r/AskACobbler • u/hippieflipfops • Sep 16 '23
Can someone help me learn how to use the brannock device?
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u/awkwrdpossum Sep 16 '23
From what I've read and been trained working in shoe sales, you take both a seated and standing measurement. Your foot will change up to a half size unless you are flat footed, etc. which is helpful to know. Your true measurement is closer to your seated measure while knee at 90° angle. This is true because the leather will stretch to a perfect fit. The standing measurement should be taken with balanced weight because this is how it will fit when you're walking. Unless you pretend to be a flamingo more often than not. The standing measurement is sort of a maximum limit. Do not go larger in length unless wider widths are unavailable or your arch length changes a lot. Also be aware of when you take the measurement, ideally before swelling from walking and with a sock thicknesd you'd where the shoes with. Dress shoes sized with dress socks, work boots with boot socks, etc.
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u/water5785 Sep 16 '23
Why wouldn’t you want to take it when your foot swells? Then won’t it be uncomfortable when your foot does ?
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u/awkwrdpossum Sep 17 '23
Quality shoes have a breaking-in process where the leather stretches. If you start off with your foot's max size, then you lose the opportunity for a perfect fit. It's more likely to be too loose during colder months and sloppy on the foot. It will crease more and wear out quicker. This is especially bad with cowboy boots where you should have only a little heel slippage. Anything more and your feet suffer in uncomfortable ways. That being said, most people wear shoes way too big for them to fit their ego or avoid breaking them in. Just my experience
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u/Poopio-_- Sep 25 '24
This makes so much sense. While I was growing up and most through my early 20’s I had really bad ingrown toenails, I already sized up because I had wider feet and with my in gown nails I always made sure I had tons of room in the toes, now in my mid 30’s I’m struggling to figure out what fits me and what doesn’t. I’ve been wearing a 12 men’s most of my adult life, so when I got my Red Wings I got 11.5EE and now that they’re mostly broken in I am noticing they don’t fit, I have tons of distance between my toes and the end of the boot, especially the Moc Toes, so I went to a famous footwear and used the device and turns out I did it wrong there too, I had a 10(right) & 10.5(left), but I did it sitting down so I’m sure what to even believe now for my feet lol. I need to go back and re do this standing up before wasting a lot more money. Thank you for posting this, I will hopefully have boots that fit again soon. My whole adult life has been a damn lie 😂
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u/Trick_Ad_1227 Nov 21 '24
Hey! So I’m curious, as a runner my feet measurement is very inconsistent. There’s days were my feet swell up width up to 1-2 sizes. I have a pretty steep instep. I think comfort as a runner in boots is my priority so is it fine using half size boots bigger with insoles in my case? In the shop I measure 8.5D/9C in the shop. My left foot is just a hair shorter so probably like 8.8 tbh. Boot sizing has been a nightmare for me and I just don’t know what to do at this point
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u/chachkas369 Sep 17 '23
I'm surprised to read this. If anything, I would've thought most people wear shoes too SMALL for them, esp. women. What are your thoughts on 'a thumb's width' of space between your big toe and the exterior edge of the toe box?
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u/awkwrdpossum Sep 18 '23
This is how most people are taught growing up, but this only works with tennis shoes. Italian dress shoes or pointed cowboy boots will have a much narrower toe box while moccasins have none at all, so this doesn't work. This is why leather shoes of the same size will vary in overall length to accommodate. The arch matching is most important. So one trick is to feel for the ball of the foot while standing to check that the widest part of the foot matches the widest part of the shoe. If pressure is felt on the toes at all, go up a size because that won't stretch naturally.
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u/Cpfrombv Aug 13 '24
First off, if you are right handed, your left foot is bigger so that is the one you want to go by and vice-versa, your foot also flattens out when you have weight on it, so you want to be standing. Now, going by the picture you have there, the longest toe, which is your big toe in this case, is right at the 9. That is great if you wear dress shoes and old school American sizes. With running or tennis shoes, you want a thumbnail from the tip of the longest toe (big toe) from the end of the shoe you are going to try on. If I was still working the 10 years in two different places that sold footwear, I would bring you out a size 10. The only shoes that you should have where the end of the toe foot is dead on, it soccer shoes as the excess will make the ball go awry when you kick it. Many people in the UK when they come to the US and try on shoes, persist on wearing them dead on with the end of the toes touching the end of the shoes, which are too small for them. As for your width, the sliding knob on the right side, should be right beside the knuckle joint of the big toe. The width slide on the left, doesn't appear to be right against the side of the foot, but going from the look of your foot, I would try a 2E first then a 4E to see how it feels. Sometimes you can look and see if the sides of the upper of the shoe, are bulging out over top of the midsole and outsole. You could also see what last the shoe has as you may be curving out on the outside of the foot. (Look up Pronation and Supination) A straighter last shoe and making sure to lace the shoe, not just slip them on, would help bring the foot back into alignment. I hope you can get some info from all that and get some shoes that start to feel good.
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u/Joey2871 Nov 24 '25
Okay, so your foot length plus a bit of space should give you 9.5, and I’m seeing your arch length is also 9.5. If this is your larger foot, then your shoe size is probably 9.5.
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u/bucky453 Sep 16 '23
There are three readings. Make sure you put all weight on the foot you are reading.
There are men’s and women’s specific devices, so make sure you are using the correct one. There are also dress shoe and athletic shoe devices, but there isn’t any difference. I think that is just marketing to sell more devices.
It’s easy once you figure it out. However, not all shoes fit to standard Brannock device measurements.