We'll be the first to admit the toe boxes in our footwear are not fashionable. That's because they're designed to be ergonomic, to fit the natural shape of the foot. Having a toe box that is not wide enough can cause a multitude of problems including Morton's Neuroma, bunions, metatarsalgia, hammer toes, blisters, corns, callouses, black & bruised toenails, ingrown toenails, hammertoes, and claw toes. Most dress shoes, casual shoes, and even athletic shoes are designed with no regard for the damage that the tight toe box will inflict on the forefoot of the foot.
The toe box in every pair of Z-CoiLs was built with a little extra width so that the toes and bones behind the toes have room to lay comfortably while walking or standing without being squished. Nearly all people's feet get wider with age, so if you are wearing the same size shoes you wore in your youth, you are probably wearing a shoe that is too small. Our feet become longer and wider with age, as the tendons and ligaments that connect the bones lose their elasticity. This causes the toes to spread out and the arch of the foot to flatten. A person's feet will also widen with weight gain or pregnancy.
Our mantra at Z-CoiL is to fit the shoe to the foot you have, not squish the foot to fit the shoe! Our toe box runs a D to E width in most of our shoes. If your foot measures a B, C, D, or E on a Brannock device, your forefoot will fit our footwear just fine. Although we made the toe box a little wider than normal, we did not make the heel any wider. The heel area is rounded just like the shape of your heel to the pressure is evenly distributed.
When looking for a pair of shoes, we recommend that you try on both shoes and wear them around for at least five minutes. Your feet naturally stretch in the walking process so if you simply stand in the shoes, you will not know if your toes are going to hit the front of the shoe. Repeated rubbing of the toes on the inside of the front of the shoe will cause ingrown toenails, toenail loss, and a host of other potential problems. Our recommendation is that you have at minimum 1/2" room between the end of your tallest toe to the inside of the front of the shoe.
Your feet are too important to let mere fashion dictate which shoes you wear. You need footwear that has been engineered for pain relief.
