Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

Snowboard Boot Size Web Tool - Mondo, Brannock & Internet

462K views 2.7K replies 372 participants last post by  Wiredsport  
#1 · (Edited)
STOKED!

We have a new project that we have been working on which we wanted to share with the SBF faithful. When complete it will be a suite of web tools that we hope will be helpful as an informational early step in the gear selection process.

As some of you know we are chronic measurebaters and (almost certainly overly analytical) gear tweakers. It has recently (and sadly, accurately) pointed out here that I likely also have a bit bit of a unhealthy foot fetish. To that point...

The first tool is pretty straight forward. The goal is to illustrate the bizarre and very confusing state of footwear sizing as it exists today.

It is designed to provide information that can then be taken to a local shop for a try-on or to a website for a better informed starting point in that purchase process.

What it does: It uses your foot measurement to produce and compare your snowboard boot size to both the size that a Brannock Device (the device used at most footwear stores and even many snowboard shops) would produce for that same foot measurement and the "internet size" that would be produced (we use the largest internet footwear retailers live data for this).

You will find that there is a substantial difference (how large difference varies by foot measurement) in the three sizes.

We would consider this sizer to be a huge success if it steers any new riders away from basing boot buying decisions on "shoe size" and taking only their mondopoint or "snowboard boot size" with them into the buying process.

We will be adding to the FAQ this week and tweaking cross browser formatting but the core is complete.

We hope this is useful to someone. We have a lot of fun doing this stuff and it is a great excuse to fondle some feet...ooooohhhhh lovely feet....

------------------------------------------------

2026 Updates!


Hi guys, probably long overdue, but here are some updates to our snowboard boot sizer utility and also the addition of a new width utility that we hope will help with finding the correct width based on your snowboard boot size. Looking forward to a great 2026 season with you all!

 
#8 ·
Boarders come to ride
Only to find, they must confide
The piglets are pinched
There must be one more inch
The heels are loose
Make me ride like a goose
The arch is high
Which insole to buy
My foot is flat
Squished like a gnat
Are my peds are like a fish
Please, I wish a wish
For WiredSport, the one with the fetish.


Get that calculator up and going....and STICKy'D
 
#12 ·
Boarders come to ride
Get that calculator up and going....and STICKy'D
Are you having trouble with the site? Stoked for any glitch reports. I will bug chase and correct.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Hi BA,

Stoked for the input. For the boot size this one is actually not a conversion. The tool simply returns the Mondopoint size that will be printed inside every snowboard boot for that foot measurement. For example if you have a 27.0 cm foot length it will return a mondopoint size of 270 mm which is also a straight measurement (Mondopoint is your foot size measure in millimiters). For snowboard boots this will be labeled US 9. 270 will be the size printed inside every size 9 snowboard boot. By the mondopoint definition the mondopoint length is the foot measurement that the boot builder intended the boot to fit.

Intended is of course an important word :)
 
#14 ·
If mondo is the goto measurement you want to use I think you just add to the confusion by displaying all the different sizes.

Force them to enter it in cm/mm and just give them a mondo size with a brief explanation of why you are doing this for those who question it.

Lots of the page doesn't load for me at work, through no fault of your own it's our proxy at work filtering out much of it, so it's pretty ugly and bare bones and non functional so perhaps the fully loaded actually cuts down on the confusion.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Lots of the page doesn't load for me at work, through no fault of your own it's our proxy at work filtering out much of it
Open to any screenshots at wiredsport@wiredsport.com.

Have a look on any current mobile. You should be good there as an alternate.

If mondo is the goto measurement you want to use I think you just add to the confusion by displaying all the different sizes.

Force them to enter it in cm/mm and just give them a mondo size with a brief explanation of why you are doing this for those who question it.
That would be the ideal but unfortunately most websites and even boot boxes do not carry the mondopoint size so the alt sizes are still needed. For snowboard boots however they are always the same sizes that accompany the mondo size (for example 290 mondo will always be US size 11 on a snowboard boot).
 
#20 · (Edited)
wired,

works fine with chrome from house. must be just old version from work.
but according to chart i have a 27cm foot but no way I ever can fit in a 9. most snowboard boots I am a 10.5, and in flow I am a 10 Snug.
if i look at zappos link
for shoesize it puts me square in a 10

http://www.zappos.com/c/shoe-size-conversion Perhaps you need to account for width as well
 
#21 · (Edited)
wired,
but according to chart i have a 27cm foot but no way I ever can fit in a 9. most snowboard boots I am a 10.5, and in flow I am a 10 Snug.
if i look at zappos link
for shoesize it puts me square in a 10

Shoe Size Conversion | Zappos.com Perhaps you need to account for width as well
Hi Larry,

You have hit on what we consider to be the core value of the tool. Please enter your 27 cm by using the slider on the sizer and then hit the "internet shoe size" tab. You will find that the USA Shoe size value changes to the size 10 that you had mentioned. Yet if you look inside your size 10.5 snowboard boots they will always have mondo 285 printed inside. This indicates by the definition of the mondopoint standard that the boot manufacturer is suggesting that boot for a foot length of 285 mm.

You mentioned Zappos and for good reason. They (Amazon) are the 820 lb gorilla in the shoe room. Their shoe chart does not relate to any standard. It is also used by other online shoe sellers and it is an entirely recent creation. We use those values on the "internet shoe size" tab on the sizer because they have become so vexing to the footwear business.

Here is the underlying fact. When the average person buys shoes online and has them shipped to them they are statistically much less likely to return a shoe for being too large than too small. Too small always goes back. This carries a significant expense to the retailer, especially ones that offer free return shipping. As that reality has become apparent we have seen the "correct sizes" on these charts go up and up.

The result? The average shoe size sold has skyrocketed in the last decade. Has the average foot size changed that much? Shoe and boot fitters will relate that it is now most common to have an average dimension size 8 foot pull out of an 11 shoe and so on.

It is this huge discrepancy that interests us. It is also important for new riders that are entering the buying process as they will find volumes of online advice suggesting that "shoe size" (which shoe size is never noted) or mondo size be used as the starting point for selection, but these values can be separated by 2 shoe sizes :). This leads to a ridiculous and correctable amount of terribly fit boots being sold both in shop and online. This does concern us as poorly fit boots more than any other piece of gear will turn off a new rider and send them back to Playstation.

This is in no way to tell you that your boots don't fit.

It sounds like you have a wide foot. Is that the case?
 
#25 ·
Hi F1EA,

It is not so much that they are running small to Mondo, it is that snowboard boots are designed to be worn with a much "tighter" fit than normal shoes (although there are exceptions where a boot will not meet the manufacturer's intentions). By the definition of Mondopoint the mm size that is printed on the boot is the manufacturer's note to you that this is the foot length that this boot size is designed to fit.
 
#29 ·
Got it. That is a street shoe fit. You are happy so I will not push the point but a textbook fit will overhang the insert both toe and heel. This is always how boots are designed. That is what creates the intended pressure into the compliant materials of the boot.

We have many threads here where riders have made the switch from a fit similar to your photo and downsized to their mondo size to find increased performance, spiritual joy, and an overwhelming sense of inner peace by moving to the design fit. :)

STOKED that you are enjoying your setup. Ommmmmmm.
 
#30 ·
LOL
Really... half a size smaller and i'd die. In my case, the middle finger's the longest though, so maybe not perfectly obvious from this pic.

Maybe a different boot brand. I'll try other boots next time, just because i want to be less borderline on binding size. So i'll look into less reduced boots or just smaller profile so i can go M.
 
#31 ·
Your pic is exactly what we would expect to see in a boot that is a full size over mondo. In your mondo size the insert will be 1 cm shorter and you will have roughly .5 cm of overhang (both toe and heel). You will compress into the compliant liner material by that amount. By design the interior of the boot liner is smaller than the measurement of your foot. That is far different than a normal shoe fit (which is always larger than your foot). As mentioned on the FAQ, this can feel very "wrong" at first but then again, so can love. :)
 
#33 ·
To bring this thread back to the living.

I sized down a half a size to a size 9.5 flow Hylites which is much closer to my boot size according to the tool. this season I noticed my size 10's packing out a bit more towards end of season, and I felt some room in the toes. I decided to size this down 10 a 9.5 for this year. and they seem to fit my fat feet. My measured size is around a 27 cm maybe slightly more, which seems to be on cusp of 9 to 9.5. 27 is a 9, 27.1 is a 9.5
Let's see if i notice any difference in riding this coming season with the slightly smaller boot.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Hi Adam,

Stoked for the comment. The basis for the tool is the mondopoint standard that all snowboard boots are designed/built on. If you are measuring 8.5 and the boot you are looking at is an 8.5 then that is the foot length that the boot manufacturer is stating that they have designed the boot for.

We have a number of threads here on SBF that started with riders who have commented that their mondo size was impossibly small but after eventuall downsizing to that size have found boot Nirvana :). The initial reaction "get this thing off me" :) is based on how differently a correctly fit snowboard boot is designed to fit as opposed to other types of footwear. Firm pressure into the liner from both the toe and heel is the basis of that design spec. That is far from the case in skate shoes and other athletic footwear. This difference is the cause of many boot buying mistakes.

What is your barefoot measurement?
 
#38 ·
Hah! Well, we would love to see you if you do make it out our way. :)

The best thing to do is to post up a few photos. Please pull the insert our of your boot liner, stand on it with your heel in the the heel recess and snap off some photos. That allows us a look into what is going on inside your boots and will take into consideration any manufacturing inconsistencies. We are looking for 1 full cm of foot to insert overhang. The insert in a 9.5 27.5 cm boot for example will always be less than 27.5 (typically it will be 26.5). Your size 10.5's will have an insert that is very close to 27.5 long.
 
#39 · (Edited)
I've put it up before for my old boots.

Here's my old boots Size US11 TM2:
Image


I'd say 3/16" overhang

And here's an imaging of my feet from London Drugs:
Image


Now.. My 2014 TM2 fits very different from the 2015 TM2 i tried.

1. Forefoot is narrower on the 2015
2. The shell is softer. Softer flex and also when my toes hit the front, the shell expands a bit more. Not on my 2014 TM2. And not on my new 2015 Focus Boa. Those shells are hard. The TRice also has a very soft shell on the toes... That's why size 10.5 for me was tight but ok because the shell gave some way. But still, heel lift.
3. Liners and footbeds are different. 2015 are a bit more cushy. Edit: also the 2015 are branded by Intuition; 2014 weren't... maybe they had a different foam type/brand before? or is this a commercial decision to brand the liners? not sure.
 
#40 ·
Got it. Thanks for posting that. The photo angle is a bit tough and we typically do these barefoot (my apologies - I should have mentioned that). Even so, we can get a pretty ggod idea of what is going on. That size 11 boot (29.0 cm, 290 mondopoint) is at least 1 full size (1 cm) too large for your foot.

If I am seeing correctly you have a small gap behind your heel and a small overhang on your longest toe. Lets call that a wash. The sock will also take up a bit of real estate. We are looking for 1 cm of barefoot insert overhang. That info would have you at or just below a size 10 in this boot model.

We can further confirm some things with a toe to heel measurement of that insert and if possible a few barefoot shots on the insert above at some alternate angles.

STOKED!
 
#41 · (Edited)
Ok here we go:

1. 2014 TM2 size 11
Image


2. 2015 Focus Boa size 10.5
Image


That said... I use Superfeet, so i dont use those footbeds :D

But here's one thing. Size 11 footbeds have 10-11.5 written underneath; size 10.5 footbeds have 9.5-10.5 written underneath.

32 does 1:1 lasting, but are their footbeds the same for 3 sizes (ie 10, 10.5 and 11, and 9.5, 10 and 10.5)?? if so, measuring boot size by footbeds is out the window. And i tell you I could not wear 9.5 boots for more than 1 minute. At size 10 my toes were curled, and at 10.5 its tight but survivable.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Hi Bro,

Thanks again for those extra photos. That helps a lot.

In terms of length the 11 has essentially no overhang. The 10.5 appears to have .5 cm of overhang. Ideal is 1 cm of total length overhang. That would be a size 10 in this model.

Is your discomfort coming from width when you go smaller? If so it is best to address that issue with a wider boot and selecting the correct mondo size. Width should not be addressed with extra length. You do not look to have an overly wide foot but I thought i would mention this in case the photos are misleading.

In regard to your question, factory inserts are produced per boot size or if a semi-generic insert is used (common) they are factory trimmed per boot size so that there is no insert/liner gap. The liner will be flush to the ends of the liner in every size.

The goal is to get you so that both your toes and heels have firm pressure into the compliant liner material at the to and heel. That cannot happen evenly if you do not exceed the liner. One caveat is width. If the foot is too wide for the boot this can still be uncomfortable and can crush the toes at the outside. This can be corrected by an adequately wide boot at the toe box while maintaining the correct length. There have been a lot of great threads here where that solution has been the happy solution for the rider.

Would it be possible for you to measure these two inserts toe to heel?

STOKED!
 
#44 ·
Hi Bro,

We have an incorrect measurement, either in your initial foot length (27.5) or in these insert lengths (28 and 28.5) :). Unless I am seeing it wrong your foot is the same length as the insert which you measured at 28.5 and is .5 cm longer than the insert which measured 28 cm. Both of those measurements in conjunction with the photos you posted above would suggest that your foot length is 28.5 (which is 10.5 in snowboard boots).

Could you confirm those measurements?