Hey everyone,

I am transitioning from heavy boots, and I've been having a really difficult time finding reasonably beefy stability type trail running shoes which are narrow enough for my men's size 10 B width feet. I've tried a bunch of the standard narrow foot recommendations offered by many of the kind people on this forum, however, they don't seem to work out very well. I have found that the La Sportiva Crosslite in a size 10 fits, but it's neutral, overly minimal, and I'm worried I could roll an ankle in that shoe.

I finally took the plunge, and started considering women's shoes. Turns out I'm a size 11.5. There are two issues I'm facing. One, is finding a shoe this big. Not all shoe makers do an 11.5 in womens. Interestingly, Salomon mostly does half sizes up to 12 except 11.5!!!
The other issue is color--pink, turquoise, light green...

The shoe which fits the best are the Salomon XT wings--one of the only 11.5s they make. I don't need super manly looking shoes, but here's the color:

http://www.zappos.com/salomon-xt-wings-2-atol-x-bay-blue-black?zfcTest=fw:1

Would anyone know of any other options?

Thanks!

rhz

> The other issue is color--pink, turquoise, light green...
What's the matter with those colours?
Seriously, does the colour affect how well the shoe fits or works?
Be different! Say 'Who cares?'

Cheers

After you've walked down the trail for half an hour, be it dusty or muddy, your shoes will be dirt colored anyway!

Wear what fits!

Most women's shoe makers stop making half sizes after 11; I have no idea why!

Edited by hikinggranny on 06/19/2012 23:44:56 MDT.

Try www.roadrunnersports.com, click on women's shoes, then narrow your results (on the left hand side) to size "11.5" and "trail runners" (or regular running shoes if you want). This might at least give you an idea about what's available in mainstream brands. There are some that are bright colors but more gender-neutral looking.

Edit: they have a "Salomon XT Wings S-Lab 4" in a red and black that's pretty cool looking. I'd run in them!

Edited by saparisor on 06/20/2012 00:19:49 MDT.

Steve--unfortunately, the xt wings on the website are unisex with men's D width.

Rafi,
Have you tried the Crosslite II's? They aren't as minimal as the reg. Crosslites with which I could feel every rock under my feet. The II's aren't pretty though, lol. Mine are blue, and have the La Sportiva white logo all the way down the side of the shoe. A friend on a trip last week made a remark that if I painted them orange, I could join the circus; I told him I'd grant him they were butt ugly, but I have a long narrow foot and a med. high arch and they fit like a glove. I'll trade fashion for function any day!

Have you taken a look at New Balance? Not all, but some of their shoes & boots range from a very narrow 2A to a very wide 6E. I need a wide fit & have been using their shoes & boots for a few years now & can usually find just the right fit, in the type of foot wear I am looking for. They seem to be at least as durable as any other brand I have used. Some of their models are actually made in the USA. Imaging that! Good luck getting a good fit.

Buy some Mens New Balance shoes in B width I also think Merrell makes narrow width shoes also.
size 11.5 shoes are hard to find because they would just sit on the shelf so a lot of buyer just quit ordering size 11.5 shoes tell their employee to just fit the person with a size 12.

Also try open throat shoes they will adjust to narrow feet with tighter lacing.
Terry

Thanks for the comments. I could not find a B width trail runner made by New Balance (they do make road running shoes in narrow), but I will check again. As for Merrell, the women's shoes max out at 11.

I'll look into the Clites II as well.

www.newbalance.com trail runners

Get to know this site, then you'll have to experiment and find out which Last size you need.

Once you find the shoe last that works for you, new balance lists them, like PL-1, RL-3, etc, you can fairly well assume any other shoe made with that last will more or less fit you.

As far as I know, new balance is the only company out there to offer something this clear and explicit.

http://www.newbalance.com/New-Balance-1110/WT1110,default,pd.html?dwvar_WT1110_color=Grey_with_Deep%20Peacock%20Blue&start=21&q=trail%20running%20shoe&cgid=40011
NB 1110

(tried to hyperlink that one but bpl forum software remains totally broken re hyperlink handling... this isn't hard to fix guys....)

for example, this is the PL-1 last, then it is just a question of finding the last and the width that actually fits your foot. And comes in your width and size .

Note that the lasts are very different, and you might find that one last is narrow, and doesn't require a B size width, while another is wider, and does.

new balance shoe last descriptions

I was lucky and found a variety of trail runners and hiking shoes at the flea market that were barely used, in my size, so I could check out some of the lasts and sizes without losing too much money, unlike in the past.

I also have horrible sizing issues, was my top, number one problem backpacking in the past, and is why I had to not do longer trips, could never find boots that fit, women's, men's didn't matter. For me, this is the actual real reason I wanted to get into ultralight, the idea of actually being able to be comfortable re shoes was so appealing. And it works.

At shopnebalance, you'll need to look at the newer shoes to find the full range of widths.

Do not trust the men's to women's conversion, that varies widely, I know, I've also done the bounce between men's and women's, and the sizes are not consistent between brands and models re men's and women's, you have to find the specific brand and model, then see how that specific ones works.

Also consider sock thickness, with thick smartwool type socks, for example, the PL-1 last, like in the 814 shoe, fits ok, but the RL-3 is a bit tight, but the rl-3 fits like a glove with thinner socks. And consider what others, Roger for example, note, you need a bigger size than you'd think due to expansion of your feet over a day. This is something I found the people at the shoe stores completely oblivious about, for them, a running shoe should be a fairly snug fit, but for backpacking, you need to figure out the sizing and fit yourself and ignore the clerks, unless they happen to do ul backpacking and understand what you are actually going to use these for.

You will be amazed at the difference between using trail runners and boots. I was a bit skeptical of this, so my first lighter trip I used regular low top hiking shoes, which were really nice, but trail running shoes are even nicer.

Edited by hhope on 06/20/2012 17:29:24 MDT.

I too have narrow feet and had some luck with the merril moab low and the columbia grizztooth. Don't know if they are still available though.

I also purchase some Merrell Moab low and had the sale clerk throw the box away on sale and wore them out. I wore them in the store for about 35 minutes they felt fine but after walking some miles they felt narrow and they also changed the last from semi straight curved last to a curved last. The shoes hurt my feet because of the curve last.
I did not save the box I end up giving the shoes to my nephew. I prefer straight lasted shoes. Check and see if you have Merrel outlet store near your home I have seen narrow width shoes,I also found out they will take returns if you have the box up to 60 days after the sale.
Terry

Hi,

I also tried the moabs and found them to be too wide. The largest size women's moab is 11, which I found to be too small.

I'll check the merrell site for narrow widths.

Thanks.