Fabulously well researched and well-written article and I loved the breadth of examples the author and some of the respondents have given. Another example: shoe lasts do not reflect the spectrum of shapes that human feet (female and male) have. Most lasts are based on a longest second toe shape, which means that if you have bog-toe longest trapezoidal feet, either you wear shoes which forces the big toe joint to be yawed or you have to deal with excess volume in front of your toes.

Kat, as a climber, I am surprised you haven’t mentioned climbing gear. There is an objective reality (crack width, e.g.) that determines pro size, but I find SLCD trigger design fails ergonomically on the size front. And what is with “shoulder” slings that drape to below hip height on smaller frames?