When shopping for boots to wear, one thing you want to consider is the size of the boots. For instance, if you’re working all day and need to be comfortable in your boots, should you buy boots half size bigger? Will wearing such boots have any impact on your comfort? Certain factors determine whether you buy boots a half size bigger or smaller. These are the factors you need to put in mind while shopping for a boot to wear.
This article has touched on the important things you need to understand about purchasing boots based on their sizes. What size of boots do you need, and how do you know if the boots fit just perfectly for you? We’ve discussed every one of these questions and more in the following sections. Discover them below.
Contents
Can Boots Be Too Big Or Too Small?
It all depends on the kind of feet you have. For people who have wide feet, narrow and much smaller boots are not ideal. As a rule of thumb, getting the measurement of your feet before going to shop for boots is a much better solution.
On the other hand, purchasing boots that are larger than your feet gives you room to adjust your feet using extra padding and to wear socks. However, you should ensure not to go for boots that are very much larger than your feet. This can give you blisters and heel slippage.
An ideal boot will allow you to wriggle your feet in it comfortably. It will not be too small to compress your toes or squeeze the sides of your feet uncomfortably. Also, it shouldn’t be too large and bulky for your feet. This causes slippages and can—as we’ve mentioned above—bruise your heels, and no one wants that for themselves.
What Size Boots Do You Need?
The size of boots you need, as we’ve mentioned earlier, depends on your type of feet. Moreover, it’s better if you get boots that are a bit larger than your feet. Also, one other thing to note about the size of your boots is that you should consider the reasons, locations, and seasons you’re purchasing them for.
You need to understand the kind of boot that you need. To do this, you’d need to know how to measure the size of your feet and then understand the measurement charts for male and female boots.
Tools You’d Need to Measure Your Feet.
- Two sheets of plain paper.
- A long ruler.
- Writing tools (pen or pencil).
How to Measure Your Feet Foot Properly
One thing to note is that your feet evolve as time goes by. This is given to various factors such as weight gain and loss, pregnancy, age, fluid retention, and various other determinants. So, we advise that you measure your feet before shopping for boots online. You can seamlessly do this at the convenience of your home.
Also, you must understand that there’s no universal boot size standard. Typically, boot sizes differ according to manufacturers and regions. So, you should understand how to measure your feet in centimeters (cm) before choosing the footwear you want to select. Follow these steps below to know to measure your feet properly.
- Get the materials readily available.
- Place your foot on one of the sheets of paper.
- Using a pen, mark the edges of your feet.
- Measure the distance between the two dots using a ruler.
- Using the shoe size chat, check your foot size.
Let’s consider the shoe sizing standard for various countries, for men and women.
Women’s Shoe Size Chart
| S/N | Centimeters (CM) | UK | EU | US | JPN |
| 1 | 22.2 | 3 | 36 | 5.5 | 22 |
| 2 | 22.5 | 3.5 | 36.5 | 6.0 | 22.5 |
| 3 | 23.0 | 4 | 37 | 6.5 | 23 |
| 4 | 23.5 | 4.5 | 37.5 | 7.0 | 23.5 |
| 5 | 23.8 | 5 | 38 | 7.5 | 24 |
| 6 | 24.1 | 5.5 | 38.5 | 8.0 | 24.5 |
| 7 | 24.6 | 6 | 39 | 8.5 | 25 |
| 8 | 25.4 | 7 | 40 | 9 | 25.5 |
| 9 | 25.9 | 7.5 | 40.5 | 9.5 | 26 |
| 10 | 26.3 | 8 | 41 | 10 | 26.5 |
| 11 | 27.1 | 9 | 42 | 11 | 27 |
Men’s Shoe Size Chart
| S/N | Centimeters (CM) | UK | EU | US | JPN |
| 1 | 24.4 | 6 | 40 | 7 | 25.5 |
| 2 | 24.8 | 6.5 | 40.5 | 7.5 | 26 |
| 3 | 25.4 | 7 | 41 | 8 | 26.5 |
| 4 | 25.7 | 7.5 | 41.5 | 8.5 | 27 |
| 5 | 26 | 8 | 42 | 9 | 27.5 |
| 6 | 26.7 | 8.5 | 42.5 | 9.5 | 28 |
| 7 | 27.0 | 9 | 43 | 10 | 28.5 |
| 8 | 27.3 | 9.5 | 43.5 | 10.5 | 29 |
| 9 | 27.9 | 10 | 44 | 11 | 29.5 |
| 10 | 28.3 | 10.5 | 44.5 | 11.5 | 30 |
| 11 | 28.6 | 11 | 45 | 12 | 30.5 |
| 12 | 29.4 | 12 | 46 | 13 | 31 |
That said, you now understand the factors to consider when shopping for boots and putting in mind boot sizing. Also, as we have seen, to know the size of boots you’d need, we recommend that you get the right measurement of your feet then check that measurement (in cm) in the shoe size chart. Notably, we recommend that you know the measurement of your feet (in cm). This is essential so that when you want to purchase your boots from e-commerce stores or even offline stores, you can be sure to purchase the best-fit pair of boots.
Should You Buy Boots Half Size Bigger?
Typically, you should buy half-size bigger boots depending on some specific determinants. As we’ve said earlier, there are certain determinants of the right size of boots to buy when shopping. So, the answer to “Should You Buy Boots Half Size Bigger can be found below.
Buy exact Size in Summer
In the summer time, you’d most likely wear breathable socks—usually, thin socks that are made of light materials are best for summers. Thus, in summers, get a pair of boots that are the exact size of your feet. This is because purchasing a larger boot will end up giving you a loose fit, and no one wants that.
Buy Half Size Bigger than Your Feet in Winter
Winter comes with extremely cold temperatures. In this season, you don’t want to wear loose and breathable socks but thick, airtight, and cozy. That said, in winters, it’s ideal for you to purchase boots that are a half size larger than your feet. This will enable you to wear thick socks which eventually fill up the spaces in your boots and give you the best fit for your boots.
The Knee-Length Boots
Also, if you’re using knee-length boots, then ensure to get boots that are half size larger than your feet. This will provide sufficient room within the boots to allow you to tuck your jeans into the boots.
Lace-up Boots
Boots that come with lace-up systems are better if you purchase a pair that are a half size larger. Why is this so? Wearing these boots, when you fasten the laces of your boots (which are a half size larger), they will provide you with the best fit for your boots.
Go For a Half Size Bigger boots if you have Wide Feet
If you have wide toes and balls in your feet, then you shouldn’t go for a smaller boot, but rather a half-size bigger one. Even wearing a pair of boots that are the exact size as your feet is not the best choice for you. This is because an exact size boot will compress the sides of your feet and toes. So, if you have wide feet, go for boots that are a half size larger.
How To Know If Boots Fit Right?
There are several ways to know if you’ve selected the right boots for yourself, and in this section, we’d talk about them briefly.
Try it out using socks.
When you want to wear your boots, try them out wearing socks. This is because socks are meant to reduce weight, enable your foot to breathe, and enhance blood circulation. Also, ensure that you’re putting on breathable socks while trying out the boots.
Always try out the complete pair.
Also, when trying out your boots, you should always try them out by wearing both boots at once. If the boots are tied together, or anything is inhibiting their movements, unstrap them.
Move about while wearing your boots.
Next, when wearing the boots, walk around, hop, do some proactive activities at once. If you’re trying out these boots in your home, it will be better so you can do all that without feeling silly. But, if you’re comfortable trying out the boots in public, then ensure that you’re standing, walking, or doing something with your feet.
While walking
- There should be at least an inch of space at the front of your toes every time.
- Your heel shouldn’t rub against the boot’s back.
- There be painful pressure on the sides of any of your feet.
- Your toes shouldn’t squeeze against the front end of your boot.
Remove the boots
Remove the boots and survey your feet for red spots when you’re done. Red spots are signs of places where your boots are chafing or rubbing against your feet. This also indicates futuristic problems.
Conclusion
Should You Buy Boots Half Size Bigger? Typically, whether you should buy boots a half size bigger than your feet depends on several reasons, which include location, reason, and season. It also depends on the size of feet you have. If you have wide feet, then a pair of boots a half size bigger than your feet are ideal.
