# ThirtyTwo Boots run Small?



## mmk2245

I have a pair of size 12 32 prospects that are about 7 years old and turning to mush. I measured my feet per Wired's advice and my larger foot is about 29.5cm, putting me at an 11.5. HOWEVER people seem to think that 32s run small, despite their listed mondo sizing. 

Is this peoples experience on the forum? NO ONE in the NYC area (where I am) has any in stock to try on, so I'm trying to minimize the back and forth of ordering online. Should I order the 11.5 or size up as many reviewers seem to say they run small. 7 years is a long time and idk if they maybe changed the molds etc. The burton 11.5s I tried made my larger foot go numb within 20min. 

Thanks in advance to anyone that can share their experience.


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## ehr0c

If you're unsure and want to minimize the back-and-forth, order a few different sizes and ship the ones back that don't fit.


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## wrathfuldeity

ime they run big, in that the liners are high volume and will pack out. Search other threads and you will get lots of experience of 32's. I've small feet, men's 7 us street shoes, mondo 24 and have worn mainly women's 32 size 8, but this year dropped to wms 7.5 and they are working well.


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## drblast

I have ~28cm foot and I just (last week) tried on 10's in the following:

32 TM-Two XLT
Burton Imperial
Salomon Malamute

Of those, the 32's had the most comfortable toe box as far as width goes. They were all about the same as to how much my toes crunched up against the front. I went home with the 32's which were the most comfortable. Burton and Salomon both fit about the same and felt slightly narrower than the 32's.

I've ridden the 32's twice since and love the performance of them. It's borderline painful to walk around but riding is fine. I expect once they pack out a bit they'll be perfect.


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## poser

I got a pair of 32s this season. I wear a 13 with a narrow foot. The K2s that I had last year ran very small and were painful. My 32s fit well after packing out. The first 3-4x out were borderline uncomfortably tight though. I don’t really have much of an option since few companies make 12.5s and 14s are too big.


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## mmk2245

drblast said:


> I have ~28cm foot and I just (last week) tried on 10's in the following:
> 
> 32 TM-Two XLT
> Burton Imperial
> Salomon Malamute
> 
> Of those, the 32's had the most comfortable toe box as far as width goes. They were all about the same as to how much my toes crunched up against the front. I went home with the 32's which were the most comfortable. Burton and Salomon both fit about the same and felt slightly narrower than the 32's.
> 
> I've ridden the 32's twice since and love the performance of them. It's borderline painful to walk around but riding is fine. I expect once they pack out a bit they'll be perfect.


So at a 28cm aren't you around a size 11? That would suggest they run large. The toebox in the burtons felt narrow on my pinky toe, despite my feet measuring somewhat narrow. 



poser said:


> I got a pair of 32s this season. I wear a 13 with a narrow foot. The K2s that I had last year ran very small and were painful. My 32s fit well after packing out. The first 3-4x out were borderline uncomfortably tight though. I don’t really have much of an option since few companies make 12.5s and 14s are too big.


Do you wear a 13 in street shoe and snowboard boot?


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## poser

mmk2245 said:


> So at a 28cm aren't you around a size 11? That would suggest they run large. The toebox in the burtons felt narrow on my pinky toe, despite my feet measuring somewhat narrow.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do you wear a 13 in street shoe and snowboard boot?




I do. Those k2s are the only footwear that have never fit me in size 13. In some brands, I could be more ideal with a 12.5, but very few brands make that size. If I had custom footwear made, it would probably be size 12.75 

Anyway, my experience is with 32 is go with your most common footwear size.


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## Fielding

I'm a street shoe 11. I'm good in Burtons at 10. I got some 32 Scott Stevens in 9.5 that have caused me much pain until recently. They're trad lace boots. I think they broke in and I got better at lacing them and isolating certain parts of the boot. Plus I put some fitter foam under the tongue to help account for my sexy skinny shins. I was pretty drunk when I bought them. I get the impression that 32s may be inconsistent in their sizing. Some folks say big and some folks say small. I'm actually lacing the lower using one lace and the upper using another lace. Works better this way.


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## woodhouse

My foot from heel to toe measures 28.9 cm which would put me in a size 11 boot

Ive tried on 3 different boots in size 11 and got 3 different results

32 lashed (I tried the lace up and the double boa) out of the 3 I tried, these were hands down the tightest, it was painful to walk, but with bent knees they didnt feel as bad, and I think they would packout to a perfect fit. But like Fielding said, Ive heard plenty of people say they run big, as well as small, maybe they are inconsistent with size.

k2 maysis - I would say this felt the biggest out of the 3 I tried, I had ZERO pain with these, and they were very comfortable, the fact that I had no discomfort out of the box worried me that when they packout it would be too much

dc control double boa - This boot felt the best out of them all, not as big as the k2, and not as small as the 32's

In my experience boots vary greatly between brands


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## drblast

mmk2245 said:


> drblast said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have ~28cm foot and I just (last week) tried on 10's in the following:
> 
> 32 TM-Two XLT
> Burton Imperial
> Salomon Malamute
> 
> Of those, the 32's had the most comfortable toe box as far as width goes. They were all about the same as to how much my toes crunched up against the front. I went home with the 32's which were the most comfortable. Burton and Salomon both fit about the same and felt slightly narrower than the 32's.
> 
> I've ridden the 32's twice since and love the performance of them. It's borderline painful to walk around but riding is fine. I expect once they pack out a bit they'll be perfect.
> 
> 
> 
> So at a 28cm aren't you around a size 11? That would suggest they run large. The toebox in the burtons felt narrow on my pinky toe, despite my feet measuring somewhat narrow.
> 
> 
> 
> poser said:
> 
> 
> 
> I got a pair of 32s this season. I wear a 13 with a narrow foot. The K2s that I had last year ran very small and were painful. My 32s fit well after packing out. The first 3-4x out were borderline uncomfortably tight though. I don’t really have much of an option since few companies make 12.5s and 14s are too big.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Do you wear a 13 in street shoe and snowboard boot?
Click to expand...


28cm is US men's size 10. But I just look at the Mondo sizes and go by that. All the boots and brands should have that.

Data point of one, but in my experience the Mondo size on 32 boots results in a correct fit. The sales guy did mention that 32 "fixed" the sizing of their boots this year to be more correct but I'm not sure how true that is.


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## drblast

Fielding said:


> I was pretty drunk when I bought them.


This is my new favorite quote. I vote that from now on, every gear review should include how drunk or high the reviewer was during the testing, right after stance angles.


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## Fielding

woodhouse said:


> My foot from heel to toe measures 28.9 cm which would put me in a size 11 boot
> 
> Ive tried on 3 different boots in size 11 and got 3 different results
> 
> 32 lashed (I tried the lace up and the double boa) out of the 3 I tried, these were hands down the tightest, it was painful to walk, but with bent knees they didnt feel as bad, and I think they would packout to a perfect fit. But like Fielding said, Ive heard plenty of people say they run big, as well as small, maybe they are inconsistent with size.
> 
> k2 maysis - I would say this felt the biggest out of the 3 I tried, I had ZERO pain with these, and they were very comfortable, the fact that I had no discomfort out of the box worried me that when they packout it would be too much
> 
> dc control double boa - This boot felt the best out of them all, not as big as the k2, and not as small as the 32's
> 
> In my experience boots vary greatly between brands


You want the boots to fit nice and snug when you've got your knees bent and youre in riding position. That's what you're looking for in the shop. They'll get more loose after you ride them a few times. That's even if you get a heat fit. You don;t want to buy boots that feel great to walk around in from day one. I mean you can do that if you want. But you won't be getting a performance fit that will give you max control on the hill. You'll end up with a sloppy boot that may ultimately cause you a lot of pain if your foot slides around on the footbed when you're riding.


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## woodhouse

Fielding said:


> You'll end up with a sloppy boot that may ultimately cause you a lot of pain if your foot slides around on the footbed when you're riding.


Thats exactly what happened when I bought a pair of Ride's in a size 12, toes got a nice running start to go full speed and slam into the front of my boot


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## Phedder

woodhouse said:


> Thats exactly what happened when I bought a pair of Ride's in a size 12, toes got a nice running start to go full speed and slam into the front of my boot


That's what 1.1cm of unwanted room will do. Try those Ride's in an 11, or hell, even a 10.5 and I bet you'll stay firmly in place.

My experience with ThirtyTwos taught me a lot about toebox shape. I'm a 27.7cm foot, should fit well in a US10 boot. I bought a pair of TM2s online and there's no fucking way in hell I could ride those, yet I'm fine in 9.5 Rides and now actually a 9 shell with 9.5 liners. The reason I deduced was my big toe is my longest by a good margin, whereas ThirtyTwo boots are shaped as such that the middle toe area is the longest part of the boot, Ride's and K2's are shaped so the big toe is the longest. That has a huge impact on how the boot will fit.


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## bazman

I found the tm-2's run small but the new tm-3's are correctly sized to Mondo foot size

I didn't buy either boot so not sure how they pack out, this is based on trying at home


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## Fielding

If youre buying new boots this time of the year (most retailers are discounting stuff pretty good now) look into getting custom footbeds done at the same time. Where they might cost $150 at full retail, I got some done last year for $80 (30% off sale plus extra discount for buying them at same time as the boots). Especially if you have a high instep or anything remarkable about your feet, getting custom footbeds will give you so much comfort and control that it's just sick. Sick. Just make sure that you're getting them done by a store that has some clue what's up. They don't need to be lifetime pro bootfitters to get it right. But you don't want to be the dude's first ever pair. Get you footbeds done and then get the boots heat molded with your beds in there. That's the killer fit recipe.

If you don't want to or can't plunk $ for beds consider some upgraded off the shelf footbeds. What comes in most boots, even fairly high end boots, is worse than a joke.


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## mmk2245

Fielding said:


> If youre buying new boots this time of the year (most retailers are discounting stuff pretty good now) look into getting custom footbeds done at the same time. Where they might cost $150 at full retail, I got some done last year for $80 (30% off sale plus extra discount for buying them at same time as the boots). Especially if you have a high instep or anything remarkable about your feet, getting custom footbeds will give you so much comfort and control that it's just sick. Sick. Just make sure that you're getting them done by a store that has some clue what's up. They don't need to be lifetime pro bootfitters to get it right. But you don't want to be the dude's first ever pair. Get you footbeds done and then get the boots heat molded with your beds in there. That's the killer fit recipe.
> 
> If you don't want to or can't plunk $ for beds consider some upgraded off the shelf footbeds. What comes in most boots, even fairly high end boots, is worse than a joke.


This is what i may end up doing. My feet are super flat though which makes boot shopping somewhat of a nightmare. Looks like Ill have to call around a bit and see who has what left in stock and make the drive to try on. Really sucks that no one local has any stock left.


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## F1EA

mmk2245 said:


> So at a 28cm aren't you around a size 11? That would suggest they run large. The toebox in the burtons felt narrow on my pinky toe, despite my feet measuring somewhat narrow.


28cm = US10



Phedder said:


> That's what 1.1cm of unwanted room will do. Try those Ride's in an 11, or hell, even a 10.5 and I bet you'll stay firmly in place.
> 
> My experience with ThirtyTwos taught me a lot about toebox shape. I'm a 27.7cm foot, should fit well in a US10 boot. I bought a pair of TM2s online and there's no fucking way in hell I could ride those, yet I'm fine in 9.5 Rides and now actually a 9 shell with 9.5 liners. The reason I deduced was my big toe is my longest by a good margin, whereas ThirtyTwo boots are shaped as such that the middle toe area is the longest part of the boot, Ride's and K2's are shaped so the big toe is the longest. That has a huge impact on how the boot will fit.


Yep. This is pretty accurate. If you try to fit into a ThirtyTwo at mondo, it's going to be really tight. My middle finger is the longest so ThirtyTwo feel the best; but I can fit at least half a size smaller in almost every other boot. You might make it fit if your foot shape is helpful. No way to know other than trying it.

So to answer the original question.....

This is a size US10 (280mm) Intuition liner (bottom) vs a size US11 (290mm) ThirtyTwo level 3 liner (top).


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## sr20sleeper

We had read that the 32's run small also but my wife picked up a pair of 32 STW Boa women's boots this year and she ended up with the same size as her regular shoes. It also comes with a heat moldable liner that the local shop will set you up in which was cool, especially considering these were like $150 on sale. Overall she was very happy with the purchase, but keep in mind she is a beginner with probably about 10 days on the mountain in her life...

She liked the 32 boot over the Burton boots she tried on because it had a wider toe box and every rental boot she had ever tried really hurt her toes... which was why we finally broke down and got her some boots.

I got a set of used DC scout BOA at play it again sports this season since I was just getting back into the sport. I was very happy happy with the fit and found that it was spot on at 11.5 which is what I wear in a street shoe (except for adidas I am a 12 for some reason). Not sure if you considered DC...


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## mmk2245

sr20sleeper said:


> We had read that the 32's run small also but my wife picked up a pair of 32 STW Boa women's boots this year and she ended up with the same size as her regular shoes. It also comes with a heat moldable liner that the local shop will set you up in which was cool, especially considering these were like $150 on sale. Overall she was very happy with the purchase, but keep in mind she is a beginner with probably about 10 days on the mountain in her life...
> 
> She liked the 32 boot over the Burton boots she tried on because it had a wider toe box and every rental boot she had ever tried really hurt her toes... which was why we finally broke down and got her some boots.
> 
> I got a set of used DC scout BOA at play it again sports this season since I was just getting back into the sport. I was very happy happy with the fit and found that it was spot on at 11.5 which is what I wear in a street shoe (except for adidas I am a 12 for some reason). Not sure if you considered DC...


I'm down for any brand boot really as long as the fit is on point. Was just thinking 32 since I own a (too big for me now) pair, tried burton's lace offering which hurt, and wasn't into the fit of the K2s.


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## Fielding

mmk2245 said:


> I'm down for any brand boot really as long as the fit is on point. Was just thinking 32 since I own a (too big for me now) pair, tried burton's lace offering which hurt, and wasn't into the fit of the K2s.


It’s just really really hard to know if theyre gonna Be good or not while you’re in the shop. You really need a few outings in them. That’s why it’s good to buy from a retailer who will help you after you make the purchase. It might cost a Little more. But you get fit help and usually some Service down the road for tweaks. So very worth it. So nice. Place where I bought mine has refit them a few times. Dudes have been very helpful. Plus I like the good feeling I get when i know I’m supporting a business that hires and retains stoned 20-somethings. That’s important to me for social justice reasons..


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## F1EA

sr20sleeper said:


> she ended up with the same size as her regular shoes.


Which means.... they run small.

Most people have to size down on boots from their regular shoe size, because their street shoes size is probably too big relative to their true mondo size.


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## mmk2245

Fielding said:


> It’s just really really hard to know if theyre gonna Be good or not while you’re in the shop. You really need a few outings in them. That’s why it’s good to buy from a retailer who will help you after you make the purchase. It might cost a Little more. But you get fit help and usually some Service down the road for tweaks. So very worth it. So nice. Place where I bought mine has refit them a few times. Dudes have been very helpful. Plus I like the good feeling I get when i know I’m supporting a business that hires and retains stoned 20-somethings. That’s important to me for social justice reasons..


Im all about buying local, but like i said there's just no inventory anywhere around NYC right now. Considering a drive out to long island if I can contact anyone with something for me to try. Any of the NYC/LI/North NJ crew have a shop to recommend I'm all ears.


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## woodhouse

mmk2245 said:


> Im all about buying local, but like i said there's just no inventory anywhere around NYC right now. Considering a drive out to long island if I can contact anyone with something for me to try. Any of the NYC/LI/North NJ crew have a shop to recommend I'm all ears.


I live on LI, most shops are cleaned out, give sun and ski a call in plainview, or sundown ski and patio.

I wanted to try some vans or adidas, but neither of them carry those brands.

And as far as a boot fitter out here, all I've seen is guys measure, heat, and try to sell you a $50 insole.


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## sr20sleeper

F1EA said:


> sr20sleeper said:
> 
> 
> 
> she ended up with the same size as her regular shoes.
> 
> 
> 
> Which means.... they run small.
> 
> Most people have to size down on boots from their regular shoe size, because their street shoes size is probably too big relative to their true mondo size.
Click to expand...

Good point, I took running small as relative to shoe size but based on mondo size you are absolutely right. 

I guess DC runs small too because my scouts are a size larger than my mondo size but they fit like a glove.


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## Fielding

sr20sleeper said:


> Good point, I took running small as relative to shoe size but based on mondo size you are absolutely right.
> 
> I guess DC runs small too because my scouts are a size larger than my mondo size but they fit like a glove.


I do not know of any boot that fits same as shoe size. Yor boots should always be about 1 1/2 sizes larger than your sperry topsiders.


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## bazman

Fielding said:


> I do not know of any boot that fits same as shoe size. Yor boots should always be about 1 1/2 sizes larger than your sperry topsiders.


I bought some outdoor walking shoes in my Mondo size. They hurt for 6 months but have finally broken in and fit perfectly 

Normally I just go large and comfy


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## Fielding

I typically ride in wellies and stockings/garters.


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## comfortstarr

I recently bought the 32 TM2's. I'm a shade under an 11 in regular shoes. The very tip of my big toe touched the end when I was trying on the 32s in size 11. I was nervous, but had read that was good. Indeed, after about 6 outings, they're perfect. The Salomon Factions they replaced were size 11 as well, but those were much bigger.


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