Mondo question

[Captain Connor]

I read the text on alpinecarver.com about boot size.

I measure my foot from heel to longest toe, which is 10 3/4" which works out to 27.3 cm.

Is this my mondo size?

I heard someone on these forums reference that they were a mondo 26 but street size 9.

My street size is 11, and would think that if this person's mondo is 26 mine should be bigger then 27.

Can anyone help me here?

[lonbordin]

http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/Sizing_boots.pdf

[emorris]

US shoe size is not measured in inches. It is derived from the English barleycorn measuring unit. Start with size 13 (the largest shoe size available in England in 1324 - size 13 = 13 inches. each size down is one Barleycorn less in length, or 1/3 inch. so a size 10 1/2 shoe implies 13 inches - 2 1/2 barleycorns (5/6 inches) = 12 1/6 inches

edit: 12.166 * 2.54 = 30.90 = mondo 30

but like everyone said, measure your foot in cm and you will have the answer. I wear size 10 1/2 nike, size 10 merrell, size 9 1/2 Tony Lamas, and 27.5 mondo in every ski and snowboard boot I own. US shoe sizes vary greatly by manufacturer. Mondo point boots only vary in width and features.

Hope that helps

I measured 26.3 or something. I bought 26 MP and they were big. I am getting 25 soon. BTW, I wear 8 to 8.5 street shoes, and 9.5 Burton Softies. The sizing system as stated above is very variable. Mondo Point is exact. Go down at least one size and see a boot fitter. Forget about street shoe sizing.

[Flashby]

This might have just as much to do with the boot mfg. Before ordering some boots I measured my foot and it was 28.2 so I rounded down to MP 28.0. I bought the Garmont Shaman Freeride AT boots in size US 10-1/2 and this was listed on the boot as MP 29.0. When I tried them on I could barely get my foot into the boot and buckling on the first buckle made it quite snug indeed.

I decided to go up one full size and also change boots and bought the Garmont Mega-Ride AT boots in size US 11-1/2 and this was listed on the boot as MP 29.5. When I tried these on I was able to easily insert my foot and buckle the boots to the middle tooth on all buckles without losing feeling in my foot.

My MP 28.0 (maybe MP 28.5 with a sock and allowing for some movement) shouldn't have been that tight in the Shaman boots but others indicate that boot is small for its size. I'm glad I got the larger size though. YMMV.

[Captain Connor]

thanks guys...

read the mondo pdf and that helps as well...

I guess my question was a pretty standard question around here

[Aracan]

Mondo Point is exact.

... at least it should be. My feet measure at 29.0. For Raichle AF liners, I needed a 29.5. A size 29.0 TF liner was also fine, and my Nordica ski boots are a comfy fit at 28.5. In my experience, Mondo Point is definitely more exact than other sizing systems, but there seems to be room for improvement between manufacturers.

[Captain Connor]

I measured my foot on a sheet of paper. Exactly 11 inches.

Which is 27.9 mondo.

But why do people say they are street size 9 and mondo 26.

If I am street shoe size 11, and only 1 mondo size above them that doesnt make too much sense to me.

Any ideas?

[teach]

Here's my two cents' worth. First, a single number isn't going to fully specify fit. Second, a hard boot is different than a shoe. A hard boot is just a space your foot needs to fit in. Its sole doesn't need to flex, and the liner does the work of fitting the contour of your foot. A shoe, on the other hand, needs to flex at the right point on the sole to match your foot, have a spot where the ball of your foot fits, etc. Sizing a shoe more often fits this measurement (heel to ball of foot) than total length. If that's going to work, shoes need "excess room" in the toe to accommodate longer toes. That's why we often wear street shoes which seem large compared to the foot's length measurement. I do. I wear 13 in almost everything; A size 12 never fits, even though my foot measures just over 29 cm. (The one time I thought a size 12 pair fit, I was wrong and had real problems.)

There are other factors. A different shape boot will cause different shaped feet of the same length to fit differently. The question is where is the farthest point on your foot from the back of the heel relative to the farthest point on the boot from the back of the boot?

Finally, I've been told by runners that the US sizing system has "crept" to larger numbers for the same sizes. Or, a size 12 got smaller. This was supposedly so that a reference "size 10" shoe could be reported with a lower weight. Not an unfamiliar ruse.

People who know should feel free to correct me on any/all of this! I'm quite new to this and--like many here, I gather--got boots too big and couldn't understand why...

[emorris]

However, they noted that my step tends to pronate a lot even though the soles of my shoes don't show it and look normal. I think this might have reduced the length measurement of my foot.

Read this thread: http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=14813&highlight=foot+length+pronate

He talks about the foot shortening when you have a foot bed under your foot as opposed to flat on the floor. It just seems to be that going down one to two sizes is what works. It does not seem logical, but it works.

I measure 26.3, bought second hand Raichle SB324's, molded a custom foot bed, molded the liners and they were too big. I had heel lift, and the cuff was too loose. I ended up back at the boot fitters, adding 1/8" of hardboard material under the liner and on either side of the achilles tendon on the outside of the liner to reduce heel lift. That last is two layers of foam totaling 10mm. And the cuffs are still too loose.

I am looking for MP 25 boots now. And I broke my ankle five weeks ago. I think that a better fitting boot MIGHT have prevented the break.

It really seems like the US and European shoe sizes are terribly inexact.

Read this page too. http://www.alpinecarving.com/bootfitting.html

[TheTruth]

I read the text on alpinecarver.com about boot size.

I measure my foot from heel to longest toe, which is 10 3/4" which works out to 27.3 cm.

Is this my mondo size?

I heard someone on these forums reference that they were a mondo 26 but street size 9.

My street size is 11, and would think that if this person's mondo is 26 mine should be bigger then 27.

Can anyone help me here?

Dude, if your foot measures 27.3 cm, and you are buying an 11 street shoe, you are buying your shoes a size to a size and a half too big!

27 cm approx. equals an US size 9 mens shoe.

Regardless, the important thing to remember is that ski or hardboot sizing has ***nothing*** to do with street shoe sizing.

The most importing thing is sizing your foot to the internal shell of the boot. The easiest way to do that is to pull the liner and slide your foot into the shell. With your toes just touching the front, you should only have 1 to 1 1/2 fingers space from your heel to the back of the shell. Anything more is too big.

Shells are generally made only on the 1/2 size, so a size 26 boot and 26.5 boot use the same shell (26.5)

Here's why many people who have a US 9 or 9 1/2 foot (27 cm length) use a 26.5 shell. The stated shell size has ***nothing*** to do with the actual ***internal** shell measurement!!. Just about every "26.5" shell made measures internally 27.5 cm!! So people with a 27cm size foot fit inside with a nice, firm performance fit. They can even go down another shell size (25.5 shells measure 26.5 internally) if they have a good bootfitter who can grind and stretch the shell. Racers often do this to get the highest performance fit, but for most people downsizing that small, with all the related boot streching and grinding may be overkill.

I know this is confusing to many people, so the best bet is to have a good bootfitter. If that is not possible, then the 1 to 1 1/2 finger rule I stated earlier works pretty well for a performance fit.

[Flashby]

My problem was that the first boots I tried were listed on the boot as MP 29.0 even though I ordered them in a US 10-1/2 from the site (my foot on the floor measured about 28.2 cm so I rounded down to MP 28.0) and all the charts I saw indicated a US 10-1/2 is MP 28.5 and since the MP 28.0 and MP 28.5 are usually in the same shell I felt it would be snug enough and not too big. Well, my foot was definitely snug inside it but the issue was that I could barely connect the buckles on the FIRST tooth let alone any tighter or let alone any looser if needed. After an hour with the buckles at the first tooth my foot was almost numb so I knew it was too small.

I exchanged those boots and bought a different boot one size larger so a US 11-1/2 which charts indicate is MP 29.5 and when they arrived they had a sticker on them indicating MP 29.5 and my foot fits quite well and can be buckled on the middle buckle without any pain or numbness after 3 hours and can go tighter or looser if needed. Maybe the first boot was wrong or sized differently than the second. Not sure.

[Hans]

thanks guys...

read the mondo pdf and that helps as well...

I guess my question was a pretty standard question around here

No it isn't. Why not? It depends on many variables. You can't buy boots through the internet unless you had boots from the same brand before. Otherwise your bootsize depends on the following:

- which brand you gonna buy

- which liners

- length of your feet

- the shape of your feet (small. width, height and so on)

My feet for instance measure about 25.8(left) and 26.1 (right). I wear a mondo 27.0 Deeluxe and I can hardly get in my boots. Why? I have a huge arch in both feet and therefore wear also a custom liner and footbed.

Good luck with it.

[Aracan]

Here's why many people who have a US 9 or 9 1/2 foot (27 cm length) use a 26.5 shell. The stated shell size has ***nothing*** to do with the actual ***internal** shell measurement!!. Just about every "26.5" shell made measures internally 27.5 cm!!

AFAIK, under the MP system, a size 27 boot does not purport to measure 27 cm (internally). It does purport to fit a 27 cm foot.

Apart from that, 27.5 cm internal length for a size 26.5 SHELL seems pretty tight to me, since it has to accomodate a size 26.5 liner AND a 26.5 cm foot.