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Where Have All The Wide Shoes Gone?
The last few weeks before my hike start date, I was plagued by my footwear falling through.
The Topo Ultraventure trail runners I had been trying started out great but then gave me bottom and side foot pain as I increased the duration and intensity of training hikes. The wide footbox had betrayed me! The midfoot was still too narrow for my short wide feet. Sizing up a half size also didn’t help since I have heels that chronically shift up and down as I walk, even in my exact size. (Thank you Leukotape!)
I figured I would simply go back to using the shoes I had worn all summer and fall over 100s of miles of White Mountain National Forest trails: Salomon Speedcross 6… Wide.
One problem: Salomon decided not to make ANY wide Speedcross shoes in 2025. It wasn’t popular enough to find on eBay, Poshmark, or Facebook Marketplace.
Dead end.
After mourning the loss of my favorite shoe, I went on the hunt. The days were slipping by and I only had a handful of hikes left to test shoes.
Before my beloved Salomons, I had used a pair of Hoka Speedgoat 5 trail runners. They had also been fantastic, with one caveat. When they started to get worn out, they gave me horrific heel blisters. I was wary of returning to them, but I was also growing desperate. The Speedgoats are now version 6 and the minor changes include a shorter, thinner tongue. This makes it so that using the heel lock lacing method cuts into the top of my foot and/or cuts off my foot circulation. Not ideal. However, buying the wide version and lacing it normally seems to be my best bet for the start of the Appalachian Trail.
Of course, no store around me sold the wides… neither did any of the outfitters along our drive down to Georgia. Time for some thru hiker logistics! I ended up ordering through Hoka, having them sent to Mountain Crossings in GA, and planned to hike to them during my first week on trail. Luckily, they arrived a few days early so we were able to pick them up on the way to Amicalola State Park! Which gave me a few days to feel them out before my Day 1.
I’ll update on my shoe journey as part of my trail experience.
Have you ever had your own footwear woes on trail? There should be a saying for it… something like “Wear Your Own Shoes” similar to “Hike Your Own Hike”. Because every foot has its own needs to be happy and strong through the miles we walk.
P.S. If you’d like to see the rest of my gear take a look at my (mostly compete) gear list!
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Comments 19
I hear you. I had to get some Asics, since I didn’t have time to wait on shipping.
They worked for about 2 weeks before hurting. Then I found a store on my vacation that had my beloved New Balance Nitrel in stock and only come in wide. Not the most popular choice, but I love them. I’m on my 4th pair. Great if you have plantar faciatus or Achilles pain.
In the last 8 years I’ve hiked, backpacked, run, scrambled, even paragluded thousands of miles in my Xero Shoes “barefoot” footware with wide toe boxes and zerodrop soles. If you’re not one of the few percent of people with some clinical foot problems you really should think about giving it a good try. I feel the trail, stay on my feet, my ankles have never been stronger, and I never feel like tearing my shoes off at the end of long hike.
But if you try them take it as a serious commitment – you’ve probably spent several decades wearing shoes your feet, ankles, knees, and legs did not evolve to need. It’s going to take them and you a while to adapt to what will feel like walking around in slippers.
No because this has been an issue for me for the last 3ish years. 9/10 I just give up and hike in tevas instead. Finding shoes that are affordable and wide. It baffles me that in an industry where people are constantly hiking and it’s not uncommon for feet to swell or widen or even grow sizes due to the activity. That wide shoes are not widely available. Because lots of hiking in general makes your feet wider than average. Even in expensive brands for reconstructive hiking shoes like danner do not offer wide shoes.
Last year my feet went up a 1.5 sizes. And I could not find one pair of boots in an affordable range that were wide, I spent the whole summer hiking in tevas bc of this I think my longest day was 16 miles in them.
Take a look at the brand “Flux”. I am a short toed wide foot guy and their trail shoes are awesome for long and short distances. Wide toe box, great cushion and grip… Very highly recommend!
Yep. That’s what I’m finding, too. Even Merrill has only a 2E at best (if you can find them). 4E are almost impossible to find.
I’m currently using a pair if New Balance 608 but they are getting pretty worn. I did manage to find a pair of Hoka mid height at REI ReStore for a decent price, but I prefer a shoe-type hiker for day hikes. Nope, can’t find them.
Are u sure you need wide shoes? Maybe go to a running store and have them measure ur feet. I suspect ur blisters may be forming because ur shoes are too big but what do I know.
you should try finding shoes for narrow feet if you think wide is difficult. very few manufacturers still make narrow sizes.
I find that Keens are usually wide enough (even Altras, before they stopped being wide, weren’t wide enough for my feet). Bonus, they tend to last about 3x longer than trail runners!
The Keen Newport sandals weigh about the same as a trail runner (did my first AT thru in 2 pairs of Keen sandals), and I’ve done thousands of miles in Keen Voyager low shoes as well (each one lasts me over 1,000 miles).
Now, I rock Bedrock sandals- which get about 1,500+ miles/pair- and won’t ever go back to shoes!
Not a sexy option, but readily available Merrell wides have always served me well on long, heavy loaded Yosemite wilderness trips. Other wide-footed friends sing the praises of their Obos.
Have you tried men’s/kid’s shoes? I find the men’s Solomon’s work well for me instead of women’s wides.
Also, I did discover recently part of why I need wide shoes is because I have high arches. I wish more shoes would give room on the top.
I only use Brooks shoes for running and hiking because they are the only wide shoe that actually fits my foot. I’m still searching but my Cascadia’s are doing great for me.
salomons were supposed to be my magic shoe but never could find one wide enough. enter altra olympus, case closed. they are best of everything that both altra and speedgoats have to offer.
I came just to commiserate and complain, yet I was blessed by a list of new brands to try out. The trail blogs provide!
Wow, I’m so glad many of you have chimed in on the comments and found my words relatable. I’m having trouble replying on mobile so I wanted to post a thank you here!
Altra Olympus
Shoe companies will shift to the latest and greatest fad trends just like any other fad retailer, it is quite disappointing. Take for instance the ridiculousness that Hoka vomited onto us with their absurdly thick soles and monstrosities! That definitely leaked onto other brands. You are right though, wider shoes (or maybe even just not narrow shoes) are harder to find and that is incredibly disappointing after the run of barefoot style shoes. Switching to those nipped a bout of plantar fascitis in the bud quick for me years ago. As for hiking specifically, I recently bought a pair of Merrell wide mens’s for hiking in Iceland that served me well. Low top, fabric (non leather) and Gort tex. Flexed well, kept my feet dry, and I could even wear them comfortably with a medium weight wool sock
Thank you for writing this.
Thank gawd Oboz still makes’m.
So many have been discontinued.
Altra has made a few of their men’s and women’s shoes in wide for the past few years. I wear a men’s size 7 wide since men’s shoes run wider than women’s shoes. If you don’t mind zero drops, Altra’s wide options might work well for you.
New Balance Hiero v9 comes in 4E wide sizing, Megagrip outsole, good cushioning.