My shoe sizes as an adult have always been 11.5 to 12. I may have worn a 12.5 at one point. Generally Wide sizes fit best.

Military boots always run really small. My military boots sizes are always about 10.5.

Today I got some military issued boots that are 9.5 wide and they fit, but are a tight fit.

I don't understand how a 2-3" difference can occur in a shoe size...

Could be time of the month, foot swelling, etc.?

Whiny bunch of ass biters on WAGUNS: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=80846

While mens at one time were based on the simple length in inches, they've changed a bit over the years. Also the lasts used... the form used to shape the shoe/boot varies from maker to maker. Some will fit you better than others. It's why I can't stand Danners or Rockys, but amazingly the old school all black simple leather combat boots fit my feet nearly perfectly. Different makers of the issued boots fit differently too. Some of the Bellevues were tighter than others.
And of course the same goes for all of the hiking boots, work boots, and running shoes out there. I'm good with Brooks but Underarmor sucks for me. I can wear most of the Hi-Tech but not 5.11 for day hikers.

they may seem a little tight, wear them for a day and you'll stick with 10.5

all my military boots are 10.5 , love the goretex lined

Not true. It depends on the brand and the last they use. The last black boots the Army issued, the "Infantry Boot" (the same as the Marines had already been issuing) fit differently than the plain black, and the different makers boots fit the same foot differently. Even the boots made one year to the next have fit differently.

I'm also going to make the guess that a commissioned Army officer has some experience wearing boots, even if he was a lawyer not a door kicker. Just a guess though.

Belleville, 5.11, mo rae, bates. they all fit like they are supposed to. I guess I don't have foot swelling.

but I didn't break a pair in once and walked about 30 miles over 2 days and my feet be hurting.

Remember - " Knowing is half the Battle "

The last pair of boots I got while on active duty (the old black, all leather ones) were worn into the shower on Friday night. Got em good and wet. Walked around in them for an hour or so, took em off, wore them over the weekend and put a shine on them Sunday night. Fit great. I worked a part time job on base that just involved a lot of standing around so the boots were just drying around my feet. Best fitting boots I ever had. All the old NCO's used to say, get em soaking wet and walk em dry.

If you do this it helps to change socks several times per day or your feet get real wrinkled.


Today, with all the synthetic's used I'm not so sure the same method will work but it sure did for all leather.

But back to the point.

An inch should be an inch. How can company X measure 12 inches, company T measure the same size as 10.5, and company C measure the same size as 9.5?

I've literally got a boot that's 9.5 and a running shoe that's 11.5 and they are essentially the same size.

Creative measuring, or someone's trying to boast his numbers to impress his girlfriend...?

Perhaps there's some confusion here. Shoe sizes do not directly correlate to "inches". From one full shoe size to another, the amount in "inches" (or fraction) varies.

Here's a chart that converts "inches" to "size" including all the foreign sizes too.http://www.zappos.com/c/shoe-size-conversion?gclid=Cj0KEQjwx6TJBRCWtsiXpI7bhOYBEiQA1en3F-_xwE8Adxxh_Ewx4oPAQyIzXRvrrDfvS6MnWl1P3d8aAk9R8P8HAQ&utm_source=google&utm_medium=sem_g&utm_campaign=280505300&utm_term=kwd-107249049140&utm_content=159801913145&zap_placement=1t1


As you will note in the various charts, "an inch is not necessarily an inch" It's almost like Bill Clinton wrote the chart. He was great at re-defining things