In reply to xplorer:
> I'm just after other peoples choices. What do you go for? A tight fitting or a looser fitting size?
People ask this in the shop all the time, to me it sounds like people saying should I buy a boot that's too big for me or too small, do I want blisters or blackened toes? The answer being, why not just get one that fits? It might be a little bigger or smaller on the label due to variations in sizing between manufacturers but there is no rule to follow.
Seems to stem from a generation who are used to cramming their feet into small casual shoes and then going "a size up" for boots because because back in the day it was the done thing to just keep piling socks on till it fits and putting up with the pain. Times have changed, just put lots of boots onto your feet until you get a comfy one and don't worry about the size. Different widths, volumes. shapes and the conversion from US or EU to UK sizes (foreign boot manufacturers don't make boots in UK sizes, it's just converted and rounded up) all mean that the length of the boot (the size) is just a starting place anyway.
Given that a pair of winter boots might last you 10 years I'm not sure how anyone can say they always go up a size. Say they've been climbing 20 years and had two pairs of boots that were size bigger than what they wear casually, that's not the same as saying you always go up a size, it's just that in those particular boots were neat fitting for them or like I said, they just wear casual shoes that are close fitting.