Instinct Lace sizing b/w M's/W's

The short: the men's instinct lace fits me well in the toe box but with a slightly baggy heel. I've wanted to try the women's version since I've heard the heel is smaller. Any insight on sizing going from men's to women's? Thanks in advance.

Don’t know about going from Mens to Women’s, but my girlfriend wears her women’s Instincts at +.5 (euro) size over street shoes size. She says that they did not stretch in any meaningful way.

M Fazio wrote:

The short: the men's instinct lace fits me well in the toe box but with a slightly baggy heel. I've wanted to try the women's version since I've heard the heel is smaller. Any insight on sizing going from men's to women's? Thanks in advance.

For the men's and women's Instincts, the fronts of the shoes are the same. Women's has reduced volume in the heel. Sounds like the women's should work well for you. I wear Instincts in a 40, and am a 42 street shoe. That's for a tight performance fit.

Slim Pickens wrote:

For the men's and women's Instincts, the fronts of the shoes are the same. Women's has reduced volume in the heel. Sounds like the women's should work well for you. I wear Instincts in a 40, and am a 42 street shoe. That's for a tight performance fit.

That's wearing the women's version? I don't think I can even size mine near that tight, and likely don't want to. I was thinking of trying them as a multipitch shoe, a little more comfy, as an alternative to katanas which smash my fifth metatarsal. I've used the instinct s on some bigger rigs with success, but pop my heel out after every pitch.

M Fazio wrote:

That's wearing the women's version? I don't think I can even size mine near that tight, and likely don't want to. I was thinking of trying them as a multipitch shoe, a little more comfy, as an alternative to katanas which smash my fifth metatarsal. I've used the instinct s on some bigger rigs with success, but pop my heel out after every pitch.

I wear same size between women’s and men’s, but have less dead space in the heel with the women’s version. That’s more what I was getting at—whatever size seemed like the right length for you in the men’s will probably be what you want to go with in the women’s. I definitely don’t size down 2 full sizes for an all-day comfort fit. 

Same size in both. I tried the women's for same reason as you, the heel. It solved the problem with no noticeable difference in toe box. 1.5 sizes smaller from street shoe was about right for me. Airing more on the performance side of things but still fairly comfortable during long days or sessions.

My street shoe is EU 44, I'm currently using a pair of VS in 43 and find the sizing to be good all around. I still have a bit of space on the sides of the heel but nothing major. They aren't comfy but I can wear them for 4-5 problems without feeling like I have to take them off, and like another posted mentioned you generally don't grab Instincts for comfort.

The VSR model should fit exactly the same as your VS, the only difference being the rubber on the bottom of the shoe. Based on your description I would size another half size down for 1 full EU size down from your street shoe. I could do 1.5 down from my street size in these but its not worth the pain for me when the 1 size down is plenty tight and performant for my needs.

I tried the womens version and the heel was 100% better for me but found it a little too tight on the sides of the forefoot instead.