Saucony has discontinued, yet again, my current running shoes (Tangent 2). I have a pair of the Tangent 3 but they don’t quite fit properly. I am scouring the Internet for left over pairs of the Tangent 2 so I can stock up. I can’t find men’s shoes in my size but I can find women’s shoes in my size. My question: Other than the color, is there any difference between a men’s running shoe and the same model of a women’s shoe? Thanks.
It depends on the brand and model of shoe. Some companies use different lasts, uppers. Nike has entirely different shoes for Men and Women in some models. There’s no Air Vomero for instance, its called something else and looks entirely different.
I wouldn’t recommend that you buy shoes that have been sitting around for a while. They won’t last as long.
Ladies Asics and Mizuno shoes are narower then the mens version. Plus the sizing is different.
I wear a 9 to 9.5 in mens shoes and a 10 to 10.5 in ladies shoes for both brands.
jaretj
The standard width of a men’s running shoe is a D, for women it’s B. They will be signifigantly more narrow unless you can find some women’s in D width. I don’t think they were made though so you might be out of luck.
Typically men’s shoes are built on a “D” last, whereas women’s shoes are typically built on a “B” last. This means that in general, women’s shoes will be narrower than men’s. One can often compensate by increasing a 1/2 size for each letter lost. For example, a size 7 men’s shoe often fits about the same as a size 8 women’s shoe.
It’s not always as simple as the women’s shoe being narrower. Women’s shoes tend to taper more toward the heel, so the toebox may be the same width as a men’s B but the heel might be narrower. I wear size 13 and no shoe manufacturer makes women’s running shoes that fit me (with enough breathing room for long-distance running, swelling feet, etc.). Bottom line: you won’t know until you try them on.
yes. in addition to obvious differences in the shape of the lasts, the midsole of many women’s models have a slightly taller heel than the same men’s model (relative to height of forefoot midsole).
why is that? well, because women have shorter calf muscles, not genetically but environmentally. because wearing heels as regular dress and walking shoes actually causes shortening of the calf muscle.
no kidding.