Going to Blades. Shoe help needed

hey everyone, I will be making the transition over to blades soon, and wanted to hear input on what type of shoe i should be looking at.

I think i should be looking for boots, but should i get a larger size for when i attach the blades? Also, what do i do so that i cant feel the bolts, if my blades have them? And what is the general feel im going for when i choose boots? ex: how tight should they be, and level of ankle protection.  Steel toed?

Thanks for the input everybody,

West Imboden

  DON'T use carriage bolts. Go to a good old school hardware store and get 'elevator bolts' to attach your blades. They have a thin flat head that won't dig in to your feet if you put them in under the insole (think of the bolts on the base of your washing machine that are used to level it).

Gee--how well do they perform?  Those look like bicycling toe straps--am I right? 

Do they stay tight on your shoe when engaged?

I made my first set of blades this season and I am not sure if I like them yet.  I made mine with a s-bend in them and think I might try another set with just the slight downward bend like in your shoeless sample.

Is it just preference or is there and advantage one versus another?

Also I think the next set will be longer and lock up against my boot heel.  I made my set based of a set a friend of mine had which I later discoverd was a little wacky. 

Good news was that after throwing in them for 3 weeks I gained 6ft in my heavy hammer but none yet in the light.