View Full Version : foot growth.
Megapixel
12-13-2010, 23:15
how common is the whole my foot grew a half to a whole size bigger for thru hikers? i am thinking of picking up extra shoes, but i'm a bit concerned about this. i talked to a former thru today who had a collapsed arch, and still never grew any shoe sizes... thanks for your input.
My feet are the same size they were when I started at Springer
Skidsteer
12-13-2010, 23:33
My feet have gone up two to two and a half sizes in the last twenty years and my weight has decreased slightly over that same time period.
Yeah I think hiking makes your feet bigger or at least it made mine bigger.
beakerman
12-13-2010, 23:42
actually what is happening is your arch is falling slightly...not enough to cause pain but enough to make your shoe size go up.
I went through this as a teenager it eventually started hurting and my doctor told me what was happening and made me get arch supports. I went from a 10 1/2 EE to a 9 c. I'm now a 9E but I weigh half again as much as I did back then too...there's only so much mass a support can be expected to hold before it begins to collapse a little too.
I do suggest starting with somewhat larger shoes than normal, but try this out first to see if you can walk some distance comfortably in them. My shoe size is (or at least was) nominally about a 10, but for thru-hiking I settled on a size 11.5 shoe, and that's what I use always now. I'm not sure what nominal size my feet are, but I just wear size 11.5 trail runners pretty much all the time now, and feel pretty "tightly bound" if something forces me to wear my older shoes.
Having the end of the shoe significantly beyond the end of your toe can be a good thing if/when you stub your (shoe-d) toe against a big rock, or want to kick steps in snow/slush-ice.
Exactly what's happening is subject to debate. Some opine that the muscles and tendons literally grow/expand. Maybe, dunno. I do know that there's at least some change after walking all day and every day for some weeks. Feet are really complicated, lots of bones in there, just a lot going on.
This better be true. The only reason I'm hiking is so my "feet" can grow an inch.
My feet never "grew". Why not call Brian at Bluff Mountain Outfitters in Hot Springs and ask him his thoughts. He fit me for my first pair and I never got a blister or had any foot problems.
My advice would be don't buy extra shoes before you start, wait until you need them and get them along the trail. That way you can get exactly what you need. There are plenty of outfitters the entire way staffed with very knowledgeable and friendly people. That being said my feet didn't grow in length but they did get a bit wider. Everyone's body reacts differently.
Started hiking 10 years ago at a 12 W, now up to a 14 and flat like a pancake. On the upside, now I don't need the fins for scuba diving :D!
fiddlehead
12-14-2010, 14:09
Back in '88 before i started a lot of long distance hiking, i was a 9 1/2 -10.
Then I started doing thrus.
My feet grew a lot over the next 10-15 years. I was a 12-13 in 2004 when i basically retired from hiking long distances.
Now, here we are 6 years later and I'm a size 10 again.
So yeah, i think you could say many hikers feet do grow.
I remember reading that the bones get bigger with the extra weight added.
(back in '88 we were carrying 40-50 lb. packs)
maybe clem
12-14-2010, 14:40
Mine went up not only in size but in width. I wish they'd only gone up in size. There aren't many choices in 6E shoes.
southpaw95
12-14-2010, 15:44
I hiked a 1000 miles in 1995 and my foot size went from 8 to 10.5.
But my pecker didn't grow any!:mad:
My feet grew in multiple different ways.
- They got thick and muscular. They were much beefier than before.
- The skin got thicker. This also added some size.
- For whatever reason, they got a little bit longer. My Birkenstocks used to have a little room at the top and they no longer do. My arches do not appear flatter. If anything I can tolerate the high arch of my Chaco sandals when before the arch drove me nuts.
- They got a little wider for whatever reason. My Birkenstocks seem a little narrow now.
Most of my shoes at home no longer fit after my hike. The beefy muscles and thick skin subsided so some of them fit once more, but a lot of them were permanently too small.
I recommend buying maybe one extra pair prior to the hike at the most, but then buying as you go further. You can order online, too.
Even though I bought 4 pairs prior to my hike, I still had to buy some along the way after a while because they didn't fit. I still have the final, unworn pair and they fit now because all that muscle and skin thickening has subsided.
Oh, one more thing. Since I could no longer tolerate hiking in tight shoes, my toes straightened out. There is space between my toes that wasn't there before. This makes buying new shoes very difficult. I can't stand tight shoes at all anymore.
Here's my expert opinion....
It depends on how much activity you do that involves your feet before the hike...
What I'm trying to say is that if you are a runner or participate in any sport that requires you to be active and on your feet a lot I doubt you'd see much growth because your feet are already used to activity.
Probably a less active person, especially carrying extra weight, would see more of an increase.
Blissful
12-14-2010, 16:13
Normally I am a size 9 1/2. I wear size 11 in trail runners and running shoes though. Works out good for me
Personally, I was very active before my first thru-hike, and my feet grew about 1 1/2 sizes. I still have a high arch, too. In subsequent thru-hikes my feet stayed the same size. I don't get a bigger shoe for hiking as my feet don't swell appreciably.
I would venture to say that most people's feet grow and/or swell significantly. You won't know until you try. My advice would be to avoid buying extra shoes before you leave since this is your first thru-hike and there's a very good chance that your feet will get bigger.
wornoutboots
12-14-2010, 16:26
My feet have grown about 1-1.5 time their original size since long distance hiking, my Keens I bought last year are now too small, & I now have 4 purple toes to show for it, I'm upto a 10.5 but I'm seriously considering an 11 trail runner shoe to give me some forgiveness in the toebox
maybe clem
12-14-2010, 19:54
I'm a runner, my shoe size still went up.
bigmac_in
12-14-2010, 22:35
I took up hiking/backpacking several years ago and my feet have grown a full shoe size. Since my feet were the same size for 30+ years, I have to assume the hiking did it.
Appalachian Tater
12-15-2010, 08:18
Don't buy spare shoes ahead of time unless you have done long-distance hiking before and know how your feet will react. Even if you don't change sizes, you might have other problems such as blisters that will require different shoes.
You might also find you don't like the shoes you though you would. Maybe you thought Goretex would be a great idea but they make your feet sweat. Maybe you thought leather hiking boots halfway up your shin were a good idea and then decide to switch to trail runners. &c.
My feet grew in multiple different ways.
- They got thick and muscular. They were much beefier than before.
- The skin got thicker. This also added some size.
- For whatever reason, they got a little bit longer. My Birkenstocks used to have a little room at the top and they no longer do. My arches do not appear flatter. If anything I can tolerate the high arch of my Chaco sandals when before the arch drove me nuts.
- They got a little wider for whatever reason. My Birkenstocks seem a little narrow now.
Show us a pic of your thick old muscular feet now:)
My feet have grown about 2 1/2 sizes this year and I haven't even completed the PCT yet. Now I'm really looking for toe box width. Hopefully my feet have grown as long as they're going to grow. It'd be nice to get my feet to a stage where it would be worth it to find the perfect shoe and buy a lifetime supply....because you know that once the perfect shoe is made, it'll be discontinued the next year or replaced with a far inferior version.