I have very narrow feet and it’s difficult to order let alone find narrow running shoes in stores. I’m thinking about trying to find a color neutral women’s shoe.
Any guys admit to wearing a ladies shoe to get a better fit?
Yep, back when I was a runner I wore Mizuno Wave Alchemys in a 9 W. The most manly colour combo had a lovely lavender mixed in with blue, so I carefully sharpied the femininity right out of them and had myself a great fitting pair of shoes. I have never had the same problem with buying narrow cycling shoes, do runners just have fat feet?
This thread could get weird. I bought a pair of women’s Lunaracers, the first generation, because they were on clearance and dirt cheap but fit well enough. Those are narrow shoes regardless and were very uncomfortable for the first week until my feet got used to them. They were awesome and I got a good 500 miles out of them, pretty good value for 45 bucks or whatever they cost. Coming to the point, I didn’t buy them to get a better fit. But they worked.
i’ve considered it, but found some of Saucony’s mens sizes tend to be close enough. My problem is that my feet run narrow but no quite narrow enough for a ‘narrow width’ size in most brands.
Where are your feet narrow? Midfoot, forefoot, throughout? Some brands run a bit tighter in the toe box and heel, meaning that you can make them reasonably narrow (along the entire length) with proper lacing. I run in various shoes from Brooks, Inov8, Salomon, New Balance, and Saucony. Each has its own distinct width profile. I’d say that the Inov8 has the most narrow fit, throughout.
I’d say that the Inov8 has the most narrow fit, throughout.
I wasn’t aware of Inov8. Tried Saucony, Brooks, Asics, and Nike but I’ll check into Inov8.
thanks
First, figure out of you really need a NARROWer shoe and not just less VOLUME in the shoe (amount of extra material over and around your foot–so that you have to pull your laces so tight that the eyelets are touching).
But, yes, I did it all the time in high school before my size got too large, and I never found a Women’s running shoe larger than Women’s Size 12 (equivalent to a Men’s 10 or 10 1/2 Width B).
Years later I finally found a Men’s running shoe model that I thought was designed just for me with its features and benefits and came in AA narrow sizing. That’s when I discovered that my feet aren’t narrow because when bearing my body weight running in the narrow width shoes my feet splayed out over the midsole; I was very unstable and got blisters from rubbing the sides of the shoes with my normal width feet. I found that I simply had a very low volume foot with a very narrow heel and I was able to find a Men’s shoe just right for me.
Extra Width or Extra Narrow shoes are designed for the width difference in the forefoot of the shoe only.
If you do need narrower and less volume, then be aware that Women’s shoe sizing for very CUSHIONED and CURVED lasted shoes (produced for underpronators with higher arches) tends to run narrower in width but with **more volume **in the upper to accommodate that arch.
I have been wearing ladies shoes since 2006. I have a normal width foot but like the feel of a narrower shoe.
Probably from all of the years of speedskating and hockey where I’ve had tight footwear.
jaretj
I wear womens snowboard boots. I couldn’t for the life of me find a pair of men’s boots that could hold my ankles properly. Tried on a pair of women’s boots and they were perfect. Of course, they were available in dark brown so you can’t tell…
There are now a bunch of random things that I’ll buy that are women’s specific because it just works for my small body size better.
Oh, you mean athletic shoes…never mind
.
I don’t believe that they are pH balanced, though they should be strong enough for a man.
.
I’d say that the Inov8 has the most narrow fit, throughout.
I wasn’t aware of Inov8. Tried Saucony, Brooks, Asics, and Nike but I’ll check into Inov8.
A word of caution - Inov8 shoes are designed for low-drop seekers, and tend to be pretty aggressive. If you’re not accustomed to that style of shoe, then I wouldn’t start there. Also, some shoes that are designed to be unisex (e.g. Brooks T7) tend to fit more narrow than their male counterparts. That may be another good avenue to pursue, ahead of female-specific shoes.
I never found a Women’s running shoe larger than Women’s Size 12 (equivalent to a Men’s 10 or 10 1/2 Width B).
Extra Width or Extra Narrow shoes are designed for the width difference in the forefoot of the shoe only.
.
Yes, that would be a problem. While my foot is narrow, it isn’t short (12) so that may not be an option afterall. And I wasn’t aware that on extra narrow shoes the difference is in the forefoot only.
I’m glad I asked this question since I’m learning a lot.
thank you
A word of caution - Inov8 shoes are designed for low-drop seekers, and tend to be pretty aggressive. If you’re not accustomed to that style of shoe, then I wouldn’t start there. Also, some shoes that are designed to be unisex (e.g. Brooks T7) tend to fit more narrow than their male counterparts. That may be another good avenue to pursue, ahead of female-specific shoes.
Yes, I googled and see they lean toward the minimalist but this one may work: Inov-8 Road-X 255 Men’s Shoes and it’s on clearance.
thanks
I buy women’s running shoes all the time on clearence. I’m a size 42 D width which is pretty small on the mens’ side and larger on the women’s. It seems like there are always a nice pile of my size in the women’s style and I stock up on them. If I’m lucky they are blue and purple instead of yellow and pink.
My husband has very narrow feet, I never thought of this before for him. I DO wear mens running shoes off and on. Right now I have a pair of Brooks mens trail shoes on order.
I just sometimes find the womens shoes are not that appealing. I just liked the bright orange for trail shoes 
I don’t believe that they are pH balanced, though they should be strong enough for a man.
Win.
And I have wide feet, so should I buy clown shoes?
You can buy clown shoes if you are pH balanced to either seltzer or cream pie.
How narrow are you feet? I don’t think mine could get much narrower and I’ve never had that problem.
How narrow are you feet? I don’t think mine could get much narrower and I’ve never had that problem.
I don’t remember the size that was measured, it’s been a while, but I do remember the sales clerk remarking something like, “yes, your feet are narrow”. It’s mostly in the heel area where it presents a problem. When it comes to dress shoes I either have to buy those with laces or loafers in narrow. Otherwise I feel like I’m wearing flip flops and I’ll walk right out of them. Kind of clown’s feet in reverse, I guess. I was just hoping to eliminate that feeling of my feet getting lost in my running shoes.