Chad - I have the exact same problem. In fact I read to see which of your feet is larger so we could maybe work a deal but sadly my L foot is my biggie too.

To date, the shoe that works best for me are Brooks Cascadias. Not perfect but better than most. Enough room for pinkie toes.

I have also tried having a pair of custom shoes made by Hersey. This has been a miserable experience to date. Two tries that were way off and another that's been "on the way" for months.

My rationale up front was that $500 for shoes with a 5 year life expectancy, including a mold, is a lot cheaper than cycling thru $100 trail shoes that don't really fit. I still like the rationale - just wouldn't recommend Hersey at this point :(

I'd be REALLY careful about heel wedges...they can really mess up your biomechanics and led to all kinds of unintended consequences.

Edited by jackfl on 06/04/2010 14:48:07 MDT.

Thanks for the info John.

I'm in agreement with you about using heel inserts. I think it would simply mess up my walking too much.

I'm going to try removing the bungee laces from my Salomon’s and replace them with normal laces. I've also taken an old foam foot-bed and cut it into a heel cup.

I'm hopeful that the change in lacing and the heel cup will help solve this issue.

I'm sure I saw something about cutting up some very thin foam to make extra padding around the INSIDES of the heel. I think it had to be glued to the inside of the shoe to keep it in place. It might be worth experimenting with.

Cheers

Thanks Roger! I am in fact working on the insole padding thing right now. Ironically the original inserts that came with my Solomon’s seem to work great for this.

I believe I will have to keep the padding positioned above the heel itself or my entire foot will be slid too far forward.

Anyone have some recommendations for glue that I could use to attach this padding to the inside of my shoe?

Shoe Goo or Aquaseal would work well.

Have you tried the wide version of the Merrill shoes? I have a pair of Merrill Ventilators (wide model) and they have the widest toe box of any shoe I've tried.

I too have odd size feet and a sizeable heel spur (Haglunds) one one, BUT I also have a shorter leg. The small foot is on the short leg so MYOG insoles works for me.
I use 1/8" cork tiles (used to be popular for bathroom flooring) and cut to shape. I usually put a double thickness under the heel.
The heel spur is harder to deal with - soft trail shoes are comfortable but wear out quickly, boots are stiffer and the heel suffers

Stuart: I've the same condition(i.e. one shorter leg, different sized feet.) Dave Page, cobbler in Seattle, has added 1/4 inch (can go up from there) to the outer sole of my left boot. That works in conjunction with an internal orthotic lift. I sing the praises of his work--and not just me.

Edited by book on 06/08/2010 10:21:47 MDT.

Darn odd-ball wide feet!

Well using the tracing method my toe box is 4 7/16" wide and my heel is 2 5/16" wide.

Now I I know my toe box width lands me in the EE to EEE range but where dose my heel width land me?

> my toe box width lands me in the EE to EEE range but where dose my heel width land me?

In completely unknown territory. I don't think heel width is ever measured - except for custom footwear. Certainly the Brannock device has no provision for it.

My heel is 2.5" wide. I'm 4E width.

Cheers

Oh great, I have the wide feets that are two diffrent volumes.

God hates me, surely she does.