Boots

[DebR]

Oh, for goodness sake!
I wrote a day or so back on another forum about how much I loved the feel (if not the colour) of the electric blue Salomon trail shoes I bought in an outdoor store right on the Camino as I entered Leon in 2015. How they wore straight in, no blisters or anything. And how I'd found them on sale and was about to buy a second pair.
Extended Camino family, you ready for this?
Ol' B1 and B2, those teflon blue boots, are actually
two...different...sizes.
One is a US 7.5 and the other is a US 9. I never once noticed.
Adding light entertainment, both are men's shoes.
You can imagine the fun "replacing" them in the store just now.
I went from knowing - exactly - what I wanted, a rare experience for me in the boot business, to abject confusion. Real fast.
I now have a new pair of men's 7.5s in black (PLEASE, don't comment if you think black might be too hot for May; I don't have the strength to change my mind again) and, perhaps predictably, my faith in B1 and B2 is shattered. Once you see it, ol' Lefty is almost half an inch longer.
Over three caminos (and one pending), this brings my total of attempted boot pairs to 8.

I...am...seriously...done...trying...on...boots!
While I haven't yet used what Billy Connolly calls the more "limited" parts of my vocabulary, the day is not over yet...

 

[Kanga]

Just to make you feel better @DebR, there has been some research that showed black is no worse than any other colour as far as heat and clothing is concerned. "White is cooler" apparently is a fallacy. The only colour that can make any difference, according to the research, is reflective silver.

 

[Kanga]

PS - try walking in sandals!

 

[Davie Blisters]

Yes, silver sandals!

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @DebR - well it is a well known fact that many of us (female & male alike) have different size feet but not one and a half sizes larger/smaller!!
Back in the 1970's I bought ski boots and ended up having to buy 11 1/4 (eleven & a quarter?) as my left foot was a quarter size larger than the right.

Your situation is, as they say a classic. If there is one positive that other pilgrims can take from your experience - always try on both boots/shoes in the box and then double check that those same-size boots have been put into the box. The sandals sound like a good idea - for summer but not winter. Cheers

 

[Mike Trebert]

Yes, my left foot is bigger, so I always try on the left shoe/boot first when buying. Trouble is, it makes me walk around in circles. Just kidding. About the circles bit, I mean.

 

[C clearly]

Years back, my sister-in-law bought ice skates for the first time. They weren't very comfortable but she was new at skating, and everyone said that you can't expect comfort in skates. Many months later she determined that she had been struggling along on two left skates.