Hoffman Explorer sizing question

[gostovp]

Anyone have experience with the Hoffman Explorer 8” non insulated boot? Looking to possibly pick up a pair and wondering about fit. They say on the website they run small… is that in length or width to? I need a wide and generous to box. Right now have a pair of Hanwag Alaska in 11.5 W… which I don’t think are a true wide, more of a Normal + width. My HanWags I may have been able to get by with an 11W, but the 11.5 W seem to be fine. I’m 11.5W in running shoes all day. 11’s in most other dress shoes and whatnot.

11.5 W or 12W in the Hoffman? Or are they generally a narrow fit even in Wide so just forget about it

 

[nh85]

My feet are generally narrow anyways and so width fit me fine, i have half size larger than i normally wear and its still right on the edge of being tight in toe area so would definitely go half to whole size

 

[gostovp]

Thanks for the info. I ended up ordering a 11.5 Wide. Length is good for me. The toe box is extremely roomy… almost too big? My toes don’t touch the sides and alot of volume around my toes, but the mid foot and heel lock in really well. I put about 15 miles on them last week pheasant hunting. Good ankle support and I guess maybe I’m not used to my big toe or picky toe not getting smushed by the boot side. No hot spot or blisters. I’ve wondered what the regular fit would have been like.

 

[Hoffman Boots]

Thanks for the info. I ended up ordering a 11.5 Wide. Length is good for me. The toe box is extremely roomy… almost too big? My toes don’t touch the sides and alot of volume around my toes, but the mid foot and heel lock in really well. I put about 15 miles on them last week pheasant hunting. Good ankle support and I guess maybe I’m not used to my big toe or picky toe not getting smushed by the boot side. No hot spot or blisters. I’ve wondered what the regular fit would have been like.

We did focus on putting a little more of a roomier toe box in these boots. So many mountaineer style boots want to narrow the toe box which personally drives me crazy.....especially when wearing a decent weight sock. I am glad this worked out for you.

 

[gostovp]

We did focus on putting a little more of a roomier toe box in these boots. So many mountaineer style boots want to narrow the toe box which personally drives me crazy.....especially when wearing a decent weight sock. I am glad this worked out for you.

Thanks for responding. Based on my fit description do you think I picked the correct width? With my medium weight merino wool socks my left (larger) foot measures 27.8 cm long and 11.4 to 11.5 cm wide, which according to Brannock measurements puts me right at an 11E to 11EE. With the recommendation to size up on these boots I went with 11.5 Wide, and like I said the heel and instep/ mid foot area seem to fit well, while the toebox is extremely roomy… if I slip my foot in the boot with it unlaced and I move my toes to one side of the box, I have probably 1/8 to 3/16” of space between my toes and the edge on the other side. Note, I have naturally extremely flat feet ( like zero arch) so my feet do tend to splay out a bit

 

[Hoffman Boots]

Sounds like your right in there. One thing I like to do is have people pull the insole out of the boot and stand on it with their heel in the cup of the insole. Stand up and look to see how much room you have from the tip of your toes to the end of the insole. You should have about a thumbs width.

 

[gostovp]

Sounds like your right in there. One thing I like to do is have people pull the insole out of the boot and stand on it with their heel in the cup of the insole. Stand up and look to see how much room you have from the tip of your toes to the end of the insole. You should have about a thumbs width.

Yep, i did that and insole length is exactly that … mine are one exact thumbs width between end of my longest toe and the insole.

I’m wanting to make sure the toebox width is correct. When i lace them up I can get them snug in the ankle, heel, and mid foot/instep areas with no slippage, but my toes… like ball of foot and forward… seem to be (because of the large toe box) just kinda hanging out in there… very little if any snugness in that area… that how they supposed to fit?

 

[Hoffman Boots]

Yep, i did that and insole length is exactly that … mine are one exact thumbs width between end of my longest toe and the insole.

I’m wanting to make sure the toebox width is correct. When i lace them up I can get them snug in the ankle, heel, and mid foot/instep areas with no slippage, but my toes… like ball of foot and forward… seem to be (because of the large toe box) just kinda hanging out in there… very little if any snugness in that area… that how they supposed to fit?

They should feel snug but not tight if that makes sense. Hard to tell with different shaped feet. One thing that may help you also is a bit heavier insole. This would take up a little volume. I just don't know if the boots fit good everywhere else if a medium width would be to narrow.

 

[gostovp]

They should feel snug but not tight if that makes sense. Hard to tell with different shaped feet. One thing that may help you also is a bit heavier insole. This would take up a little volume. I just don't know if the boots fit good everywhere else if a medium width would be to narrow.

They are snug but not tight in ankle, heel, and instep area, and I like the fit there. Like I said, I put 15+ miles on them pheasant hunting, and while no elevation change there is a lot of uneven footfalls ( plowed fields, etc) and I didn’t get any hotspots or blisters, so the fit can’t be that off. I’m gonna keep putting miles on them and see how they do. The build quality is fantastic.