Your friends suddenly asked you to go hiking with them, but you don’t have your own hiking boots. Borrowing someone else’s is not a good idea because it has to fit perfectly on your feet. If you are going to buy one, you need to know how to tell if hiking boots are too big.

Fitting it and trying it out on the store is not enough. There are a lot of things that you need to do and a lot of factors to consider. Before you decide to go to the nearest store and buy your hiking boots, we will give you some necessary information about hiking boots.

Let’s take a closer look at hiking boots and how to check if it is too big for your feet.

Importance of Hiking Boots

Do you really need hiking boots? If it is your first time on a hike, you can try doing it while wearing your regular shoes.

Experience can teach you something valuable, and once you’ve done it, you will probably go to the nearest store to buy hiking boots. Wearing regular shoes and hiking boots during a hike is a whole different experience.

Hiking boots are made for hiking (as the name implies) and it has all the support that you need to make sure that your feet would be protected. After all, your feet receive all the weight of your body when you are hiking. You also need ankle support, and hiking boots can give it to you.

Why Hiking Boots Should be a Perfect Fit

When you are buying shoes, do you buy something that fits perfectly? When kids buy shoes, parents usually ask for something that is a little bit bigger. It helps them save money because when the kids get a bit taller, and their feet become bigger, the shoes will still fit them.

You are a grown-up, and you don’t need hiking boots that are too big. Your feet already stopped growing, so you don’t need hiking boots that are bigger than your actual size.

There are a few reasons why your hiking boots should fit your feet perfectly.

Hard to Move Around

When a shoe is too big, it is already hard to walk around a flat surface. Just imagine the hardships that you will encounter if you use boots that are too big for hiking.

Can Cause blisters at the Back of Your Ankle

Most of you have already experienced this, and it is excruciating. If you have to hike with big boots, you will surely experience blisters before you even finish the hike.

Would Hurt Your Toes

If it is too big, your toes will bump at the front part of the shoe. Just like blisters, this is very painful as well. Even if you are wearing thick socks, you will surely feel the pain.

How to Tell If Hiking Boots Are Too Big

If you are planning to get your own hiking boots, you need to know how to choose the right one. You have to remember that simply fitting the shoe is not enough. You need to check different things before you can make sure that it is the right fit for your feet.

Tip #1: Check the Size of Your Feet

Just a piece of advice: Different shoe brands almost always come with different sizing. This means that if the size of your foot is nine inches, it will not always be the same with all the brands. Don’t just stick with the size of your feet that you knew.

If you are using a specific brand and your foot size is nine inches, a different brand will have a completely different fit. The best thing to do is to try the hiking boots on and wear them. If you are having a hard time wearing the shoes, ditch it. It means that the shoe is too small for your feet.

If you noticed that the back of your ankle is sliding off while you are walking, it means that it is too big. Here are a few important tricks that you can do to check if the shoes you are buying fit your feet perfectly:

Wear the boots and move your toes. Wear both boots and try to wiggle your toes. Your toes should be very close to the toe box, but they should never touch it while you are moving them.

Ask someone to press his/her thumb down on the front of your boots. If the thumb went down and it did not hit your toes, it means that the shoe is too big.

Try to move your heels up and down. While you are wearing the boots, try to move your heels up and down. If it is going up and down easily and the back of the shoe is scratching the back of your ankle, it means that it is too big for you.

Walk in different terrains with varying speed. If you are buying in a store, you can wear the shoes and look for an area where you can walk up or downhill. If your heel moves around while going upward or your toes slide forward while going down, it means that the shoe is too big.

Don’t be afraid to switch brands if you can’t find the right fit on the brand that you want.

Tip #2: Bring Your Hiking Socks

If you are going to buy hiking boots, make sure that you bring your hiking socks with you. The socks are important because they can help you choose the right shoes with the perfect fit.

You need to bring your hiking socks because you will have to try the shoes with the socks on. Take note that you should not bring any random socks. You should bring the one that you are going to use for hiking.

Some of you might say that you wear different types of socks depending on the occasion, which means that you probably have different kinds of hiking boots.

There are four different kinds of socks that you can choose from:

The no-show socks. This pair is meant for low-cut footwear like light hiking shoes.

Ankle socks. It is a type of sock that reaches your ankle. It provides better feet protection than no-show socks.

Crew. This is the most typical type of sock because it reaches a few inches above your ankle.

Knee-high socks. This is something that people use when they are wearing shorts during a hike.

The thickness should also be a consideration. If you are going to cold places, you will have to wear the thickest socks possible. Thicker socks also offer better cushion, but most hikers use thin socks for breathability.

The thickness of the socks will be an important factor when you are choosing hiking shoes. Bring thin and thick socks with you. You should wear both socks with the hiking shoes that you want to buy and you can decide from there.

Tip #3: Check the Width of the Shoes

Yes, shoes have different widths. There are shoes that are meant for slim feet, and there are also shoes meant for people with a much bigger foot.

If you try to wear shoes that come with a bigger width and you have a slim foot, it won’t fit properly to your foot. It means that the shoes itself are too big.

The best thing that you can do is to ask the store for a different size. If you can’t find something that would fit you, go to a different store, or choose from a different brand.

Tip #4: Try It out as Much as You Want

The best way to know if the hiking boots are too big is to test them as much as you want. You can even walk around the store with the boots on for a couple of minutes just to be sure. You are trying out the boots, so it is fine as long as you don’t leave the premises. By doing this, you can easily feel if something is wrong with the boots.

Tip #5: Buy Your Hiking Boots at the End of the Day

Some of you might ask about the relationship between the time of the day and buying hiking boots. Your feet will say it all.

If you’ve been working the whole day while wearing shoes, it is possible that your feet are already a bit swollen. Basically, you can expect that your feet would be swollen after a long hike.

When it happens, and your shoes are too small, your feet will surely hurt after a long hike. As for a bigger shoe, you need to do it at the end of the day to make sure that you can get the right size. Since your feet are already a bit swollen, it will be easier for you to choose the right size.

You don’t need to get hiking boots that are one size higher. You might end up buying a bigger one. It may sound a little weird, but you can try it out and see for yourself.

How to Tell if Hiking Boots are Too Big 3

Common Mistakes When Buying Hiking Boots

Hiking boots are a bit expensive, so it makes sense that you want to buy the right one. It will not only hurt your budget if you bought the wrong size but also hurt you physically if you still try to wear it for hiking.

If you want to make sure that you get the right size, here are the common mistakes that you have to avoid when buying hiking boots.

Rushing to Buy

If you are always on the rush to buy shoes, you will end up buying the wrong one. You may have experienced this at least once in your life, especially when buying online. If you are going to buy on the internet, make sure that you already know your size and you’ve tried it multiple times.

Asking Someone Else to Buy the Shoes

This is a very common mistake done by hikers. Even veteran hikers make this mistake because they don’t have the time to go to a store and try out the hiking boots.

If it is your first time buying hiking boots, you have to do the shopping on your own. Choose your own shoes and follow the tips mentioned above.

Not Asking for Help

Sometimes, people tend to decide without asking for help from the sales workers. This is a big mistake. These salespeople know the products that they are selling down to the minute details. Don’t be shy to ask for a different size.

These salespeople can help you make a decision as they know the product more than you.

Focusing on a Single Brand

Most people get easily influenced by their friends to buy on a certain brand because it is the best. Actually, all these brands offer great hiking boots. You just have to find the right fit for your feet.

Instead of focusing on the brand mentioned by your friends, try to focus on finding the right shoes that would fit your feet.

Not Considering the Budget

Many people buy hiking boots that are too expensive. It’s fine if you still have enough money to buy other gears after buying the boots. Don’t spend all your money on the hiking boots. You still have other gears to buy for your hiking.

Final Thoughts

Finding the right hiking boots is a lot of work, and it is not something that you can just ignore. You cannot simply buy or use any kind of hiking shoes; you need to find the one that would actually fit. Luckily, we have already covered how to tell if hiking boots are too big in this article.

It is always better to enjoy the hike if you don’t feel any pain or discomfort in your feet. Your hike will be much smoother if you are using the right hiking boots. The tips mentioned above can be a real lifesaver for hikers. You won’t have to worry about blisters, and you can just focus on the hike.

If you have friends who also love hiking, share this information with them and help them choose the right hiking boots. Feet injuries are very painful, and you don’t want them to suffer these injuries just because they bought the wrong hiking boots, right?