5 ms·
Toes are jammed together because shoe toe boxes are not foot shaped, on most shoes they are shaped purely for vanity. In other words we still do foot binding, j
by mint2 3y ago
Toes are jammed together because shoe toe boxes are not foot shaped, on most shoes they are shaped purely for vanity. In other words we still do foot binding, just milder. Hello bunions and foot issues!
And the width is set at average, so it fits very few people. Also the non-foot shape makes it so the few shoes that do offer different widths still fail to fit.
- jnwatson 3y agoEven with width, the ratio between the width of the front of the foot and the width of your heel varies. I need a normal width heel and a wider toe box. Only took me 20 years, but I finally found a decent brand of running shoes that matches my slightly duck-like feet.
- rtownsend5 3y agoWhat running shoe brand do you wear? I also have duck-like feet and struggle to find athletic shoes that fit properly.
- finnh 3y agoNot OP, but Altra King MT trail shoes have a great wide toe box with a pretty normal ankle width. I think the whole Altra line aims for a wide toe box - they call it "Footshape" in their marketing materials[0]. Not related to the company, just a satisfied customer. I actually wear toe socks inside my Altras whenever I'm doing a long hike, like (say) the Enchantments in WA state. [0] https://www.altrarunning.com/shop/mens-king-mt-2-alm1952g https://www.altrarunning.com/shop/mens-king-mt-2-alm1952g
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- mikestew 3y agoAltra King MT trail shoes have a great wide toe box Too bad they don't make them anymore. The Altra Superior is probably the closest one, similar shape and low stack height. And if nothing else, there's the venerable Lone Peak with which it is hard to go too far wrong.
- EricE 3y agoLook into diabetic shoes; they tend to have wide toeboxes. Luckily here in Las Vegas we still have an old fashioned, competent shoe store where they actually measure your foot (pressure pad and all), understand foot anatomy and how different manufacturers make their products. They recommended a few different brands. I prefer New Balance so they produced the 1540. The v2 fit me better but alas, all you can find now is the 1540v3. It wasn't the cheapest shoe, however it is leaps and bounds better than any other tennis shoe I have ever worn. Worth every penny. FYI Vegas store for those interested: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cesars-shoe-world-las-vegas-3 https://www.yelp.com/biz/cesars-shoe-world-las-vegas-3
- throwawayai2 3y agoAltra and Topo make "footshaped" shoes. Not all Altra are, but you can get most models with a wider toebox. Another brand to checkout is Lems are other brands to checkout. They do have some running type shoes, but I'm only familiar with their casual shoes. I reallly recommend getting some Lems for daily use.
- zimpenfish 3y agoAltra have been really disappointing the last few years - I started buying them ~2012 because of their wide toebox but around 2015 they seemed to revert back to more normal shapes. Same with HOKA - they had some excellent wide shoes around 2012 which slowly disappeared around 2015. Second the LEMS though - not quite barefoot but definitely minimal.
- TacticalCoder 3y ago> Toes are jammed together because shoe toe boxes are not foot shaped, on most shoes they are shaped purely for vanity. I highly disagree with the notion that things that look pleasing to the eyes are "vanity". I also disagree that taste is vanity. Wearing Crocs is one thing. Wearing Crocs and calling those who don't vanitous is something else altogether.
- mint2 3y agoWhen function is sacrificed in the name of looks, it’s pure vanity. When something goes beyond that and actively causes harm in the name of looks, it’s vanity at the worst. I agree Crocs are ugly. Shoes don’t have to look like crocs to be anatomically functional.
- LesZedCB 3y agofoot binding is alive and well in the rock climbing community. i am 'recovering' from fit issues from the last 7 years. since covid i gave up on rock shoe fitting style (which bled into my regular shoe fitting as well) and my feet are much happier now, though still not great.
- klondike_klive 3y agoLocking cycling shoes are also preposterously narrow too. I guess they're all about aerodynamics.
- LesZedCB 3y agoyeah my first pair were a specialized shoe and my foot went numb from the bridge being squished. i have some crankbros and fiveten which are both much wider, though for road i hear shimano have pretty comfy toeboxes.
- dan-robertson 3y agoI think it’s not so much a problem with the shape for plenty of men’s shoes (though I don’t love the big toe poking slightly inward) and more that people get shoes that don’t fit very well.
- mint2 3y agoBig toes poking inwards is a huge issue. It’s a awful terrible design that makes no sense. Also people don’t get shoes that fit well because they don’t know shoes that fit well exist because they barely exist. Altra and Topo make some shoes that fit okay but still are only going to fit certain small segments of the population. Altra’s size wide also is the common wide = more volume but not actually wider ridiculousness. People don’t buy shoes that fit because they don’t know they exist nor do they realize their shoes don’t actually fit. But even if they did realize both things, most people would not have access to the few modes that fit better.
- abecedarius 3y agoI was a bit shocked when I first saw photos of adults with unmodified human feet, that hadn't been molded by Western standard shoes as they grew up.