UKC

My feet are hobbit feet, and shoes have been a lifelong struggle. I have bunions to boot, which make life even more awkward (they are inherited, so nothing will fix them. They have been like that since birth). 

I really like the broad toe box of barefoot style shoes, but get very frustrated that most of these are actually pretty narrow shoes just with a square toe.

Recently, I got some wide fit Inov8 trailfly, and they are pretty comfy. I reckon they would be perfect if they were about 8mm wider. They are the best I can find for now. Now I want some road shoes, and I'm really struggling to find charts which show actual width in mm. I did find it somewhere for the Trailflys before I bought them, and can't seem to find one again. 

I'm a size 5.5 in most shoes, and ideally want them about 10cm wide. I don't mind too much about the other "barefoot" features, as in I don't need them to be zero drop etc. Although I do like a fairly thin sole and pretty flexible. I definitely don't want super high stacked like Hoka.

Anyone got links to any size charts or suggestions from other hobbits on what might be worth getting?

In reply to girlymonkey:

Altra shoes are meant to be wide, but I've not used them.

Top tip. When you try on new shoes, you can take the insole out and stand on it to see how much space there is. You could take the inov8 insole to compare.

In reply to dread-i:

Nope, Altra aren't particularly wide. I have tried them. 

Yeah, we don't even have a proper supermarket where I am, shops with shoes to try on is not happening!! Internet ping pong is the only method, so trying the narrow down options 

In reply to girlymonkey:

Shoes I have or have had (large and wide feet)

Vivobarefoot, width does vary across styles, try before you buy.

Merrell trail glove

Lems, not the most durable soles on their lighter weight shoes but very comfortable.

Vibram five fingers, not for everyone but I like them.

ECCO sandals for when I want a thicker sole.

Haix are my go to for safety boots, but they also do wide fit "normal" boots, expensive but best I've found.

For MTB 5.10 Freerider Pro are the best I've found so far.

I do have my eye on some Vans wide fit, but not tried them yet.

Never found a measurement for width on any of the manufacturers sites other than E or EE American shoes/boots seem to come varying widths.

In reply to artif:

I once when into their shop in Glasgow and tried every pair they had. All WAY too narrow (and low volume)

I have wondered about these, but hesitated as other Merrels I have tried were too narrow. Might revisit this option 

I had dismissed them when I searched as their trail ones were what came up and the picture of the toe box wasn't as square as some. Maybe just a bad picture?

Nope! Lol

Yeah, don't really need sandals or safety boots etc.

Yes, it's annoying. Surely it's not just the wide footed folks who need to know width? Surely a width measurement is relevant for everyone??

In reply to girlymonkey:

I see you dismiss Altras, have you actually tried the Lone Peak 9+?

They suit my bunion, I'm a complete convert.

In reply to Pedro50:

I have tried a few other theirs, but a few years back now so probably haven't tried these. I think I did try other lone peak in the past and they were very narrow. I had a quick look there online and can't find anyone selling any which claim to be their wide fit version so not sure I can get any anyway

In reply to girlymonkey:

Sportsshoes.com have some altra lone peaks for under £70:

https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/alt497/altra-lone-peak-7-women's-trail-...

I have a wider foot and love the lone peaks. Very roomy. 

In reply to Mudflap:

Lone peaks which I have previously tried have been way too narrow. Someone upthread was suggesting that the 9 plus might be wider. Maybe they are, but wide fit also not available!! I can't be sure which model it was that I tried previously. 

I do wonder if the wide ones are actually very wide in men's fit, but they maybe don't size up the women's wide shoes as much? My husband liked the Lone peaks, his feet are on the wider end of "normal".

In reply to girlymonkey:

I have a pair of Trail Gloves, they are OK but not as good as the older versions, but I think the newer ones are wider so might suit you.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Inov8 do a Roadfly, in Standard or Wide.

There's a "What width am I ?" button, which opens up a size chart with widths - for a 5.5 then they say the Wide version is for a foot width of 96mm

In reply to girlymonkey:

My daughter has similarly sized and shaped feet, minus the bunions.

HappyLittlesoles.co.uk offer a wide range of adult shoes, they also have comprehensive sizing information. My daughter finds both Belenka and Peerko wide enough, she also has a pair of Bohempia oriks which are like a Aonverse Allstar but with a forefoot friendly toebox, she has the wide fit but in hindsight she wishes she had gone with the extra wide.

Vivoabarefoot, avoid the Womens styles they are made on a narrower last. Mens styles go down to a size 6, everyone in my family had to size up in Vivos. If you have a low volume foot avoid the styles without a tongue and a knitted sock upper  lik the Primus knit because it wrinkles when you do up the laces tight enough and the wrinkles are very uncomfortable

Check Anyasreviews.com for very indepth reviews and advice on sizing and shapes of various brands.

Radical option have you considered sandals for road running?  I have done over 500km in my Luna Venado 2.0s barefoot sandals, they are a thong style so there is no constriction on the width at all. They have templates you can download to gauge your size.  Despite having Reynaud's, my feet seem unaffected and I wear them  all year around down to around 5C

In reply to steelbru:

Oh, that's good to know. I was looking for these a while back, but it was while Inov8 were changing their line up and they appeared to be gone - I assumed they were discontinued so it's good to know this is not the case!

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

Ugh! I cannot stand the sensation of the toe-post in thong-style sandals - the thought of this actually makes me feel slightly nauseous! If it works for you (and maybe for the OP), great, but I won't be trying it!

For the OP, I use Altra Escalantes for road running. They work for me, but from what you've said, your feet may be a little wider than mine. However, my experience with Altra is that their width isn't consistent, so I wouldn't necessarily give up on the brand because of one model that doesn't work for you. 

In reply to girlymonkey:

I have a similar problem. Inov8 roadfly aren't as wide as the trailfly unfortunately. They are still pretty wide though. Brooks cascadia are pretty wide in the men's wide fit, unsure what the women's is like. Inov8 and Brooks cascadia are literally the only shoes I've ever found that fit me apart from Fittville which are a specialist wide fitting shoe company available quite cheaply from Amazon (don't buy them direct as you have to pay return shipping to Germany if they don't fit).

In reply to girlymonkey:

Have you tried Topo shoes? They are wide, but hard to find in shops, especially in Scotland.

In reply to Harry Jarvis:

They are really narrow everywhere except the toe box. 

In reply to girlymonkey:

If you don’t mind stack, Altra Line Peak 9+ in the wide fit would be best

dont bither with merrell or xero they are very narrow. Vivo slightly wider but aggressively tapered which makes their fit poor for any minimalist user

Freet are good, the toe box is a good shape with good width. The Claver 2 has a very aggressive sole 

In reply to girlymonkey:Where do you actually want the shoes to be wide? 

Ultimately go to a shop and try stuff on.  It might be a hassle, but if you're motivated enough...

What rock shoes do you use out of curiosity?

In reply to girlymonkey:

I like Topo for my wide in the midfoot feet, and they have a nice spacious toe box.

But, not all their models have the same last/shape: the Pursuit and the MTN Racer suit me, the Traverse is more of a classical tighter fit, though probably still wider than some.

I used to like Inov8 mud claws, but the build quality seemed to go down, and the standard fit became more narrow. 

In reply to girlymonkey:

Probably no good for trails, but for casual use cosy feet claim to be extra wide for swollen feet etc

https://www.cosyfeet.com/jo-jo-zip?_gl=1*b3jyqf*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid...

In reply to girlymonkey:

Camper Peu. Not to everyones taste but wide, comfy and barefoot.

https://www.camper.com/en_GB/content/peu-icons

In reply to Stichtplate:

My day to day work shoe, and I enjoy how they feel. No way I’d use these for running.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Go easy on using the "hobbit feet" analogy as many of the good readers of UKC now have a mental image of your feet, which if hobbity would have a big clump of thick brown hair/fur on the top of them. I hope that's not the case? (Or at least shave them before trying on new climbing shoes 🤣)

In reply to greg_may_:

My mistake, missed the “road shoe”

In reply to girlymonkey:

I have small hobbit feet girlymonkey, and Morton’s neuroma. 
As kathrync says, Altra’s vary in width between models, despite the brands ‘roomy toe box’ design.

I am about to launch my 3rd pair of Altra women’s Olympus 5’s UK5.5, with Superfeet carbon insoles and metpads. Removing the stock insoles for thin ones provides more foot space. 
 

Sportsshoes.com have discounted prices, especially on ‘last year’s models’. 

Good luck in your quest.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Echoing a couple of posts above, I had two pairs of Topos that had very wide toe boxes which suited my wide feet and which I liked. One was an off-road pair - Terraventures? - the other a road pair whose name I forget - Flylite, maybe? The only thing was that the uppers of both started disintegrating after only a couple of hundred miles or so. However I managed to push the offroad pair to 700 miles and got the road pair to 400+, I think, so not too bad in the end,.

In reply to mbh:

I ran the Lairig Ghru race in a pair of Topo shoes (I think they were the Ultraventures) held together with Aquasure glue and gaffer tape - as you say, the uppers weren't great, but the fit was right for my feet and heading into the race I was reluctant to try anything new. Thankfully, the glue and tape held together!