Quick answer

What size recovery slide should I buy

When you are ready to buy a recovery slide but it only comes in whole sizes, or the sizing is in centimeters, or your dancer is a half size, and you do not want to gamble a $60 slide on a guess that ends in a return.

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What size recovery slide should I buy

Quick read

There is no single rule, because the four slides dancers actually buy size four different ways, and that mismatch is the number one reason recovery slides get returned. OOFOS comes in whole sizes only and is sized separately for men and women, and the brand says to size up to the next whole size if you are a women's half size, so a 7.5 buys the 8. Gliss also runs whole-sizes-only on women's US sizing, but its last is built wide for high arches, so the brand tells narrow or shallow feet to size down while a wider in-between foot takes the nearest whole size. Chacott is the real trap, sized by foot length in centimeters rather than US size, so you measure your foot and order off the chart, sizing up when you land between bands. HOKA uses familiar US sizing, so just size for a secure-but-relaxed fit, not snug. Across all four a recovery slide should sit relaxed but stay on the foot on its own, never gripped with the toes. Our recovery footwear review carries the full per-brand chart.

Gear for this situation

Recovery Footwear For DancersRead the reviewAre OOFOS good for dancersRead the review

What to do

  1. Find out which sizing system your slide uses before you look at a single size, because the four slides dancers buy most do not agree. OOFOS and Gliss run women's US whole sizes only, Chacott runs centimeter foot-length sizing, and HOKA uses standard US sizing. Knowing the system is half the battle.
  2. If you are a women's half size in OOFOS, size up to the next whole size. The OOahh comes in whole sizes only, sized separately for men and women, and the brand's own rule is that a half size rounds up, not down, so a 7.5 takes the 8 and the slide sits relaxed instead of pinching.
  3. If you land on a men's-labeled OOFOS listing, subtract two from your women's size. OOFOS sells the same slide in separate men's and women's runs, and its own size labels line up a women's size with the men's size two below it (a women's 8 and a men's 6 are the same shoe), so a women's-size shopper on a men's listing picks two sizes down, or just buys from the women's listing to skip the math.
  4. For Gliss, let the arch decide. Gliss builds its slide on a wide, high-arch women's last and runs whole sizes only, so the brand tells narrow or shallow feet to size down a whole size while a wider or in-between foot takes the nearest whole size. A high-arched dancer is usually the foot this slide was made for.
  5. For Chacott, measure your foot in centimeters and order off the chart, never off your US size. Stand on a sheet of paper, mark your heel and longest toe, measure the gap, and match the band (XS 22.5 to 23.5 cm, S 24 to 25, M 25.5 to 26.5, L 27 to 28). When you land between two bands, size up, because centimeter-to-US guessing is the single most common return on this shoe.
  6. For HOKA, treat it like a normal US slide and size for a secure-but-relaxed fit. The Ora Recovery Slide 3 uses familiar US sizing, so the only real trap is buying it tight, and a recovery slide should never be snug.
  7. Whatever the brand, aim for a slide that sits relaxed but stays on the foot on its own. If your dancer has to curl her toes to keep it on, it is too big and a trip risk on backstage stairs. Buy OOFOS and HOKA where you can try a size on (REI, Fleet Feet) and Gliss or Chacott from a dance boutique with a return path. The full per-brand breakdown is in our recovery footwear review.

Common mistakes

  • Don't order Chacott in your US size. Centimeter sizing does not line up cleanly with US, and a half-size guess is exactly how these get returned. Measure your foot and read the chart.
  • Don't size a women's half size down in OOFOS. The brand rule is to round up to the next whole size, so going down leaves the slide tight and kills the decompression you bought it for.
  • Don't assume Gliss runs like a mainstream slide. The last is built wide for high arches, so a narrow foot that buys true-to-size will swim in it, and narrow or shallow feet should size down a whole size.
  • Don't buy a recovery slide tight to feel secure. A snug recovery slide defeats the purpose, since the foot needs room to decompress. Secure-but-relaxed is the target, and a slide that stays on without toe-gripping is correctly sized.