I’m looking at replacing an old pair of Mavic winter boots that never fitted that well but have been struggling to find a reasonably priced pair that don’t pinch around the forefoot area.

So far I’ve ordered and returned a pair of PlanetX Das Boots, which was a shame as the price was excellent.  Good fit round skinny ankles but far too tight across the forefoot even with sizing up to the point there was arguably far too much length.

Similar with a pair of Northwave Celsius XC Arctic GTX which aren’t quite as bad but still not really allowing for thick socks again in a size up from normal.

Reviews of the Sidi Frost suggest it’s a narrow fit so not a go-er.

The obvious choice would seem to be the Lake MXZ304 but it is a pricey option at ~£250.

Anything I’m missing – perhaps the Shimano MW7 or Specialised Defroster?  I can’t find the latter available anywhere online in a 42/43/44 so not sure if it’s just not hit the shops yet.

Any other recommendations welcome.  TIA

*watching*

Same experience with NW Celcius so mine are for sale now.

Shimano winter boots, I believe, are quite narrow. Which is frustrating because their shoes often fit very well, especially the flat shoes.

Seems to be a blindspot across companies. Especially when, with thicker socks in winter, a roomy toebox would appear to be a no-brainer.

My feet are fairly wide and my Shimano boots (SH-MW701) are really comfy, keep my feet warm and mostly dry allthough if you submerge them below the ankle the water does come in the top but even then they stay fairly warm.

I have a pair of specialized defrosters (couple of years old now) that feel a lot wider than all my other shoes in the same size (including a pair of 45 nrth japanther winter boots), might be worth trying some on?

I have the Lake MXZ304s in wide fit and they are very nice for winter riding. Significantly better in every way than the 45NRTH Japanthers they replaced. Plus, Richard at Saltdog Cycles is very helpful when it comes to advice, sizing etc.

Thanks all. Does sound like the Shimanos are worth a try at least based on cubist’s experience.  Size 43 are proving elusive at the moment as with the Specialized Defrosters though could just be my google-fu failing.

Another less expensive option are the Fizik X5 Artica if any feedback on that? According to Bikeradar “If you find Fizik’s road shoes narrow, the X5 is much more generous” so possibly.  Slightly err, bondage gear looking though 🙂

jonm81 – I do keep coming back to the Lakes! it’s just swallowing the price that’s holding me back.

Hmmm… contradiction from off.road.cc re: the Fiziks – “One last thing to mention is the narrow fit, these are definitely ones to try before you buy if you have flatter wider feet or ones particularly tall across the footbridge”

I have wide feet and me 3-4 yr old pair of NorthWave Celsius are still going strong and fit a treat. I’m not sure if more recent versions are narrower but it’d be a shame if they were. Specialized defrosters were awful by comparison.

My defrosters are also very roomy, and my feet are as wide as they are long.

I too had a pair of northwave boots and found them too small and narrow. Bought a pair of Scott winter boots next size up and a breath of fresh air. And my feet have been described as ducks, wide but not tall.

Another vote for Lake shoes / Richard @ Salt Dog Cycles.

I’ve suffered from all sorts of foot issues over the years due to having freakishly wide feet. Got hold of a pair of Lake wide fit shoes recently and they have been a revelation. I now get zero foot pain, even over 4+ hour rides. Definitely worth the cash but definitely try a few pairs on first.

Sidi mega fit are also nice and wide but I don’t know if they do winter boots.

Lake! I have feet like flippers and their wide fit boots are the only ones I have ever found comfy! Nothing else comes close, and I’ve tried them all…

45north wolvehammers are they widest winter boot i have owned.
and the warmest.
and the priciest.

The Lakes are def worth a try. The wide fit ones are wide but sadly they didn’t make them down in my ickle size 41. I bought a 42 which sometimes I take anyway and never got on with them as a result. This was years ago and entirely my fault. The boots themselves seemed excellent. More recently I have found shimano XM9 to be an excellent fit, wore in to my feet nicely and have done 2 or 3 winters. MW7s I now have also. I think/hope they’ll be a better shoe for keeping the wet out and they fit OK but their width is more in bagginess of the upper than width of the sole, which is a little less good. Heel wider than ideal but I’ll live with that.

My feet are of a width which precludes shimano xc shoes unless in elusive wide fit, but tends to work with things like AM9, just about (size up).

Can’t offer much other than I too tolerate Northwave Artic whatevers as the least bad option, but even at 2 sizes up, they are too narrow and I get sore, numb feet within an hour or two.

I’d tried Shim wide-fit winter boots (had to order from Germany) and they were not wide enough and I sent them back.

For summer, the Sidi Mega’s are great, but they don’t do winter shoes, so I’d love to see how you find the Lakes if that is what you choose.

Right, Shimano SH-MW701s in 43 now ordered from Bikester and the Northwaves heading back imminently.  Let’s see how that goes.

If no luck with them, I’ll be upping the budget and calling Salt Dog Cycles.  No Defrosters in stock anywhere.

Feet getting wider has got to be one of those getting older things.  I can’t wear my ancient but favourite New Balance racing flats anymore :”-( and have ended up with some Altras.  Bit spongy but are actually foot shaped.

Are Lake shoes already quite wide, before even specifying wide fit? I seem to remember that wide fit also meant gaping ankles, whereas a creepy podiatrist once said I have slender ankles, whilst stroking them… 😐 But the ball of my foot is wide, and shallow.

+1 for Specialized Defroster.I have very wide feet but can use Defrosters in my usual size while wearing thick waterproof and insulated socks.

Flat pedals and a pair of Goretex walking boots – work well …

Surprised by those saying Northwave are narrow. Mine (Raptor GTX bought last winter) are a bit wide and feel sloppy for me without thick socks – which you might think isn’t really a problem since for MTB you might wear thick socks, but for commuting I just wear ‘normal’ socks so they don’t fit well. I’m sure my older Shimanos (MW81) were narrower.

I went through similar a few years ago with trying to find properly wide, warm and dry boots.

I tried various sizes of Lake boots but even going two sizes were two narrow.

In the end I ended up with a pair of these:

Excellent boots with more than ample toe space.

Feet getting wider has got to be one of those getting older things.

#buniontrackworld 😉

Good luck with the Shims. They were worse than the Northwaves for me.

Still looking….

+1 for MW7’s. I’m a 43 in cycling shoes and they are roomy allowing for thick socks.

I think the issue is where is your foot wide? I’ve recently been struggling to find walking boats that fit me. Many have a wide fit but then come back in too quickly, I’ve ended up with Keen which have a wide toe box and look almost square at the front. I wear mw7 shimano boots which are ok with normal socks but not something like a woolie bollie but the boots have good insulation so this is not a problem. I also have shimano xc7 wide fit which are perfect everywhere, I tried spec, nw, and lake super wide – none as good. The lake super wides were close but the heel fit was far too loose – again, it’s where your foot is wide, good luck as you need a lot of patience finding something that works.

@letmetalktomark , did you size up with these. My northwave celcius gtx 11 have been pretty waterproof but even with a size up have still given me numb feet when the temp drops below 8c! Got to be my wide feet as the big and little toes touch the out and inside of the boots.
I would cycle more from now on if i knew i could keep the pain away!

Notverystealthad I have a set of xm9 lmttm pictures above in 45. Walked in a few times but never used on bike. They’ll never fit me no matter how much I want them to. Size 45/10.5 Open to offers.

Well, a quick update for anyone considering their winter foot wear.

The Shimano SH-MW701 have arrived and, yes!, plenty of forefoot wiggle room.  Could probably go thicker on the socks as well 🙂  Slightly long for me in the 43 and slightly wider at the heel than I need but the Boa constricts well enough to stop slipping around.

That said, it’s got warmer again so not had a test ride yet, especially as can’t find my spare cleats.. Doh.

My defrosters are also very roomy, and my feet are as wide as they are long.

Wow, square feet! :-0

Could anyone compare the new, BOA-equipped Shimano MW7 winter shoes with the old Shimano MW81 in terms of sizing and fit? From what I’ve read, the MW7 runs larger and one should size down compared to the MW81. But I’ve also read a few comments here and there that the MW7 still runs small/narrow as most Shimano shoes.

For reference, I wear US 9 street shoes, US 9 or 9.5 (mostly 9.5) sneakers, Specialized EUR 43 and EUR 44 in the Shimano MW81. So I wonder if I should try my luck with the MW7 in EUR 43?