USMA Grey Cards

Szpieg

Szpieg

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
273
Alright, so I accepted my appointment, now I have these Grey Cards on my profile that I have to fill out. So it asks you about your shoe size and shoe width, and I need help with this. For one, shoe size varies by manufacturer. By one company sizing I will have a 9.5, while for another I will be fitted with a 10.5, or my dress shoes at 8.5. Does anyone know the company that handles the shoes at West Point so that I can call about their sizing charts? Now, shoe width is completely new to me. I never knew they had such a thing. Does anyone know how I can figure out my shoe width? I have looked, but every place has different numbers and methods.

Thanks
 
My cadet waited to complete that part until he had taken his overnight visit at West Point. We went over to the PX and he had his foot measured by the nice ladies in the shoe department. Since he had received his boot letter, he chose to go ahead and get a pair of boots and low quarters then.

You have time on that....just wait until you can get the proper measurement.
 
Does the boot letter come in the mail, or will it be on the portal?
 
You will not be forced to wear shoes that are ill-fitting. Despite the fact that you provide your size, you will be fitted for any footwear you are issued.
 
I guess Ill just wait for my "boot letter" and drive to West Point one weekend for them to measure my feet and buy my shoes on the spot to break them him.
 
I hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighly recommend buying your shoes/boots before you come to West Point. Get a nice pair that will fit you.

The number one problem with our class was blisters that, they determined, were due to ill-fitting shoes. Part of that was people not giving the right sizes (or any at all) and part of it was the process.

Additionally the problem was you had the people doing the fitting who were trying to rush so they got all of you guys done in a quick manner, and you had the cadre who were rushing too.

In any case, if you do wait to get issued your boots/shoes here at West Point, tell your cadre if your shoes do not fit.

Part of the problem is that New Cadets didn't want to seem to take up everyone's time by saying the shoes they were given didn't fit.

I bought my boots beforehand and didn't get a single blister. Different people have different responses, but by far those who went and got their own boots pre-Beast suffered many less foot-problems and were happier overall. The last thing you want is to get an infected blister which keeps you in the hospital so long that they tell you to come back next year (which happened to a few people).
 
To reaffirm what everyone else has said, go ahead and get both low quarters and boots and break 'em in. Make sure the low quarters aren't chloroframs, though, because plebes aren't allowed to wear them.

What you put on the grey cards doesn't matter on R-Day. You get measured and fitted for everything, shoes included. I think they want to know sizes in advance so they can get a general idea of how many shoes of what size to bring in. It's a huge amount. Two whole wings of Washington Hall were stacked full of shoe boxes during fitting this year.

A random tip for the low quarters: Don't forget that they come in wide sizes. Due to some miscommunication, I ended up with wide low quarters during CBT. It was the best mistake that could have happened. Normal-width low quarters really squish the foot. This may not hold true for everyone, but you never know. :thumb:
 
Go to Nordstorm if you can (first choice), Macy's, or pretty much any shoe store, and ask them to check both your feet in socks with a Brannock device. That will give you both size and width on as much a standard as you can get.

The boot letter for last year authorized cadets to buy low quarters and specified models of boot at the Armed Forces Exchange - mail order or on post - much cheaper than private sites, but I have seen "imperfects" of the Bates low quarters on eBay. My son bought four sizes of the low quarters from a shoe shopping site with free ship and return, and took them to a local shoemaker for fitting and arches. Kept the best size, returned the rest, wore them for a month or so before R-Day. He says they're more comfortable than his sneakers now.
The comment we heard from several people at the academy was that discomfort on RDay was due in large part, not to badly fitting shoes, but to feet that were only used to tennis shoes -- that if you couldn't obtain the right ones, but could accustom your feet to dress shoes and boots of a similar kind, you could wait to get the right model issued at R Day and you would be okay.
 
Last edited:
mmb5 said:
The comment we heard from several people at the academy was that discomfort on RDay was due in large part, not to badly fitting shoes, but to feet that were only used to tennis shoes -- that if you couldn't obtain the right ones, but could accustom your feet to dress shoes and boots of a similar kind, you could wait to get the right model issued at R Day and you would be okay.
Click to expand...

mmb5 is correct; the issue is not breaking in the shoes, but breaking in your feet. Flip flops and tennis shoes do not prepare one's feet for boots and dress shoes. My son got his boots and shoes after much chasing around (boots were from Dobbins, shoes online I think). He wore the boots around the neighborhood for about a month, and he wore the dress shoes to all the dressy senior year events. He didn't wear them as much as I thought he should, but he really had no foot problems at all...you just need to get them when you can and start getting used to them.
 
I've said it in the past but I'll reiterate...

Buy boots that fit. They should be snug at first. They shouldn't be crumpling your foot laterally or curling your toes under, but most kids buy athletic shoes that are too big because they're more comfortable. Loose = movement = friction = blisters = hamburger feet = misery.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top