Making the Right Choice Between Wide and Extra Wide Trainers

For those of us blessed with wider feet, the quest for the perfect pair of trainers can be a daunting task.

Fear not! In this guide, we'll delve into the importance of choosing the right fitting trainers for your feet, and help you to understand the differences, identify your foot type, measure your feet and make the right choice for performance and comfort.

So, let's explore the world of wide and extra wide trainers to ensure you're stepping out in comfort and style.

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Wide and extra wide fit trainers can be the answer to the prayers of those with wider feet.

Unlike standard trainers found on the high street, our shoes provide the extra width and depth required for a comfortable fit for extra wide feet, in addition to myriad other features, including soft materials that stretch to accommodate bunions or feet that swell, a choice of toe shapes, a variety of fastenings and many more!

You might find that most trainers on the high street have limited choice in terms of fastenings and shape: they’re overwhelmingly lace-up fastenings and built in the classic almond toe shape which, if not wide enough, can pinch and squeeze toes.

However, with our wide fitting trainers you’ll find a choice of three toe shapes: round, square or a specially designed wider almond toe, ensuring plenty of room for toes, in addition to a choice of laces or strap fastening options that offer the perfect combination of security of fit versus ease of access.

We know too that wide and extra wide fit trainers require different levels of support in the right places, and our clever designs ensure that you have the support and stability you need to remain active in safety and comfort.

Knowing the correct size to order is easy; simply measure your feet using a fabric tape measure and input the measurements into our simple online Fit Finder.

You’ll then discover your size and width fitting, whether that’s wide 2V(EE-4E) or extra wide 6V(6E-8E), and be directed to styles suitable for you.

Watch the handy video below for simple tips to ensure accurate measurement of your feet.

5 Top tips for measuring your feet:
1. You’ll need a fabric tape measure and a sheet of A4 paper
2. Wear your usual socks or tights
3. If you wear orthoses, measure while wearing them
4. Measure standing up on a hard floor
5. Ask someone to help if you can

Our extra wide fit slippers, go beyond what is commonly available both in terms of width and also in terms of features.

Not only are they wider and deeper than standard offerings, ensuring a level of comfort not found in mainstream options, but they also include yet further specialist features for extra wide feet or for people with foot health conditions that cause swelling of the feet and ankles, such as lymphedema, arthritis and diabetes.

Our variable width fittings even make light work of situations where one foot swells more than the other, at any given time. Simply add or remove our specially designed removable insoles to increase or decrease the width and depth of just the affected slipper.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of choosing trainers that properly fit the width of your feet but the main benefits are as follows:

- Increased comfort: The additional room provides enhanced comfort during physical activities. This means you’re more likely to want to stay active, breaking down barriers and making it easier to keep exercising. The less active you are, the harder it is to start becoming active!
- Well-fitting: Many people buy trainers that are too long to get the extra width that they need to prevent their trainers from pinching. These can then become a trip-hazard, especially when exercising, and therefore be dangerous.
- Reduced rubbing: A foot that isn’t securely held inside a correctly-fitting shoe is likely to move forwards and backwards, resulting in rubbing and painful blisters that we’ve all experienced!

By choosing extra-wide fitting trainers you’re getting the extra width, so you can wear shoes the correct length for your feet, reducing trip hazards and blistering. In addition to these preventative benefits, wide and extra-wide fitting trainers can also help with comfort for pre-existing conditions.

For instance, the extra room inside our trainers can reduce the rubbing of bunions or hammer toes, as can our trainers with specially designed bunion-friendly stretch panels or hammer toe friendly stretch toe boxes. These lightweight materials found on such styles as Pollyanna and Lexi mould to the shape of your foot to reduce rubbing and increase comfort.

By alleviating issues such as blisters, rubbing and the danger of falling, and providing comfort for bunions, hammertoes or painful foot swelling, these specialised shoes become not just a comfort choice but a proactive step towards better foot care.

Our wide and extra-wide-fitting trainers are not all built the same.

Choice of Sole: You’ll find a choice of sole styles, including:
- Our classic trainer sole; slightly flared with a grippy rubber outersole can be found on styles such as Whitworth, Rail and Diss (pictured below).
- Our classic air-bubble sole; super-lightweight and flexible with millions of tiny air-bubbles in the mid-sole that offer extra cushioning as you walk, on styles such as Lexi and Echo.
- Our brand new super deep wedge soles; On-trend, extra-deep wedge soles that offer a 2” wedge with a 1 ¼” drop and come on our new almond or square-toed styles. Super comfy and found on styles such as Arabia, Cat and Impala.

Choice of upper & toe box styles: Offering comfort for every foot, including:
- Our square-shaped, lightweight and seam-free stretch toe-box styles like Lexi and Impala.
- Almond toed leather or suede classic trainers like Scaup.
- Suede or leather and stretch combination uppers on round toed styles like Pheasant, square-toed styles like Wolf and almond-toed styles like Cockatoo.

There’s also a choice of Oxford or Gibson cuts, a consideration where ease of access is of importance.

Arch support flexibility:
Rather than limiting options and offering styles especially suited for people with high arches or fallen arches, our styles offer the flexibility to customise them for your needs through the use of wide-fits and cleverly designed removable insoles.

By removing the insole you can create room for the insertion of your own specialist insole to get the perfect fit for your foot.

So comfortable, I wear them every day! (Diss) What more can be said?! Best trainers I have ever had.
Mrs C

Wide-fitting trainers are ideal for people with feet that are too wide for high street shoes or the millions of people in the UK with bunions, who wish to remain active in comfort.

You will find that wide-fitting trainers offer great benefit for people who:
- Have slightly wider feet who find that high street trainers pinch or squeeze.
- Require extra width and / or depth in the toe-box to accommodate bunions or hammer toes.
- Enjoy gentle jogging, walking with friends or dog-walking.
- Wish to maintain an active lifestyle but find other shoes too heavy or uncomfortable.
- Prefer a sporty look or a more lightweight shoe that offers all-day comfort, every day.

You should consider extra-wide trainers if you:
- Have tried wide-fitting trainers and find that they aren’t wide enough.
- Have a condition such as arthritis or lymphedema, causing your feet or ankles to swell to a degree that less-wide shoes cannot accommodate.
- Wish to perform gentle exercise such as brisk walking or gentle jogging.

It’s no secret that men’s and women’s feet are not the same and so our wide and extra-wide trainers are designed with this in mind. Our men’s shoes are designed to fit men’s feet and our women’s designed for women, ensuring the levels of comfort that our customers often describe as “life-changing”.

Foot features or foot health issues that may necessitate extra-wide fits include:
- Flat feet: Which causes the foot to spread more and requires a wider shoe base for support and to reduce the risk of overpronation, and a wider upper to accommodate the width and reduce rubbing.
- Oedema or lymphedema, causing painful swelling of joints: Extra wide fit trainers can accommodate this swelling, providing a comfortable and supportive fit.
- Men requiring orthotic inserts: Many men may use orthotic inserts for arch support or other foot conditions. Extra wide fit trainers can offer the additional space needed to accommodate these inserts without sacrificing overall comfort.
- Arthritis and joint issues causing inflammation: Extra wide fit trainers can provide the necessary room to accommodate these conditions while offering proper support. Additionally, arthritis in the hands can make it very difficult to tie laces. We therefore supply trainers in either lace-up or strap fastenings, to ensure that even those with reduced hand motility can wear our trainers. Where laces are included, we often include a zip so that, once the laces have been set to the desired fit, the zip can be used for easy foot entry.

The following trainers are all available in our wide 2V(EE-4E) and extra-wide 6V(6E-8E) variable width fittings, open-up wide to allow easy access for wider or swollen feet and feature our extended cut-to-fit straps, designed to be long enough for any need but can be cut to your required length.

Nubuck lace-up trainer Bennett has our classic round toe shape and grippy rubber sole. It’s bunion and arthritis-friendly and great for feet that swell.

Devon has been designed especially for extra wide or swollen feet, with twin laid-on cut-to-fit straps and extra-wide opening, it’s arthritis-friendly, bunion-friendly and good for feet that swell.

Nubuck and stretch mesh style Andy features a seam-free stretch toe box that’s ideal for men with bunions, hammer toes, swollen feet or diabetes – or just anybody looking for a supremely comfortable trainer!

View all extra-wide trainers for men >>

While almost all foot conditions are experienced by both men and women, there are certain differences that necessitate considerations in design.

For instance, it is thought that bunions are far more common in women, who are also known to have, in general, a proportionately wider forefoot and toe-spread.

These differences mean that women’s shoes should:
- Be wide and deep in the toe box: The wide and deep toe-boxes on offer in our extra-wide trainers – especially those with our special square toe box – are designed to accommodate wider forefoot and/or toe spread and, where required, extra give can be found in the soft materials used in many of our styles.
- Accommodate different foot shapes: Our shoes come in 5 different toe shapes to ensure comfort for all feet. Our women’s extra-wide trainers are available in 3 toe shapes: almond, round or square.
- Feature soft materials that can expand to fit bunions or feet that swell: Never is this more in evidence than with our range of bunion-friendly trainers, many of which include a seam-free stretch toe-box for the ultimate comfort, even for people with bunions.

Our recommended extra wide trainers for women that combine style with functionality for everyday wear and gentle exercise include:

Square-toed stretch mesh trainer Panther features our new flared wedge sole with air-bubble mid-sole and a single cut-to-fit strap. The seam-free stretch toe box stretches to accommodate swollen feet or bunions and hammer toes and is suitable for people with diabetes too. It’s also just super comfy for extra-wide feet!

Riley was designed with extra-wide or swollen feet in mind. Made with soft leather and textile trim Riley features twin extra-long, cut-to-fit straps and a flexible, grippy rubber sole. It opens up really wide for easy foot access.

Rail is another classic trainer style with extended cut-to-fit strap with a seam-free, stretch leather toe box that is so comfy for bunions or hammer toes and also ideal for people with diabetes or swollen feet.

View all extra-wide trainers for women >>

Our top tips for choosing the best shoes:

Measure your feet for both size and width to discover whether you need wide or extra-wide trainers to ensure that your purchase fits your feet comfortably, reducing rubbing and increasing safety

Choose a shoe with the right features for you:
- If you have bunions or a hammer toe, look for a style with a seam-free stretch toe-box or, if you have arthritis ensure that you choose something with easy access. For diabetes you should ensure a seam-free toe-box and laces or dual straps for a secure fit that ensures no rubbing.
- Learn your foot shape and choose a toe box that fits your shape.
- Decide whether your activity requires a lightweight, flexible sole or a less flexible but grippier rubber sole. Consider the activity type and duration but don’t forget your personal comfort preferences!

In conclusion, the importance of prioritising foot health and comfort when selecting trainers can not be overstated: the wrong trainers can result in not only pain or increased danger of a fall, but also the loss of desire to maintain an active lifestyle.

Remember, it all starts with your feet!

But it’s so easy to choose the right trainer for your needs: Simply use our Fit Finder to measure your feet, consider your foot shape and any foot health conditions and then choose a wide or extra-wide fitting style that includes the features that you need.

For more insights on foot health issues and extra-wide footwear check out our resources section.

Disclaimer:
Our "trainers" and active casual shoes are leisure shoes, not specialist shoes designed for sport.
This information is of a general nature and should not be taken as a diagnosis. All questions and concerns should be directed to your Doctor, Podiatrist or other health advisor.

We know that it’s really difficult to order footwear online and find the perfect fit, but we want to make it as easy, risk-free and stress-free as possible. That’s why we offer free postage on returns and exchanges on all UK orders so that, if you’re in the UK and have ordered from us and the shoes aren’t right for whatever reason, you can give us a call to discuss the problem and return them to us, unworn except for trying on to exchange for a different size, style or fitting without paying a penny more in postage.

Once you’ve found your perfect fit, you’ll never look back!

We hope that you agree that our wide-fitting shoes, trainers and sandals offer the perfect fit for every wide, deep or problem foot!

Did you know, if you need 6E, 6V or 8E fitting footwear and have a qualifying condition, that you might be eligible for VAT relief?

This means that you could essentially benefit from a discount of 20%. And what's more, our promotional discount codes still apply, meaning you can gain further savings.

We make it easy to claim your VAT relief by clearly listing the VAT exempt price against qualifying products, and provide a very short form to fill out as part of the checkout process when ordering your 6E, 8E or 6V fitting shoes.

Qualifying conditions for VAT free purchases include physical or mental impairment that affects your ability to carry out everyday activities, for example, blindness; conditions treated as chronic sickness, such as diabetes, arthritis or lymphedema; and long-term illnesses.

Look out for the link underneath our available fittings on each product page to claim your VAT exemption.

If you’re unsure about anything at all to do with our styles, features or fittings and whether they’re right for you, please do contact us on +44 (0)1933 311 077, Monday to Friday, 9-5 to speak with one of our friendly, knowledgeable UK based customer services team, who will be delighted to help.

OR would you like some in-person help to find the perfect fit for your feet? Then why not book an appointment and visit our Fitting Centre in Rushden, Northamptonshire.

We offer a traditional, personal service to help you find the perfect shoes either for naturally broad feet, to accommodate orthotics and or for foot health issues such as arthritis, lymphedema, diabetes, bunions and many more.

Our appointment system ensures you'll receive our team's full attention and there's no obligation to buy.
Check out our Fitting Centre details today for further information.

Further Resources
https://sydneybunionclinic.com.au/are-bunions-more-common-in-women/
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513134/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19767544/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11283437/

Why not check out some of our other blog posts to help you with you find your perfect shoe.
Shoes To Prevent Falls »
Best Wide Fitting Shoes for Arthritis This Spring »
Shoes for Oedema and Lymphoedema »