aboslute WIDEST toe box skate shoes?

[Snackbar]

The adidas forums have a pretty wide toe box. They last forever too, they’re like tanks

I've got to second this. The Forum 84 Low ADV (I think that's all of it) is a bit bulkier than most but the toe box is nice and wide and for an old guy with bigger feet like me they fit great and are comfy. Also, unlike most Adidas skate shoes there are tongue straps. I can confirm the tank comment as well.

[Xen]

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Force 58
Blazer (GTs) but I need to lace them loose...laces are short kept coming undone, haven't bothered to swap laces.

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Blazers in my size were difficult to even get on the foot and felt terrible. Just way too narrow for me. Even half a size up did not work.

Force 58s half a size up barely fit but easier to get on. Almost zero room in toe length (a very tiny amount) and felt like wearing shoes made of plastic and soles made of rocks. Just not comfortable at all for me. I wanted to like them and assume they get better with break in. Just couldn't take the risk as they'd likely end up as another pair of shoes for the donation pile.

Yeah, the force 58 seem to run small in length I can fit in TTS but they are a bit snug; not half a size small or anything, I just have to lace them tight. They breaking quite well and get very flexi very quick.

[Tale Crab]

I've been on Maranas for the past few years and they've been treating my hobbit feet well as long as I give them a shoe stretcher treatment for a few nights before first skating them. Now I got a pair of Marana Fiberlites and they feel like an even better fitting version overall without needing any stretching around the pinky toes. I had to go half a size up from the regular Maranas to get the same fit. They even added tongue centering straps which I was missing on the originals. My only gripe is that the hidden lace loops could run a bit higher, but you can't have everything. Now I'm just hoping they stay in production so I don't need to think of what to wear.

[JK42]

So after reading a few comments about Globes being wider in the toe box i bought a pair of Motley 2s. Will be sending them back to a manufacturing fault where the fabric lining under the sockliner/insole hasnt been stuck down properly and is creased and has air bubbles you can feel when you wear them. The shoes is wide though, and quite volumnous for those with taller feet/high arches. The toe box is quite pointy, reminding me of the etnies/emerica shape, which is not my personal thing. Very light as well, which is good. There is no padding around the heel collar though, i am guessing a padded version of these would be the Mahalo.

[Firebert]

Any of the converse fastbreaks with nylon in the upper (I find that material fits more consistent than suede versions.) That's my favorite cup at the moment.

[skateboarder4life]

Any of the converse fastbreaks with nylon in the upper (I find that material fits more consistent than suede versions.) That's my favorite cup at the moment.

converse are some of the narrowest toebox shoes in existence

[skateboarder4life]

Ok everyone, I've been doing a TOOOON of research into this. I come from a minimal shoe with wide toe box background. I've been searching for shoes that have a wide toe box (like, ACTUALLY wide which lets your toes splay) that would at the same time be suitable for skateboarding. I've come up with the following options:

1. SOM Footwear Trailhead OR SOM Footwear HiLite - https://www.somfootwear.com/products/trailhead
These shoes seem to be the most promising. The 8mm cup sole is thin enough that you'll get good board feel, while being polyurethane material (which is lighter and more durable than vulcanized rubber) that according to SOM has "excellent grip on rocks." This could translate to good grip on griptape as well. The insole of the shoe has a cup sole. Another really cool thing about the shoe is that the uppers are made out of SuperFabric, which apparently is designed to be pretty tough. And finally, SOM does offer neoprene flat inserts (about 14 bucks) which apparently "keeps its thickness and shape even during strenous activities such as running or jumping." Extra cushion never hurts, and this all makes SOM seem like a pretty good option. Finally finally, I did actually reach out to SOM Footwear and they said their customers who skateboard choose the Trailhead or HiLite, which is why I included both. The bulk of my research was on the Trailhead, but I'm throwing the HiLite in there for anyone who may be looking for the same materials of the Trailhead in a high-top option.


2. Icarus Ascent - https://icarusfootwear.com/products/first-flight
I found about these guys from the /r/barefootrunning sub on Reddit, and the owner was doing an AMA. I noticed in the description of the shoes, it comes with three different insoles. One of the insoles is a "Thick Max-Energy insoles (Cushioned heel; 5-11mm thick)," which "offer maximum impact absorption to protect your heel from repeated impacts on modern surfaces like concrete and asphalt. Great for long days in the urban jungle, skateboarding, or if your feet aren't ready for "barefoot" levels of support." I asked the owner about using the shoes in conjunction with their thickest insole for skateboarding, to which the owner said it would be a good idea. These shoes look pretty nice too, tho I'd probably use them for just cruising as opposed to doing tricks, for fear of messing with the white leather upper. Of course everyone else is different.


3. Flux Footwear Adapt High Top with Graphene - https://fluxfootwear.com/products/flux-high-top-graphene-adapt
This seems like a very durable shoe, from the ripstop fabric upper to the graphene rubber sole. It seems like this shoe would do very well with abrasion, and the sole seems flexible enough to bend with the movement of skateboarding. I reached out to the Flux Footwear people to see if they've been tested for skateboarding, to which they said not yet, but that they'll be hoping to do something like that soon. All in all, with a decent stack height these shoes might not be bad for skateboarding.


4. Adidas The Total Trainer - https://www.adidas.com/us/the-total-shoes/HQ3533.html
I like the look of these but not 100% sure how well they'd fare for doing tricks or much beyond cruising. They are weightlifting shoes which seem geared at keeping the foot in a stable position, so the sole may not be flexible or be well-suited to skating. Just thought I'd throw this out there as the sole and uppers do seem durable enough for a skate shoe, and the toe box of course is wide enough.


5. Splay Freestyle - https://splayshoes.com/collections/freestyle/products/splay-freestyle-coal-shoes
These have been mentioned before, but I thought it worth mentioning again to those who just stumbled upon this thread. The colorway I linked is the most Vans-esque, tho they also do have slip-on versions of their shoes if you really wanna get that yung Vans vibe. These do have a vulcanized rubber sole, and after doing some digging through Splay's instagram a decent amount of their customers do actually use this shoe for skating. Shoe goo or the like is a must for the upper, but the sole seems durable enough, and it absolutely is flexible as well. Have a pair of these myself, they're mad comfy, just haven't taken the plunge in skating with them yet.


6. Xero Prio - https://xeroshoes.com/shop/activity/performance/prio-men/
Braille Skateboarding actually did a video review of skating with these shoes, and you guys can find the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yup7RJDJk_c. I actually have a pair of these myself, and with how thin they are I'm surprised they managed to do so well skating with them (save for a few bad landings). Of course, the uppers already had holes in them by the time the video was over, but this could be addressed with something like shoe goo. This video was my lightbulb moment as I had been searching for ages for video evidence of people not just cruising but doing tricks with barefoot shoes. This video proves it's possible with the sole, but not so much with the uppers. Many have suggested Xero's Kelso as another good alternative as well, which I'll link below:


7. Xero Kelso - https://xeroshoes.com/shop/shoes/kelso-men/
What separates the Kelso from the Prio is the 6.0mm FeelTrue sole compared to the Prio's 5.5mm. As well, the uppers of the Kelso are a combination of full grain leather and suede. Not to mention, they look pretty badass as well.


I've definitely been meaning to cop at least one of these shoes (besides the Prio which I already have). If I ever do get one of these (or test out my Splay's cruising and doing tricks), I'll be sure to let you guys know.

decent post as this is one of the only posts in the thread to consider the need for toes to actually splay and the amount of width that actually requires. unfortunately, most of those are universally BUTTUGLY and certainly incapable of standing up to the abuse of hardcore street skateboarding and aggressive tricks

to everyone else:
if you "have wide feet and just size up" you don't actually have wide feet.

if you think a simple W next to the number is sufficient, you are ignorant about this issue

[skateboarder4life]

some other new developments:


https://www.bohempia.eu/zavid-2-0-brown-black/

https://fluxfootwear.com/collections/mens/products/adapt-high-top?variant=43184353018089

https://www.groundies.com/barefootplus-fit/GROUNDIES-Amsterdam-Barefoot-Men-camel.html

https://www.feelgrounds.com/products/highrise-luxe-gum-white


some of these are better looking, but again, almost certainly incapable to standing up to the abuse of aggressive hardcore street skateboarding. does anyone here work at an actual skate shoe company that can get some anatomically correct shoes made?

[JK42]

I read on another wide shoe thread that the Lakai Griffin is wide-ish for a vulc. I wondered if anyone had tried them from a wide toe box perspective and had any thought on them. I tried the Manchesters but found them too pointy.

[freidnly guy]

I'm pretty into the wide toe box / barefoot shoe thing and the New Balance 272 has been the best skate shoe for that vibe for me. The toe box is nice and wide and the arch support minimal. The heel is slightly raised, but these are only skate shoes that leave my feet feeling normal after a session. I think they're also slightly longer than some of the other numeric models so that might be part of it. They have plenty of protection too. I've landed primo a number of times and have gotten away with it every time.

Here's a pic of the other NBs I've tried and a few shoes popular in the wide toe box world. I'm a size 12 so here's a summary of how the others felt compared to the 272s.

255 - Started here. These felt pretty nice but something about how they placed the laces leads to me ripping one basically every session.

440 - Grabbed these next. Super bummed these didn't work out because these seems to always get great colorways. They're more squared off so my middle toes are a little more snug than I'd like, but that might work for your foot shape. The killer for me was the built in arch support. It's high. I'm used to minimalist shoes so after even a half hour in these my soles feel like they lost a fight.

306L - I was excited to try these after burning through laces in 255s. They were great for a while but the elastic on my flick foot gave out and now it's pretty floppy. They are a little narrower than the 272s.

I really appreciate the variety of sizes and shapes New Balance offers. It can make finding your fit an expensive hassle, especially when they don't even have a dealer locator for their Numeric line on their website, but it's nice that they seem to offer something for everyone.

https://i.ibb.co/7SDwFzg/96-EFBFFC-345-C-4-EAF-8-C96-871-CBAF3-B679.jpg

Very cool, I now have a pair of 272s on the way, we'll see if the fit can compete with the Marana slip xlt

[Gary Bucket]

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The adidas forums have a pretty wide toe box. They last forever too, they’re like tanks

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I've got to second this. The Forum 84 Low ADV (I think that's all of it) is a bit bulkier than most but the toe box is nice and wide and for an old guy with bigger feet like me they fit great and are comfy. Also, unlike most Adidas skate shoes there are tongue straps. I can confirm the tank comment as well.

Here to testify on these. I have absolute flippers. Bought em fully prepared to have as chillers on account of the bulk but after 2 sessions theyve broken in super well

[Xen]

How do the Forum ADVs fit? TTS?

Currently wearing the Josl1ns, gotta say, pretty good/wide fit.

[Candied cigarettes]

How do the Forum ADVs fit? TTS?

Currently wearing the Josl1ns, gotta say, pretty good/wide fit.

The forum ADVs are significantly wider. Wide midfoot and really comfortable but a pretty big shoe

[Sativa Lung]

As a former barefoot/minimalist guy I can't fathom trying to skate one. They're designed to be as thin as possible and just the thought of the board feel those foamy soles must have is giving me the ick. It would be like skating in water shoes.

My advice is to buy one of the wider numerics cups and actually skate them long enough to break them in. It can take weeks for the stiffer ones like the 440 to start to stretch, but the less structured ones will loosen up pretty quick, especially in the summer. I haven't even used my stretchers in the last year other than on some last resorts I wear as "dress" shoes.

[Gary Bucket]

How do the Forum ADVs fit? TTS?

Currently wearing the Josl1ns, gotta say, pretty good/wide fit.

Tts “lengthwise” for sure

[Xen]

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How do the Forum ADVs fit? TTS?

Currently wearing the Josl1ns, gotta say, pretty good/wide fit.

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Tts “lengthwise” for sure

Thanks, that was the TTS info I was looking for!