Summer time is filled with fun, and when most paint the image of summer in their imagination, it usually includes a beach and some sun.  With all the fun to be had, and memories to be made with the ones we care about, men with big feet and or guys who wear wide shoes, face a challenge not shared by the masses. 


If you can remember the last time you hit the beach, or showered off before taking a dip in the pool, you probably never thought twice about how convenient it was to just slip into your sandals or water shoes and proceed to another fun day in the sun.  For the men of the world with wide feet and sizes 13+ however, our last memory of such an experience dates back to  when we were about 13 years old.  Most of us with with extra large feet find that our shoe size matches our age until our mid to late teens, and this is where our challenge begins.

I wear size 16 Wide and until I had access to large water shoes from XL Feet, I was the guy who generally felt left out as I watched all my friends snorkel in the ocean.  I had the opportunity to join them, but not without exposing my bare feet to jagged rocks and sea urchins. 

Most think it's so simple and hardly worth making a fuss about, but water shoes are yet another item where access is a challenge for those with big feet.  At least for the summer of 2014 XLfeet does not make XL Water Shoes, but makes XL Water Shoes available.  The most popular big mens water shoes are The Keen Newports

The Newport by Keen are the sandals or water shoes that catapulted Keen to the forefront of the sandal industry in less than a decade.  They make the Newport up to size 17.  At Keen they believe a sandal or water shoe can protect your toes without the sacrifice of comfort, breath-ability, or style.  
 
This has been so popular, other shoe manufacturers who have been making shoes for more than a century have tried - unsuccessfully so far - to copy the popular Keen Toe.  What Keen does is elongate the sole and wraps it up and over the toe cap. 

This makes for a seamless rubber toe that will not separate the way the cheap imitations do.  Keen also understands the real shape of a foot, and they have made their toe boxes wider, more roomy, and rounded to accommodate the actual shape of a foot.

As a guy who fluctuates between size 16 EE and EEE, I can vouch for the wide fit of Keen Water Shoes. Many of the men who have ventured into XL Feet's shoe store in the Minneapolis St Paul Twin City Area, find Keen to comfortably fit feet wide to EEE in medium/regular width.  Guys with 4E ad 5E wide usually just go up to the next size.

If this isn't enough these water shoes can go in the washing machine too.  We just recommend air drying them though instead of subjecting them to the abuse of the dryer. 

Bigfoots like to partake in the same summer fun as everybody else, and things like big mens or wide water shoes can severely limit how much fun we can have.  Thanks to XL Feet, this is now possible.