winter barefooting page

[Bananabonobo]

hi folks,
i've gone pretty barefoot since this spring, with the bulk of my time spent completely barefoot and wearing either 5fingers or flipflops when the ground is covered in glass or i'm in a shop or something. i love it, my calves have stepped up to the challenge on trail runs and will now tolerate at least 10 miles of non-chronic happy mountain jogging if i feel like it, and my feet feel strong and healthy. i have one major problem though - i started out with tremendously wide and square-toed feet (my right foot measures H with a Brannock), so wide that before i went barefoot i was actually developing lateral bunions from even the widest footwear i could buy. barefooting is making them widen even more. don't get me wrong, not complaining, i love my feet and they're fantastic for swimming! however, winter's coming up and i live in scotland - where it's constantly wet (city streets are *never* dry) and while not frozen, quite cool all winter. wearing VFFs there would mean my feet were constantly cold and wet, which is not so good. anyone got ideas for some waterproof shoes that will support a barefooting style and superwide feet, that i can use all winter in a rainy city with the occasional snowfall?

[slowcooker]

Check out sealskinz water proof socks especially the ones for cold weather. I wear them with cheap water shoes in the winter and they work great.

[Bananabonobo]

Check out sealskinz water proof socks especially the ones for cold weather. I wear them with cheap water shoes in the winter and they work great.

whoa that's an awesome idea. the only thing i'm wondering about is how you feel about the waterproof membrane being so close to your feet - do you get sweaty? (when wearing goretex shoes etc i'm used to having the membrane not clinging, if you see what i mean.) this could be this winter's solution with a bit of trial and error...

[Mike Gager]

what about merrell embark gloves? they are waterproof
Merrell Barefoot Embark Glove GORE-TEX® Black/Olympia Blue - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways

[IvyBlue]

These guys: Soft Star Shoes: will do custom work as will others if you Google around.

Hitchcock: Hitchcock - Wide Shoes for Men - Mens Wide Shoes, Extra Wide Shoes, EEEE, Orthopedic Shoes stocks up to 6E.

Or just rip out all of the footbed crap out of a Bean Boot and wear them w/ thick socks against the rubber. Bean Boots by L.L.Bean®, 6": Made in the USA at L.L.Bean At least the lining used to be removable, many years since I had a pair.

The Merrills in a D would probably be torture as well as expensive for what they are.

[Bananabonobo]

merrell embark i WOULD get EXCEPT THEY DON'T MAKE THEM IN MY SIZE YET. outdoor company jerks always serve the men first... grrr grr grrr huge pet peeve on that one. soft star; will keep an eye on them.

[Mike Gager]

my bad. didnt get that you were a female. what does size H width equal in mens sizes? my foot is EEE wide but the merrels, even in "D" width are quite comfortable since the toe box is so wide

maybe you could just wear a mans shoe in the winter? i dont know what size shoe you wear but surely theres something comparable?

[liza]

Look into mukluks.

[Bananabonobo]

my bad. didnt get that you were a female. what does size H width equal in mens sizes? my foot is EEE wide but the merrels, even in "D" width are quite comfortable since the toe box is so wide

maybe you could just wear a mans shoe in the winter? i dont know what size shoe you wear but surely theres something comparable?

sadly, my feet are about 1 size too short in length to jump into the men's sizes, which start at size 7. just too much sloshing going around inside the shoes if i do that. otherwise i'd definitely do merrells. keen and merrell make reasonably wide, square-toed shoes, but even King Keen is a bit too narrow for my duck feet - if I stand in them for a long time I can feel that lateral bunion a lot.

mukluks - not so much - they'd be great for New England (where I'm from) due to the predominant "frozen cold" winters, but terrible for the "wet cold" of Scotland (where I live). Scottish weather demands 100% completely waterproof, not just water-resistant. supercute design though.

[IvyBlue]

I saw "H" and just assumed it was some incredible width beyond E and that you were therefore a guy. The Bean's come in women's sizes but being from NE you're probably familiar w/ them.