Great Boots: Wide Feet Buy 1 size up! Short review: if you have wide feet, and are a man, buy one size up from the recommended size. Wear them around the house for a week. After a week, the leather will break in around the heel and rub/move. Buy a Dr. Scholl's gel insert for work boots, trim to fit, and you have the perfect size boot. Long review: I have wide feet. I take an 8.5 EE, this size fits perfectly in the Timberland Earthkeepers 8.5 EE, but in the Rockport boots I take a 9 E. So shoe sizes vary and I understand that. I'd give the boot five stars, except I now have an expensive mistake. I went with the advice on Doc Marten's own website and the Amazon sizing guide, and bought a UK 8 which is the equivalent to a US 9 Medium. This has worked for me with a number of shoes. A number of reviewers have said the shoe runs "wide." I can only presume they have narrow feet or are women buying the men's style shoe, given that even women with wide feet will have narrower feet than men with wide feet. I've worn the boot too long to return them, in a vain attempt to "break them in." I will just have to sell them elsewhere I guess. On a hunch, I bought a size large (i.e. a UK 9, not a UK 8, which is equivalent to a US 10 Medium). Fit great, until the heel as noted above broke in and the leather around there started rubbing up and down. A quick trip to your favorite Large-Mart superstore and for $10 Dr. Scholls had me covered. Perfect fit. I like boots, with large toes I tend to get movement up and down the heel with a low cut shoe and with a boot you can dial in by lacing the upper part boot movement in the heel to an astonishing degree. Doc Martens are also VERY comfortable once broken in. Yes the Air Ware is old technology, so are V8 Engines, rear wheel transmission (featured on half a million dollar supercars like Bugattis and Ferarris) and other proven stuff. With the Doc Martens alone, absent the gel inserts, I find them at least as comfortable, maybe more so, than the Timberland "anti-fatigue technology." It is important to be clear what Doc Martens are, and where they work well for people. They are essentially a dress work boot for concrete and other hard surfaces. They were originally sold after all to UK factory workers and British Postmen, who love them. The patent leather gives them a dressy look, and polish allows you to keep them clean and neat. If you are on your feet a good part of the day on hard surfaces like me you'll appreciate them. Doc Martens don't have the aggressive tread that works so well in Rockports or Timberlands in ice, snow, mud, and muck. If you are looking for a boot for back-east Mud season, look elsewhere (I live fortunately in Sunny Southern California). Docs do alright in the rain, in getting you in and out of puddle-strewn parking lots. They are not waterproof like some Timberlands and Rockports though. Docs look nicer, are more dressy, and more rock-and-roll than Timberlands, the favorite of rappers and (in one Seinfeld episode), George Costanza. Fashion-wise, yes girls like them a lot, but so does Penn Gillete the magician, who wears them in his Vegas shows. Docs being a dress work boot, have a fully gusseted tongue, unlike most Timberlands and Rockports. I have a pair of Carolina Logger workboots with the same feature. This will press down on the top of your foot until the leather softens up, and is a feature of all good workboots. Which have the gusseted tongue to keep out debris and dirt from the inside of the boot. This is why I suggest for wide feet people, break the Docs in WITHOUT THE GEL INSERT first, and then when the heel starts to move put the gel insert in so the tongue is already broken in and does not press down hard on your foot. I would recommend a thick cotton crew sock. These socks can be found almost anywhere, are cheap, and easy to replace when they inevitably wear out. No need to go with a pricey wool sock. They are easy to wash too. Docs go well in a dress casual environment, and can be in a pinch paired with a suit for a rock-and-roll dressy look, much better than say Timberlands which are strictly jeans/khaki casual. Just remember, if you have wide feet, go one size up from the recommended size.
