range, shops such as The Wilderness Exchange, Edgeworks, and Bent Gate all have knowledgeable staff that can get you going in the right direction. Besides, nothing's going to make you more miserable than taking a boot into a fitter and being told it's not going to work for one or more reasons.

As Jonathan mentioned, all the companies have different ways of sizing their boots and regardless of the liners some are going to fit narrower or wider feet better. For example, the Scarpa Mobe and Maestrale's both use the intuition liners but the Maestrale's have a significantly narrower shell with a lower volume fit. Then other factors come in, like how stiff the boot is vs how well it tours, what degree of flex your ankle has in walk mode, the individual soles and the types of tech fittings if you want dynafit bindings.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Best of luck and enjoy the new boots!

Jonathan Callahan wrote: Dynafit - backcountry.com/store/sizin…

Thanks Jonathan! This is exactly what i needed! Thanks for all the other input everyone! Ill try to hit up Bent Gate when they are not busy and tell them what I am doing, if they still willing to let me try on a boot then cool if not Ill take my chances with the 28...Thanks again!

you might want to look into last years BD factor's from REI too... I got mine for $340 and if they don't fit they'll take the return. I posted a thread here a week ago or so about it.

You may also find this tidbit of information somewhat helpful:

tetongravity.com/forums/sho…

Just picked up a pair of Dynafit Radicals. I had a pro size them for me and they felt pretty good in the store. Now that I have them home, I've been wearing them and really think they may be too small. I think the fit would be great for a strictly alpine boot, but for touring I think it is too short and potentially too small as well. Trying to get some feedback from other people that spend time touring.

When in touring mode my toes hit the front, giving them a slight curl. I'm concerned about how much this will hurt if I'm in the boots all day, and it doesn't seem like there is much in the way of give in the length. When I buckle in, my toes come away from the front and aren't hitting as far as I can tell.

The boots are tight enough on the top of my foot that is is uncomfortable, and when I take them off my feet are tingly for a while afterwards. Weirdly enough, it seems like they hurt less when I have them buckled. I imagine that they will mold to my feet after some use, but still seem too tight even with that.

As I have the 26.5s, if I go up a size it will be into the next shell size i.e. to 27/27.5, so it's not just a question of changing liners/soles. I usually wear a 9.5/10 in street shoes, and I have wide feet, which is why I went with the Radicals.

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. Right now I am planning on exchanging them for the 27s.

DesertRat wrote:Just picked up a pair of Dynafit Radicals. I had a pro size them for me and they felt pretty good in the store. Now that I have them home, I've been wearing them and really think they may be too small. I think the fit would be great for a strictly alpine boot, but for touring I think it is too short and potentially too small as well. Trying to get some feedback from other people that spend time touring. When in touring mode my toes hit the front, giving them a slight curl. I'm concerned about how much this will hurt if I'm in the boots all day, and it doesn't seem like there is much in the way of give in the length. When I buckle in, my toes come away from the front and aren't hitting as far as I can tell. The boots are tight enough on the top of my foot that is is uncomfortable, and when I take them off my feet are tingly for a while afterwards. Weirdly enough, it seems like they hurt less when I have them buckled. I imagine that they will mold to my feet after some use, but still seem too tight even with that. As I have the 26.5s, if I go up a size it will be into the next shell size i.e. to 27/27.5, so it's not just a question of changing liners/soles. I usually wear a 9.5/10 in street shoes, and I have wide feet, which is why I went with the Radicals. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. Right now I am planning on exchanging them for the 27s.

I don't know how much touring you've done so this may be useless advice.

Do you have the lower buckles free when in touring mode? It could just be a question of playing around with the second and third buckles. There's a lot of ginning around that goes into getting a fine fit with buckles.

I have Mastrales and when I skin the top buckle is as loose as possible, second is tight and third and fourth are unbuckled. This keeps my foot back in the boot so the toes don't curl, which can give you ingrown nails and all sorts of fun stuff.

When I ski the power strap and top buckle is tight, second is tight and third and fourth are loose.

This will be my first touring setup, so I'm not definitely not settled in on where I'll run my buckles.

Have you formed the liner? Have you thrown away the Palau liner, bought an intuition liner and formed that?

If I put my foot in the shell without the liner, I have about 1/2" behind my foot, with my toes touching the front. I also notice that the ball of my foot touches both sides of the shell pretty firmly, even without the liner.

@Tico, negative.