I bought these
I bought these boots after several failed attempts at finding boots to fit my son’s AFO orthotics. This was my last hope. These absolutely DID NOT fit over my son’s orthotics. I did the size chart and it put him at a 12, so I ordered a size 1 just to be sure there was extra room for his braces. We live in a climate that sees negative temperatures, so the slipper was a must. The slipper has no give to it. It is so stiff and has no opening to put an orthotic foot into, we actually broke the slipper. So I tossed the slipper aside and tried for the shoe inside the boot. His shoes will not fit inside this boot. I spent a very frustrating 30 mins trying to get my son’s shoed feet inside his new boots. I am very frustrated at trying to find a snow boot that fits an orthotic. I really wanted to like these.
Your Butler team
Hello there Mrs.Bullis! It’s very unfortunate our boots were not the right fit for your son’s special needs. We know it can be very frustrating for parents to find boots that fit over their little one’s braces, especially since every brace is unique. As you already know, our boots are not designed for AFOs, but instead *AFO-friendly*, meaning they happen to fit over most braces. Again, we’re sorry it wasn’t the case for your son, as they happen to be working very well for many other children with orthotics.
This being said, what we’ve been told other parents do to accommodate orthotics within Butlers is they put the foot + brace directly inside the boot shells, sometimes adding an outsole at the bottom for even better insulation (as a hack). Our overshoes functionality therefore become “over-braces” and can safely be worn as snow playing or puddle jumping boots! Since our liners are designed for a bare foot, it is indeed very hard to fit a foot + bulky brace in there.
As for the sizing, we strongly recommend to always print our sizing chart (available on both our product pages, within the big blue rectangle) to ensure you buy the correct size. We understand the difficulty to measure a foot with brace for fitting, which is why we are currently working on a sizing chart that’ll also include the inside width and height by size, for better chances of making sure the bulk of your child’s specific brace will fit within the boots you’re ordering.
Again, since we’re no experts at orthotics fitting and since every brace is different, the best we can suggest for parents of children with orthotics is to join our closed Facebook group “Butler with Orthotics”, where other parents that have experienced with our products will be able to guide you in finding the perfect size for your little one.
Here’s the direct link to this amazing group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1838973139748218/
Hope that helps!
– Your Butler team