Get Your Best Fit Online: How Smart Foot Scans Make Shoe Buying Easier
Ordering shoes online has never been easier, but it remains one of the hardest products to get “perfect” on the first try. Even with advanced tools like Volumental foot scans and detailed size charts, there will always be some uncertainty. That is not a failure of the technology, but a consequence of something much more fundamental: your foot is not a fixed object, it is a living, changing part of your body.
This blog explains why that is, what it means for online shoe orders, and how to use a foot scan effectively so you still give yourself the best chance of choosing the right size.
Your foot is never “static”
A shoe is designed as a static object: a fixed length, width, volume and shape. A foot is exactly the opposite: dynamic, variable and strongly influenced by time of day, load, temperature and your individual anatomy.
Key factors:
- Daily changes: In the morning, your feet are usually slightly slimmer and shorter, while later in the day, they tend to be fuller and longer. Under the influence of gravity, fluid shifts down into your feet, your arches flatten a little, and your foot effectively becomes a bit longer and wider.
- Blood vessels and fluid (oedema): When you stand or walk, the blood vessels in your feet and lower legs dilate. More fluid moves into the soft tissues, which makes your feet swell, and this increase in foot volume can be measurable after as little as 10 minutes of walking.
- Temperature: On a warm summer day, your blood vessels dilate even more and your feet retain more fluid. That is why shoes often feel tighter in the heat, while the exact same pair can feel fine on a cool morning.
- Activity: After a full day of work, a long ride or a run, your feet are usually noticeably “fuller” than after a quiet breakfast at the table.
- Anatomical differences: Two people with identical 3D foot scans can still prefer different sizes. One may have stiffer joints and firmer soft tissue; the other a more flexible, “squishier” foot that deforms more inside the shoe under load. On paper the same size, in practice a different feeling.
- All of this means a foot scan is a snapshot. A very precise snapshot, but still just one moment in time. No technology, no matter how good, can guarantee a 100% perfect fit in all conditions.
What Volumental is very good at
With Volumental, we scan your foot's 3D shape and match it to our last and fit data for each shoe model. This tool helps a lot to:
- Prevent clearly wrong size choices.
- Recommend the most probable correct size for a specific shoe, based on your foot shape and our fit data.
- Take factory- and model-specific fit differences into account (some shoes simply “run” tighter or roomier than others).
What Volumental is not designed to do is predict how your foot behaves after a hot summer day, a long shift on your feet, or a hard training session. The software sees your foot as it is at that one scan moment; you experience your foot in many different states throughout the day.
That is why we deliberately present Volumental as a high-level sizing recommendation, not as an absolute guarantee that your shoes will feel perfect in every situation.
Smart scanning: when and how?
Because your foot changes, you can use that knowledge to your advantage by choosing the right time to scan. Here are some practical guidelines.
1. Scanning in the evening or after activity
In the evening, after a workday or after training, your feet are usually:
- Slightly longer.
- Slightly wider.
- A bit “fuller” due to fluid and load.
If you scan at a moment like this and the scan says you only have 2 mm of space left in the shoe, that may sound tight – but in reality that is often perfectly fine. You are essentially measuring your foot in something close to a “maximum volume” state:
- If you scan in the evening and still have 2 mm of length room, you are very likely safe, because your foot is at its longest at that time.
- The same applies if you scan after a run, a hard cycling session, or on a hot summer day: your foot is then closer to the “worst case” in terms of volume, so if the shoe works then, it will usually feel slightly roomier at cooler, less loaded times.
2. Scanning in the morning: in doubt, choose the larger size
If you scan in the morning, shortly after getting up and having breakfast, your feet are typically:
- Less swollen.
- Slightly shorter and slimmer than later in the day.
- If you are torn between two sizes based on a morning scan:
- If you scan in the morning and are doubting between two sizes: choose the larger size.
- You will most likely need that extra margin later in the day, when your feet lengthen and fill out due to load and temperature.
This helps avoid the situation where the shoe feels fine in the morning, but becomes too tight in the afternoon or during a race.
How to get the most out of your Volumental scan
A few concrete tips to maximise the value of your scan:
- Scan at a moment that represents how you will actually use the shoe.
- Cycling shoes or speed skating boots for long efforts? Scan at the end of the day or after a training session.
- Everyday shoes for work? Scan at the end of a workday, or at least not immediately after getting out of bed.
- Pay attention to the remaining length of the room (for example, those 2 mm).
- If that is measured with a “maximal” foot (evening, warm, post‑activity), it is usually enough.
- If it is measured early in the day, be careful not to go too tight.
- Factor in your personal preference.
- If you like a very snug, performance‑oriented fit (triathlon, time trial, speed skating), you can sit slightly closer to the limit.
- If you prioritise comfort for long training sessions or daily use, allow a bit more margin.
We use the Volumental app for scanning; it is a powerful tool, but your own use case and preference will always remain part of the sizing decision.
Let CadoWiki Live think along with you
Because so many variables play a role – foot shape, purpose, model, last, temperature, time of day – we created CadoWiki Live, our AI assistant on www.cadomotus.com.
CadoWiki Live:
- Knows all the content on our website, including foot size charts and fitting guidelines.
- Can help translate your scan data, your doubt between two sizes, and your intended use (racing, training, daily) into a concrete size recommendation.
- Is available 24/7, so you can get advice whenever it suits you.
Want to learn more?
- About CadoWiki Live itself: Meet CadoWiki Live!: Your 24/7 Triathlon Engineering Expert
- About our foot scan feature for cycling shoes and how it works with Volumental: Introducing Our New Foot‑Scan Feature for Cycling Shoes
By combining high‑end technology (Volumental) with smart, context‑aware interpretation (CadoWiki Live), online shoe buying will always remain a bit of a challenge, but it becomes a much more informed, controlled and confidence‑inspiring process.
