Boot Sizing and Fit

[WillieIV]

I was at my local sporting goods store a few weeks ago trying on their only "mountain" quality boot they had in stock (I live in Iowa). The boot was the Kennetrek Mnt Extreme UI. The fella helping me said i should be able to place two fingers flat against my heal and the inside of the boot for proper fit. Does this sound right? I had researched the boot they had available and read a few good reviews but far more poor reviews for this boot. I talked myself into purchasing the Kennetrek's and when I got home had second thoughts. A couple days later I took them back and ordered a pair of Crispi Idaho GTX. Got them in yesterday and was wearing them around the house last night. Felt pretty good even though I'm not use to "stiff" style boots. I played around a little with the lacing technique to lock my heal into place and I'm fairly confident I achieved this. Again, not owning a pair of this quality boots has me wondering. So, a couple questions please:

1 - Does the 2 finger flat against my heal sound logical in terms of proper sizing? I wear a 10.5 in every shoe or boot I've ever owned in my adult life.

2 - When people speak of "locking their heal in place" does this mean when you step your heal stays perfectly in contact with the sole or is it OK for there to be a little seperation? Sure felt like in order for me to really keep my heel in place I had to really cinch down the lacings.

Thanks in advance - Bill

 

[kickemall]

The two finger thing is pretty general measurement to make sure that the boot isn't to tight so that your toes don't smash into the front, mainly going downhill. If you wear a 10.5 in everything then I'd go by that and trying them on rather that two fingers. As far as locking your heel in place, the less movement the better as long as you have room in the toe box. Every foot and boot if different and some boots, especially stiff ones, you really have to cinch them down unless they fit perfect. You'll have to decide if your making up for not fitting right by cinching them down. If your getting heel slip it is going to kill you going uphill, especially with a pack.