Boot fit guide: measuring your calf

1. Stand with your weight on both feet. Wrap a soft tape measure around the widest part of your calf, usually a hand's width below the back of the knee.
2. Read the number without pulling the tape tight. If you plan to wear jeans or leggings inside the boot, measure over them.
3. Measure the other calf too and keep the larger number. Compare it with the calf circumference listed for the boot.

Reading the calf circumference on our boots

The calf circumference on an Athlefit product page is the distance around the top of the shaft. If your calf measures the same as the boot, the zipper closes with no room to spare, so leave a little room when your measurement is close to the figure.

Stretch panels and slouchy or fold-over shafts give beyond their figure. A stiff, smooth riding shaft does not, so leave more room there. Our tall boots measuring 16 inches or more, plus the styles cut as wide calf, are on the wide calf page.

Your foot still comes first

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests shopping for shoes late in the day, when feet have swelled, fitting the larger foot, and leaving about half an inch beyond your longest toe. The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society also looks at the heel, which should stay in place and not slip as you walk. A boot is a shoe with a shaft on top: the same rules hold.

Our boots by calf circumference

Every Athlefit boot whose product data lists a calf circumference, narrowest first.