Shoe sizing 'standards'

[pink poodle]

If you want to be sure they fit try them on and buy local. Good fit is more important than anything else, including cost.

I learnt that the hard way with snowboarding boots...brought the same brand for.many many years without issue. One day I get an email telling me the boots I wanted sold out while I was buying them. I'm offered the equivalent in a different brand for the same clearest last season price (I love American retail service ethic) US$600 down to US$150...how could I refuse? Fuck me! Narrow mother fuckers...was like having my foot in a clamp every day. Foolishly (the dollar was strong at the time) i though it would he easier/cheaper to sell them here rather than fork out ~$85-100 to return them and loose most of the refund. Here I am a few years later with a mint pair of super boots nobody wants!

I buy most of my clothes/shoes etc on line. I just can't he fucked going to a clothing store to be treated.like shit by someone who hates their meaningless life while I'm trying to give them money. If I wanted that I'd talk to myself in the mirror. Scroll, scroll, click, click, click and receive awesome service from my postie = winning. But it does suck when you find that a size is not always a size.

 

[teK--]

I learnt that the hard way with snowboarding boots...brought the same brand for.many many years without issue. One day I get an email telling me the boots I wanted sold out while I was buying them. I'm offered the equivalent in a different brand for the same clearest last season price (I love American retail service ethic) US$600 down to US$150...how could I refuse? Fuck me! Narrow mother fuckers...was like having my foot in a clamp every day. Foolishly (the dollar was strong at the time) i though it would he easier/cheaper to sell them here rather than fork out ~$85-100 to return them and loose most of the refund. Here I am a few years later with a mint pair of super boots nobody wants!

I buy most of my clothes/shoes etc on line. I just can't he fucked going to a clothing store to be treated.like shit by someone who hates their meaningless life while I'm trying to give them money. If I wanted that I'd talk to myself in the mirror. Scroll, scroll, click, click, click and receive awesome service from my postie = winning. But it does suck when you find that a size is not always a size.

Yeah snow gear is such a ripoff in Australia too; it is hard to resist not taking advantage of sales overseas but I agree I would never buy boots online without knowing 100% they will fit.

 

[Mica]

What's worse is when sizing is inconsistent within the same brand, and even worse than that, the same model of shoe across years.

Talking to a friend in the fashion industry a while back you'll get this in anything mass produced. A number of layers of material will be stacked up and then cut out with a "cookie cutter". As the blade passes through the layers things stretch and move differently, not to mention how carefully they're stacked, so each cut is a bit different making each item slightly different after it's all sewn together hence the differences.

That said I'd rather suck up fit variations and shop online than go to the shops

 

[ozzybmx]

That said I'd rather suck up fit variations and shop online than go to the shops

Wouldn't mind going to the shops if they have the style and colour I want. When the interwebz show us nice colours and styles and you go down to your local shop and they tell you that colour is not available in Oz, only black or white and they'll have to order a size 43 in for me... what a waste of time.

Gotta hate people going to a shop to try stuff on without buying, if you try it on, buy there. Otherwise take your chance like the rest of us.

Most of the shoes I have were never available in Oz.

Currently got a pair of PI X-Project 1.0 on the way from the US, taking a chance of size 43.5... if they dont fit, I got them cheap enough to sell on and break even.

 

[pharmaboy]

I've been stuffed with this in the past week. I'm a size 46 in my Sidi's and I'm buying some more hike-a-bike friendly Shimano ME7s. Ordered size 46 online and when I tried them on, they're VERY snug fitting. I've now ordered the next size up and will return whichever size isn't the best fit.

Typical story, but I would have loved to have tried and bought these at the local LBS but the online price saved me $45.

Its not necessarily brands that aren't consistent it's the type of shoe. So I'm generally a 45 in shimano and specialised, but once you go to XC shoes they start using terms like narrow or snug etc which tells me add one size.

Sidis are just small and also narrow, for my feet I wouldn't even consider them.

Shout out to pushies where you can send them back for not a lot and are real close to the best pricing you can get

 

[ozzybmx]

So I'm generally a 45 in shimano and specialised, but once you go to XC shoes they start using terms like narrow or snug etc which tells me add one size.

Admin or OP should get a collective list going on the #1 post, capture everyone's different sizing on each brand, might help a bloke out in the future.

Theres quite a few brands that I have never tried and some reference between say, Shimano and NorthWave might save me some $$$

 

[BT180]

Shout out to pushies where you can send them back for not a lot and are real close to the best pricing you can get

Totally. Got the ME7s from Pushys. That's why it was a no-brainer ordering two pairs to get the best fit. I can easily return the wrong pair for the price of domestic shipping. Bit harder to do that when buying from CRC, etc.