Wide fencing shoes?

[Sinestra]

Hello!

I started fencing around four months ago...strangely enough, just shortly after I broke my ankle at the start of the school year. The ankle is fully healed now, but I'm still going to be wearing a brace on it while fencing through at least March--so shoes aren't an immediate concern of mine. However, I am interested in getting a pair at some point after I feel comfortable fencing without the brace (it's one of those small aero-casts that goes from the sides of your feet to up about halfway on your shins) and I've been trying to get advice on what type to get.

Issue is, I have wide feet, which has always made shoe shopping generally quite difficult, and I can only imagine it might complicate things further for finding fencing shoes, too. Most people suggest trying on shoes and buying them at tournaments, but none of the tournaments I've been to (or probably will get to for the rest of this season) had much in the way of vendors, so I'm not holding my breath on that. The Li-Nings have been recommended to me, but I don't know much about them and everyone and their mother seems to have some Adidas pair or other.

So, basically--I'd appreciate any advice that anyone could offer about finding shoes that might fit wide feet.

Thanks!

[Asprin]

Don't go for the Addidas Dartagnan II, they are narrow.

[journalmom]

Try Leon Paul's Scimitars.

[noodle]

LP shoes are wide

[little_old_me]

Adidas stuff is pretty narrow. The LP Scimitars run a bit wide. The LP Blades are a bit wider. The shoes that Absolute make run even wider still. I'm not sure of the longevity/comfort/performance of the Absolute ones, though.

[Inigo_Montoya]

The Adidas Stabil 6 run fairly wide. The D'Artagnon II's were too narrow for me. The Adidas Stabil 6 are great shoes if you don't mind them being a little on the heavy side. They are not too heavy, but some people like their shoes to be very light. They offer great traction. You can find them online for about $80.

[AdamH]

Not fencing shoes per se; Fei Yue. Essentially, lace up plimsols. Very light, superb traction, perfect for wide feet and very cheap (Can pick up a pair for $15 on ebay). Durable buggers, too.

[Vince]

I have wide feet as well, and I would recommend trying on the Adidas Samba, which is an Indoor Soccer shoe, thats what I use and I love it.

A advantage of the Samba is it's at sporting goods stores, (I got mine at Dicks) so you can go to a local store & try them on, which with shoes, is a huge plus.

They we're $34 where I got them.

[Gilbert Bailey - fencePBT.com, Inc.]

I usually wear a new balance 4e running shoe and have flat feet. I wear the PBT Fortuna Plus which is the widest fencing shoe on the market. I know you will say I am biased but the fact is I have fenced for 13 years and have had the luxury of trying on quite a wide array of fencing shoes.

Originally Posted by Sinestra

Hello!

I started fencing around four months ago...strangely enough, just shortly after I broke my ankle at the start of the school year. The ankle is fully healed now, but I'm still going to be wearing a brace on it while fencing through at least March--so shoes aren't an immediate concern of mine. However, I am interested in getting a pair at some point after I feel comfortable fencing without the brace (it's one of those small aero-casts that goes from the sides of your feet to up about halfway on your shins) and I've been trying to get advice on what type to get.

Issue is, I have wide feet, which has always made shoe shopping generally quite difficult, and I can only imagine it might complicate things further for finding fencing shoes, too. Most people suggest trying on shoes and buying them at tournaments, but none of the tournaments I've been to (or probably will get to for the rest of this season) had much in the way of vendors, so I'm not holding my breath on that. The Li-Nings have been recommended to me, but I don't know much about them and everyone and their mother seems to have some Adidas pair or other.

So, basically--I'd appreciate any advice that anyone could offer about finding shoes that might fit wide feet.

Thanks!

[rcmatthews]

All the other equipment folks on here support their own stuff, so I dont see a problem. Its only bias if you support your own product when it is demonstratably inferior

[Phaeton]

Rccmathews...please read his sig...and his screename...the bias might be more apparent.

I have pretty wide feet too, and I tried a variety of shoes and I didn't find any fencing shoes that suited my fancy. Right now I've got a pair Yonex badmitton shoes which run wide and are very comfortable. THey aren't quite a fencing shoe but hold up well for what they are.

[Gav]

I've tried a range of shoes.

IMO the best ones I've come across are the Hi-Tec Blades and Scimitars. They are excellent shoes. If you have wide feet (as do I) then I recommend those.

The alternatives I'd consider are other court shoes such as the Stabils. They are also pretty good.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

If you're female and need wide shoes, the best thing you can do is buy men's shoes. A huge percentage of the time, the guys version of a shoe is bigger (this obviously doesn't apply to things like Chuck Taylor All-stars, where there is no men's or women's version, there's just a lot of sizes of the shoe. I'm not sure if actual fencing shoes use this model...). I'm very happy with my men's Stabils, partially because it's cooler colors! : )

[rcmatthews]

Originally Posted by Phaeton

Rccmathews...please read his sig...and his screename...the bias might be more apparent.

I did. Did you even read what I wrote? I specifically made reference to the fact that he is an equipment dealer.

[fencerbill]

Originally Posted by Gilbert Bailey - fencePBT.com, Inc.

I usually wear a new balance 4e running shoe and have flat feet. I wear the PBT Fortuna Plus which is the widest fencing shoe on the market. I know you will say I am biased but the fact is I have fenced for 13 years and have had the luxury of trying on quite a wide array of fencing shoes.

I usually wear 9EE New Balance Walking Shoes. My experience is that typical walking shoes fit better width wise than running shoes.

I'm lucky, I can get by with regular width Adidas fencing shoes, they stretch enough. But try the EE walking shoes.

[clonardo]

I have torn ligaments in both ankles, and have very little cartilage left in either. I fenced with a brace for years, but I found it too cumbersome.

I used the Li Ning high top shoes, which were pretty supportive, for about a year. They're also cut fairly wide, which is good because my feet require it.

Now, I use the high-top Adistars. People have two major criticisms of the shoes- the angle of the high top is too sharp for those who sit high in their en garde stance, and they're expensive ($200). I love them- the hard supports built in the sides, like the Li Ning, save me from a lot of ankle pain. They have a very well padded heel, so there's no heel pain. They're very breathable. And, finally, they grip like nothing else- you won't believe it until you try it. I didn't realize exactly how badly the grip on the Li Ning was until using these shoes.

So, sure, I have some empty space at the toes because of my wide feet, but the shoe is exceptionally supportive on the ankles.

[Aussie_Fencer]

ha sany one tried the en guarde shoes by adidas? how are they?

[Sinestra]

Thanks for the advice, everyone--I've gone around and tried a few different options at this point. I tried the Samba on first, but they just didn't feel right on my feet somehow, so I abandoned that idea...the Stabils seem nice so I'm definitely considering those.
I've heard some good things about the LP shoes so I'm not cutting them out just yet--some of the people from my club use them and have nothing but good things to say, but I'm not sure I'm willing to take the plunge and spend that much just yet :/
I have recently acquired a pair of those Asics Tigers for around $30, just completely as a fluke, so I'm probably going to give those a try for a few weeks, see if they hold up. I'm going to be at a tournament in a few weeks where they're going to have to stand the test of the cheese grater strips, though, so I'm trying to make a decision fast so I can have some backup just in case.

Thanks again for the advice, if anyone else has any other suggestions, feel free