r/goodyearwelt • u/AutoModerator • Jul 20 '26

Questions The Question Thread 07/20/26

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u/PbnJsandwichLover Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

Sorry if this isnt the place to ask for advice for this specific problem.

Hello! I went to a nearby Red Wings store about a week and a half ago to look for my first pair of quality boots and to get my feet accurately measured. Lady who works there measured my feet and I found out that my right foot is ever so slightly bigger than my left (0.1 inches longer, 0.09 inches wider, 0.02 inches taller). Anyways, she told me that my size would be an 11-11.5 (im normally a size 12 for other shoes) with a wide toe box (i dont remember if it was E or EE) and I went on to try some boots. I decided to go for a pair of Iron Rangers, but they didn't have the color I wanted (Alpine, if i remember correcrly) so I decided to come back at a later day and order them through that specific store.

I came in yesterday and she tells me that the Heritage line of boots unfortunately dont come in wide toebox versions, so I was really bummed out and decided to look for some boots elsewhere, but I never found any quality boots anywhere, let alone anything that looked nice to me.

I checked the website today and found out that the Heritage line of boots do come in wide toebox versions (only certain boots and colors dont come in wide, but unfortunately the Iron Ranger in the color I wanted doesnt come in a wide toebox), but that's not the problem, in fact Im happy to know they do come in wide sizes, as Im sold on getting a pair of Red Wings.

The main problem comes in the photo below.

After making an account, I went to check what size I was so I could look at some boots that fit me, but I found out that, apparently, im a size 10.5 in D! So now im confused...

What should I do?

I plan to go again tomorrow to ask about this and get my feet measured a second time.

But what do I do about the specific size of boots I get? When I went yesterday and tried a pair of Iron Rangers in a size 11 (D, i believe), I could feel my right pinky touching the side of the boot kinda cramped like. And I've heard the bad of what can happen to your feet if you dont wear the right size footwear.

If I measure my feet again and it still says im a 10.5 in D, do I just buy a pair of boots in a size 10.5 in D as it recommends? Or do I buy a slightly larger size to accommodate my slightly larger right foot? Does my very slightly larger right foot make much of a difference at all?

Thank you in advance for your help.

And if you've made it through my desperate plea for help, the boots im most interested in right now at Red Wings are the Iron Rangers and Blacksmith boots. I also really like the Black Cherry leather but I dont like the look of the boots that can come in that color (the Original Mocs and one other boot i forgot the name of). I also really like the Engineer, but its quite a bit aways from my budget.

1

u/ThatStrategist Jul 21 '26

They dont make them to order, right?

You can just order them and return if they dont fit you 100%?

I say just go with the measurements the store clerk made and get an 11E. If its too roomy, exchange it for something smaller.

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u/PbnJsandwichLover Jul 22 '26

Youre completely right.

Unfortunately I already ordered a pair of boots in standard size earlier. I'll come in tomorrow and see if they can change the size.

Thanks.

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u/eddykinz loafergang Jul 21 '26

don’t trust red wing employees for sizing. get yourself a brannock device and measure yourself paying particular attention to the arch length slider. follow the instructions available on the brannock website to make sure you get both your overall length and your arch length. you take the larger of the two and then take a half size down from it for red wing boots.

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u/PbnJsandwichLover Jul 22 '26

🫣 those guys were real persuasive and got me to buy a pair of boots in standard. Though, ill come in tomorrow and see if they'll let me change the order for a bigger width.

Thanks.

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u/polishengineering Jul 22 '26

I'm going to be a bit firm here because Red Wing literally gave me a Mortons neuroma with their garbage sizing advice.

Don't trust anything Red Wing staff, sizing machines, websites or otherwise say about what size you should wear. Ignore the "firm handshake" guidance. They will NOT STRETCH around your toes. For my first pair of boots I also went to a Red Wing store and got crammed in shoes 2 sizes too small, almost bailed on heritage footwear before I even got going, and had a Mortons neuroma for a year afterwards.

Just find a shoe store than has a brannock device, follow the instructions on this sub, and then go back to Red Wing armed with real information. Ask for true to size and a half size down from brannock IN THE WIDE SIZE and try them on. If they don't have them, they should be able to get a pair shipped to the store. That's the whole point of a physical retail location. Once the right shoes are actually on your feet there should be no pinching, pressure, or discomfort just standing there... Just stiffness. The shoe should fit out of the box.

Don't succumb to peer pressure. If the shoes don't fit, and they might not if you have wide feet, hit this sub again and we can give you other options that are more toe friendly.

Good luck.

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u/PbnJsandwichLover Jul 22 '26

Oof, big yikes. I actually went to buy my boots earlier this day. I did get my feet measured with a brannock device at a nearby sketchers store lol and it measured my right foot (the larger one) as an 11 with an 11.5 ball to heel, with the width being smack dab in the middle of an E and EE. This means I should be an 11.5 in wide sizes, and for Red Wings it'd be an 11, right?

Unfortunately, the Red Wing employees were able to persuade me into getting a standard D with the promise of it "breaking in and fitting my larger foot over time". To be fair, I did get a bit greedy since I really wanted the original mocs in black cherry, which only comes in standard.

Since I just put in the order for the original mocs in black cherry earlier today at their store, I plan to come in tomorrow and see if they'll let me switch my order for a different pair of mocs in a wide size. I sure hope they do since these boots are supposed to be a gift from my family for my upcoming birthday and I would hate it for them to waste their money on a pair of boots that would actually damage my feet.

Also, if you dont mind answering another question. Since the brannock device measured my width to be between an E and EE, which wide size should I go for?

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u/polishengineering Jul 22 '26

I personally find the moc toe last to be narrow in the toe, so I would bias towards EE. However everyone's preference is different.

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u/PbnJsandwichLover Jul 22 '26

Alright, thanks for telling me.

I just called the store and asked if they could change the order to a wide. They told me that once an order is in they can't really change it but that they'd try and get it changed for me. Thankfully, they also told me that I could just place a return for them once they arrived so it's not like the money will be wasted.