I wear 7.5 boots and ride a mid-wide board most of the time (258 mm) and a somewhat narrower board (245 mm) sometimes so maybe I have some insight...
Advantages for the extra width:
-No heel or toe drag ever
-extra float in powder
-Additional stability on flat landings
Disadvantages
-slightly slower edge to edge on hardpack
-difficult to find bindings that center properly
It's definitely slightly worse on hardpack than riding something closer to my foot size, but of all the things I do on the mountain, hardpack is the last thing I give the slightest shit about. For me the advantages in float, stability, and the lack of heel/toe drag in the steeps far outweighs losing some quick carving ability. It is a huge bitch to find bindings that I can center myself with, most simply don't have the necessary adjustments to keep me balanced, but such is life. All that said, the whole board width thing just isn't as big a deal as most people make it out to be, I can hold and pressure my edges just fine without any toe or heel overhang. It may not be ideal if all you roll out on is groomers, but it makes up for it by rocking extra hard in the pow.
You are so not alone. I've seen people with smaller feet who have edges right up to the tips of their toes.
I'd like to assume most people ride their boards way too wide. Just like how some people assume their shoe size is actually bigger than needs to be.
I'm size 8, and any cambered board more than 24.7 wide I dislike.
On reverse camber boards, you can accommodate much wider widths since the rocker will make side to side turns much easier to initiate.
In the end, I wish more companies made narrower waist widths for boards around 153-156.
I think there's a fairly common (mis)belief that wider boards are somehow inherently more stable overall and are the thing to get, instead of seeing wide boards are being for people whos gots big feets.
I have size 7 feet much perfer narrower boards...24.7 is great and I ride women's cambered boards 155 and 158; I can ride wider but find it really cumbersome edge to edge. Also have a charlie slasher 164 for my deep pow board and finally have it dialed by using 20mm risers to get better angles/leverage for edge to edge.
I ride a mid-wide with a size 10 foot and there is no reason I need to ride it, but I do like the feel of the board when doing butters or rails. Really it all comes down to how a rider likes the board he is on. Yeah some people are trying to let the tech ride for them, but that happens in every sport.
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