Wide Fitting Boots

[Boddie]

Excellent. As I said, the trick is to tie off at that point so that the boots are tight where they are supposed to be. I am the worlds worst sufferer for blisters but these boots, in this fashion are something else. Just wish I hadn't done me heals at the wedding I attended yesterday. The groom was two hours late so a group of us went into town to Selfridges for a latte, and my Loake dress shoes are simply not made for walking in. Thats me back in the clogs again, even at work.

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Thanks Andrew, I see what you mean, where the arrow is there are
purpose built eyelet on the Meindl.I pulled them right up and yes that
really holds the heel

Yes i too have the meindl burma pro ( or borneo i cant remember) anyway i have a feeling meindl invented the heel lacing thing....but anyway yes you can do it on the meindles it just has a metal eyelet instead of the scarpa fabric.

one thing i have learnt is you MUST stamp your foot "heel down" onto the floor before you start lacing to get the heel snugly into position then i too lace up the way boddie described...up then back down.
Meindl have the memory foam heel system but on the odd occasion forgot to stamp the heel in before lacing i really noticed it.
By stamp i dont mean like down flat to crush an ant ( god forbid) more when sitting...raise your leg straight and then stamp down the heel so only the corner of the heel makes contact with the ground....god im not making sense am i ?....im off

[nightshade]

Meindl have memory foam in the ankle/heel area that takes around 6 minutes to soften and form to your foot before lacing
shoe knots - the ins and outs

[Phil of Cilcain]

I bought a pair of Karrimor KSB 350s six months ago. They are a wide fitting and were superbly comfortable from the word go. They have been to Nepal on the Annapurna circuit and up Snowdon a couple of times as well as lots of local walks. Feet remained dry in moderately wet conditions and in snow.
HOWEVER after six months and under 400 miles (I record my treks) the heals have collapsed on both boots and the sole has come away on one. The deep Vibram tread blocks appear little worn, but they are hollow so once a mm or so has worn off they puncture and water passes through the Vibram sole and soaks the inner sole.
These were allegedly £99 boots, but are widely available at around £60. At that price they would be OK for the occasional user, but sadly they won't stand up to frequent use. Karrimor guarantee these boots for 12 months and I shall report back on their response to my upcoming complaint.

[nightshade]

Thats field testing Phil! I have not used my boots for the last 3 years, due to back problems and I paid a fair bit more than £99 for them so that is a good recommendation for the Karrimoors.

[Phil of Cilcain]

Originally Posted by Phil of Cilcain

I bought a pair of Karrimor KSB 350s six months ago. They are a wide fitting and were superbly comfortable from the word go. They have been to Nepal on the Annapurna circuit and up Snowdon a couple of times as well as lots of local walks. Feet remained dry in moderately wet conditions and in snow.
HOWEVER after six months and under 400 miles (I record my treks) the heals have collapsed on both boots and the sole has started to come away on one. The deep Vibram tread blocks appear little worn, but the soles between the blocks is thin and punctures allowing water to pass through the Vibram sole and soak the inner sole.
These were allegedly £99 boots, but are widely available at around £60. At that price they would be OK for the occasional user, but sadly they won't stand up to frequent use. Karrimor guarantee these boots for 12 months and I shall report back on their response to my upcoming complaint.

Has anyone tried the KSB 300?

[Y Ddraig Goch]

Having the same issue, duck feet as the GF like to call them I've found Keens a good fit.

[nightshade]

My eldest likes the leather Hi Tec boot and he has "Ducks feet"

[SusieQ4444]

Hi there - I thought I'd pop my four penn'orth in here, having had a real nightmare finding walking boots for my 16 y.o. daughter.... she too has the "duck feet" syndrome, wide at the front, relatively narrow on the heel (according to the chiropodist, probably caused by her natural tendancy when small to walk around on tip-toes, hence 'spreading' the bones at the front of the foot relative to the heel width). Anyway, the upshot is that she always has major problems finding footwear that fits... she can try on ten pairs and be lucky if even one fits, even then, the rare pair that fit across the front are nearly always a little too loose on the heel. Luckily when it came to finding walking boots, our lovely local outdoor specialist shop was incredibly patient with fittings and letting her take various boots away to "test" by wearing around the house for a couple of days... nothing worked for her, not even the Meindl Burmas (which my son and husband both have and absolutely swear by, so I'm not knocking them or anything, a fantastic boot, just not for her)... until she eventually tried a pair of Brasher Towa GTX 4s. JACKPOT - they were comfortable from the word go and she's never had a moment's problem. She wore them for a month-long Duke of Edinburgh expedition just a week after buying them and declared them "perfect", not a blister or a rub-mark in sight. As well as the fit being good, they are also Gore-Tex lined, very supportive on the ankle and a nice Vibram sole that she said was brilliant on rougher terrain. Obviously, as many have pointed out, every person and every foot is different, but I would highly recommend at least trying on some Brashers if you have a wide foot and are struggling with other brands :-)