Sizing up high altitude boots
I currently use La Sportiva WildCat Trail Running Shoes size 43 for trail running/light hiking and Nepal EVO's size 44 for Ice Climbing and Alpine adventures. The Nepal EVO's fit me perfectly with a good midweight sock and using their additional tongue for the left foot which is slightly smaller than my right.
I am looking at purchasing La Sportiva Olympus Mons EVO's for high altitude such as Denali and other real cold expedition type adventures that require a double boot.
My question is how much larger do I size them to accommodate for the swelling of the feet at high altitude? Would one full size be ok? I am thinking a half size for thicker sock+ sock liner and a half size for the swelling of the foot, is this accurate or should I be sizing up even larger?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/5413. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
British mountaineer Andy Kirkpatrick has quite a bit of useful information regarding how to look after your feet at altitude and in cold conditions on his website at http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/how_to_avoid_frostbitten_feet.
The only recommendation on footwear size he gives with respect to high altitude, is for Neoprene socks. He recommends allowing room for feet swelling and expansion of bubbles in the neoprene by probably going up one size than usual for the neoprene socks.
Another website, http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Mountaineering-Boot-Reviews/buying-advice , only mentions ensuring the boots fit you properly but don't mention leaving room for swollen feet due to the altitude.
From these suggestions it would appear that as long as the boots fit properly when you try them on, there should be no need to leave extra room for swollen feet.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/5499. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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