Carolina Wide bootsCarolina Wide boots

Wearing shoes in extra-large sizes or extra wide widths can be a pain for a whole bunch of reasons but we’ll stay pretty basic. We know that it can be tough to find shoes that fit the size of your foot and the width too. Especially with really wide widths like size 4E wide shoes, it can be tough to find shoes, boots and slippers that fit. The good news is that you’re in the right place to find the shoes and boots in that width.

Here’s the thing though. Even if you find the boots you want right here on our site, it’s critically important that you buy them in your width, especially if you wear size 4E wide shoes. While you might be able to get by with the discomfort of shoes in widths that don’t quite accommodate the size of your foot, you really can’t get away with boots that are too narrow - regardless of whether they are for work, hiking or anything else. Here’s why.

You’ll Actually Injure Yourself

Two of the most common uses for boots are for hiking and to protect your feet and support you while you are on a job site. It doesn’t matter what your use for boots is, what matters is that you get them in the right size. Let’s start with boots for work, specifically boots with a protective toe box.

Steel or composite doesn’t matter a jot in this particular scenario. If you think you can squeeze into a pair of boots with a steel or composite toe that isn’t wide enough for you, you got another thing coming.

Shoes with a steel toe or composite toe that aren’t wide enough for you will physically injure you if you think you can squeeze into them. Don’t even try. It’s true that they won’t protect you as they should but that isn’t worth mentioning since they will be their own unique form of an occupational hazard if they are too narrow.

That’s not the only way you might hurt yourself if you wear boots that are too narrow. Let’s say you pick up a pair of hiking shoes that are too narrow - because they won’t fit your feet properly, it will be impossible for you to get good traction with them. That doesn’t mean you’ll be slipping all over the place, but it does mean you won’t get the traction you should, and you will certainly experience a plague of blisters.

 You’ll Constrict Your Circulation

 The fact that narrow boots will constrict your circulation is a matter of course and something that should be avoided at all costs in the first place. However, it is its own categorical issue in the winter when you might rely very heavily on your hiking boots or work boots to keep you warm.

Many models of boots for work and hiking possess amazing insulative properties and space-age technology that are rated down to well below zero. There’s a catch though. If your boots are squeezing your feet, you can throw all of that insulation out of the window.

That’s because boots don’t produce heat, they just trap it. Heat comes from your body, and to enter your boot it must pass through your legs and feet. If your boots are squeezing your feet, the heat won’t get to the boot - and your feet will slowly freeze. You know your body better than we do, and you might be tolerant of temperatures that we can’t anticipate, but just know this. If you buy boots with great insulation that are too narrow, you’re paying for benefits you won’t get.

You Might Develop Corns or Accelerate Arthritis

So we’ve already come in pretty hot with the fact that you’ll lose insulation from boots that are too narrow and will be more likely to injure yourself, but wait, there’s more! It doesn’t get better though, it gets worse.

Wear boots that are too tight and you’ll be helping to accelerate arthritis because you’ll be wearing your joints more than they deserve. In addition, shoes (boots, in this case) that are too narrow are specifically implicated in the formation of corns, which, if you’ve never had them, are something best left unexperienced.

There’s a solution, though, and an easy one, since you’re already on XLFeet.com. Just make sure you buy size 4E wide boots if you already wear size 4E wide shoes.

That’s Reason Enough - Get Your Boots Here

That’s enough convincing for now - need we say more than that you will hurt yourself and be uncomfortable if your boots are too narrow? We’ll cook up some more reasons later. For now, check our collection of boots and do yourself a favor. Get yourself a pair in the width that fits you.