Why Do Women's Hiking Boots Only Come in Silly Colors?

Question

Not sure why every women's hiking boot has to come with accents that are neon or pastel colors like purple, pink, teal, but it seems I can't find my way around it. I was just going to purchase the most recommended Merrell Moab 3 but couldn't find a pair in muted colors. My husband of course had many nice options in brown, olive green, dark grey, black...not a rainbow color to be seen. I would just order a men's pair, but I have small feet and even the smallest men's would be too big on me. That's the end of the my rant. Anybody know of a women's waterproof hiking boot that comes in men's colors?

Edit: I'd like to say the title and context of this post was fueled purely by personal frustration. The colors mentioned should not have been called silly, I should have just said they weren't my particular style. It seems like everyone wants more color options, regardless of gender. Grass is greener and all that. I just wanted to find boots that were more me and I sincerely wish that everyone has that option. P.S. I did get a ton of solid recommendations, so thank you for that!

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roundupinthesky

743

I feel the opposite way about men’s hiking shoes, where is the color? They are so boring.

svidrod

150

I see stuff I like then realize it’s women’s. Why can’t I have fun stuff?

dancin-weasel

189

You’re a man. We don’t do fun. We do purposeful, essential tasks. That is all.

Now get back to work.

jiggjuggj0gg

139

And women only go hiking for the aesthetic, and physically cannot walk if they don’t have pink in their eyeline

ceruleanblue347

I'm picturing a woman hiking through a forest, her pink scrunchie snags on a branch and she just goes down and can't get up because the rest of her outfit was neutral colors

jiggjuggj0gg

It’s true, it happened to me 😔

Satotiga

RIP in pink.

asphaltaddict33

Legit twilight zone or black mirror premise

just_a_person_maybe

My dude, just buy the "women's" stuff. Don't let labels dictate what you wear. If you like it and it fits, wear it. There aren't any gender police out to stop you from enjoying color, it's all marketing. Especially for shoes.

FYI, women's and men's shoes are two sizes apart. A size 8 men's is a size 10 women's. That's the only difference.

Thequikdraw

Women’s shoes are narrower as well sometimes. I ordered women’s Hoka’s once because they had the color I wanted in D width, which was the normal men’s width. All about that purple and teal.

blizzard-toque

Bought a pair of Hoka Transports last week, Wanted a pair of women's in black. First, no black in women's. I was a size 8 the equivalent in men's was 6 1/2. They didn't have a 6 1/2 in men's. I ended up with a size 8 in Dove Gray/Lime Green. I think it'll work, especially since the had bungee laces (my first!).

Wikicomments

It varies if that is true or not. Just look at the raw measurements and know your foot size.

TwoFacedSailor

Sadly not true, mens shoes are much wider. I wear a medium/standard women's 10 which is a men's 8.5 and mens shoes are always too loose/wide.

just_a_person_maybe

Try an 8, I've found that going up/down two whole sizes is usually most accurate.

HappyHuman924

Cool, so I can have fun colors as long as I get a womens 15? XD

just_a_person_maybe

Oof, good luck finding any colors in a 15. Especially if you're shopping in stores, I can never find anything above an 11 if I'm lucky, but often they top out at 9 or 10 which is very unfortunate and also the main reason why I shop more on the men's side.

HappyHuman924

Even when I'm getting my usual 13s, I don't even bother looking at the display. I just ask "what color Merrells do you have in 13" and pick from there; it saves a lot of "don't have that / don't have that either". :/

My feet used to be size 12 and that was a lot less of a problem.

LineAccomplished1115

Except there's still the fact that women's shoes are generally a B width and men's are usually a D width.

Many manufacturers list this directly on their site

Merrell:

https://www.merrell.com/US/en/blog?url=%2F/merrell_us/whats-inside-a-hiking-shoe/#:~:text=Your%20toes%20should%20not%20jam,overall%20volume%20of%20the%20fit.

Hoka

https://www.hoka.com/en/us/help-center.html

Etc

stakoverflo

True fact.

Grabbed a random hoodie off the shelf at some local indie outdoor equipment store, the guy at the register was like "Is that for you? It's a Women's, you might want to try it on and make sure it fits"

So I did, and it fit, and now I have a nice stylish new light blue hoodie.

NotACreepyOldMan

This sounds good, but I’ve bought women’s socks cause they’re the only completely no show ones (the ones that barely cover your toes and heel), and I was like they’re just socks who cares if they’re for women, but they’re like baby socks. I had to cut the socks down the center cause they cut off circulation to my feet. So maybe try them on before buying.

just_a_person_maybe

Socks are different, imo. I never buy women's socks, but I'll shop on both sides for shoes. The socks cut off circulation for me too.

ProstheTec

I don't see too many 15.5 size women shoes.

nyconx

The issue is they don’t sell size 16 women’s.

Iamkittyhearmemeow

☹️ tell that to my boyfriend who can barely fit his arms into a men’s XXL while it hangs like a circus tent over his torso. Shopping with him is…..something.

TheGoblinKingSupreme

Pop yourself a size up and see if the woman’s size fits you.

At least, that’s how it works where I am. Women’s shoes are made so that a 8 in women’s is a 7 in men’s, usually slightly narrower.

At least for most hiking gear, there’s no such thing as “women’s” nor “men’s”. There’s comfortable and not.

I’m a reasonably athletic, young male, with a good muscle percentage. I’ll still wear “women’s” clothing if it’s more comfortable or suited to my environment.

I love the colour, i love the stretch a lot of women’s clothing has, I even love the fact that it’s not the same bog standard gear you see everyone else wearing (one of the reason I wear trail running shoes vs “walking boots”, the disgusting things, on my travels).

Shops have return periods. Try things out until you find what’s best for you. There’s no shame in wearing “women’s” clothing as a man nor “men’s” clothing as a woman. Most people are too busy with actual life to even be able to tell the difference. And, if they do give you shit, they’re probably not worth listening to.

As an example, when hiking in summer I wear women’s running shorts with built in (knee-length) tights and transgender-flag coloured shoes with S/XS men’s tops. I’m neither a woman nor transgender, but they’re incredibly comfortable, cheap, reliable and easy to wear, especially if you visit factory outlets to see the less popular options, which can still be nice. My shoes were just £38 down from £165 just because it wasn’t a popular colour way. My shorts were £15 down from £38. My top was £20 from £40. Doesn’t mean they aren’t wonderful to wear.

The only questions you ever need to think about in hiking are “am I prepared?” And/Or “am I comfortable?” Everything else is what we do hiking to escape from, at least in my eyes. If women’s clothing helps me avoid heatstroke and make more vertical, powerful steps, I’m wearing women’s clothing, tag be damned. They’re my clothes now.

happykindofeeyore

It’s so weird that women’s boots are narrower. We generally have much wider feet, especially in the forefoot, than men. Drives me crazy.

MelancholicJellyfish

Statistics say men have wider feet on average. Women just have thinner feet around the arch typically, and so it makes the forefoot pronounced and appear especially wide.

Personal experience is that I have wider feet than average so I have to get triple E in boots, which is "triple wide" or about a half inch wider than standard. Still snug though.

happykindofeeyore

As someone who used to fit figure skates, men overwhelmingly need more narrow skates than are even available to them, whereas women are often SOL based on what is on the market. We are speaking about proportion of width to length as well as volume.

MelancholicJellyfish

We are speaking about proportion of width to length as well as volume.

I should state that foot shape differs greatly between geographic regions and I am from the USA.

Here's a quote summarizing feet regionally:

"The feet of female subjects are relatively higher, but narrower than those of male subjects in the USA. In Europe, Australia, China, and Taiwan, the feet of female subjects are lower and narrower compared to the male feet of similar foot length."

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-55432-z#ref-CR4

Here is a medical study done on USA feet:

https://japmaonline.org/view/journals/apms/99/5/0990383.xml

And the results / conclusion:

Results: Analysis showed that the heel-to-ball length (ball length) of the male participants’ feet (181.5 mm) was significantly longer, on average, than that of the female participants’ feet (165.0 mm). The width of the male paticipants’ feet at the ball, instep, and heel regions, as well as the ball circumference, normalized by the ball length, were all significantly larger on average, than the female test participants’ feet. However, toe region, instep, and medial and lateral malleoli heights were larger, on average, for the female participants than for the male. The results show that female feet differ in size and shape from male feet and are not algebraically scaled, smaller versions of male feet, as is often assumed.

Conclusions: The study shows that the average male participants’ feet are longer than that of the female participants’ feet, while the female feet are relatively narrower but higher than those of the male participants. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 99(5): 383–390, 2009)

f3xjc

I was looking for 3E sized boots because often 2E are not enough for me, depending on the brand.

It just turn out that women 3e are the same as men 2e in shoe size speak :(

MelancholicJellyfish

I wish shoe manufacturers would have an online "footprint" with exact measurements / shape of the insole and height.

If every one did, you could find the one that fits you perfectly and use it as reference for every other shoe.

Macvombat

Try on the women's shoes if they have your size. They might fit just fine and at that point, who cares?

jdgreenberg

Amen. Exactly this. Not hiking shoes, but was in a store that sells all outdoor footwear, buying flip flops, and the men’s are black, black, or more black. Even from Hoka. Women get all the fun colours I would love, especially in a sandal. Was very jealous when looking at hiking boots as well.

Lugan2k

If you haven’t already, check out Chaco’s. They have plenty of options for color in men’s hiking sandals and they’re made to last.

FancyStranger2371

Hiking sandals. TIL.

HappyHuman924

Hey, we get some blues too! Nobody questions your heteroness in good ol' blue.

BadAtExisting

Hiking shoes, shorts and pants in general too. There’s so much more to life than khaki, olive, navy, sometimes gray, and black.

skjeflo

Try needing tall men's gear, or size 15 shoes. Your minimal, 5 color selection becomes one choice, in one model, in one color, gray, or more recently black, perfect for those summer hikes...

blizzard-toque

My former supervisor was a 14 quad E. Even said he had to special order his shoes.

BadAtExisting

That is awful. I’m sorry

HucknRoll

Eddie Bauer has great tall selection dunno about colorful stuffs

skjeflo

Yeah, but so many of their products suffer from a lack of quality.

MelancholicJellyfish

If you want color, you can get Hi-Vis Yellow :D

FeelingFloor2083

once you get to the larger womens sizes its easy to find something that fits, got myself a pair of ax4 in 44eu for $50

Shoes are the only thing I like colourful

OP should try on mens

Maximum_Pollution371

I don't know why you got downvoted, I only wear men's shoes sized down a bit for this reason. For the majority of shoes there is virtually no difference between men's and women's other than size and color.

I guess if you had especially large or small feet it would be difficult to find the right size though.

FeelingFloor2083

yea it works well if youre "normal size" but if youre on the large and small end, you will often find those on deep discount at close out, well in AU that is.

Other thing to watch out for is mens can sometimes run a bit wider then womens

one of my SIL has the tiniest feet and is a large child or smallest womans and has never paid more then 1/4 rrp

MelancholicJellyfish

It will work for women wearing men's shoes. But the average man won't find their size in women's, and women's are typically thinner around the arch, because women's feet are typically thinner there.

Maximum_Pollution371

Well that explains why men's shoes are so much more comfortable on my giant flat duck feet than women's... At least men with skinny feet will have more options. :)

MelancholicJellyfish

True! Haha, a lot of men's clothes in general are loose and comfy, unfortunately I too have giant flat duck feet, I wear "eee" in boots which is "triple wide".

insomniaczombiex

You’re going to get brown and you’re going to like it.

thinkB4WeSpeak

Oh yeah I like all my stuff as colorful as possible. I envy the women's section with their fun colors.

akmacmac

Some brands have plenty. Look at Altra or Topo

Ask-Me-About-You

Ah yes the Topo Terraventure Olive Green or Grey

RoleModelFailure

I started buying women’s smartwool socks because the men’s colors and patterns suck.

Vagablogged

Same lol. I’m always like damn these women’s boots are pretty fly. Too bad I’m stuck with dark brown.

breakinbread

The normal running shoes took it all

Macvombat

Same in climbing shoes, and every other shoe type I suspect.

I'll often pick the women's model. It's the same shoe, just better looking. Thankfully my feet are small enough that I can generally find a shoe that fits for both genders.

Foghorn225

For sure! I loved the Saucony Peregrine trail runners I bought a couple years back. Mainly black, but all the accents and laces? Neon and rainbow. Wish they'd keep making those colors each year...

Blurghblagh

Yes, the title should be "why do only women's hiking boots come in silly colours". Women get the usual black, brown and tan colours and a whole extra range.

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