Actually, many of the better boot makers never change their lasts. I've actually been to the La Sportiva factory in Ziana de Fiemme, Italy. They have the same lasts they've used for 50 years. They're the crown jewels of any boot maker. They're in many ways the identity of a maker's ability to make a boot for....a foot....their ideal foot, the last. So, if a pair of Makalus from 1995 fits, so too will a pair of 2020 Karakorum Super What Evers.
I'd also point out that everyone's feet change. Something I hoped wouldn't happen even though the Fabiano fitter told me it would. So, keep in mind your fit today may not be the same fit in just five years.
I'm just going by my own experience. I can try a slightly different boot, but it's never the same fit as it was years ago. I had a pair of Merrells, I forgot which one it was (those, I bought around '91), and they had a sloppy fit. Looking back on it now, I didn't think anything of it then, since they were very cushy shoes and hid fitting problems that wouldn't come up at all unless I was on the trail in rough country, and I thought that how it was supposed to be. Getting out there was about toughing it out in those days for me. This was pre-REI (I joined in '93, left in '95, and came back in 2005). I did buy a pair of women's work boots from Red Wing probably about '96-'97, now that I remember, and they fit like a glove, contact with my feet everywhere up to just behind the ball of the foot and plenty of room in the toe box. They were real heavy, though. Things fell through in 2000 and I had to start all over. I made my way back to REI and bought a pair of Vasque Mica or Mica II boots, I think. They didn't fit well, but couldn't find anything else then. I wore thick socks with them and didn't take them on the trails as I hadn't gotten back to the point I could afford to travel without waiting for something else to fall out of my previous car, so I don't know how miserable I would have been on the trail, especially downhill a mile. They started to wear out after nearly two years on the job, so I started looking. It took me several weeks of looking. I looked at the models we had on the web site, I looked at the other retailers in the hope of finding this exotic, Italian or Norwegian hiking boot that would fit me perfect. Hah... Finally I got to thinking about the Red Wings I bought way back then and wondered if they were still in business, so I looked them up and explained to them my problem. I found a couple of their hikers, and they were the best fit so far, but not quite how I needed them to be. Something like this, which are near 4 years old now, and I have not had problems with them so far.
http://www.redwingshoes.com/productdetails.aspx?prodid=1191
No toe contact, no blisters, EVER, even on the entire trail system at Lost Maples (11 miles of some pretty rugged hiking with rocky trails - I don't get out much). The bottom of my feet did hurt, though, and I don't know if that was from too soft an outsole or lack of physical conditioning.
I have a different pair that are suede, different model, same story. The best fit so far, but can't really complain considering the circumstances. And now, I'm finding these new ones to be by far a much better fit. And I'm wearing the light hiker socks for now to really get a feel for how they feel. I have tried to wear them with the thicker socks, and it's the same if I lace them up looser, just a softer feel to the fit. I'm very happy with these. Since they are not gortex or waterproof-breathable, They should breathe better and keep the sweat down, especially here in hot, humid Houston.
I came home from work, and I forgot to take my old boots off, and when I did, just from hours of sitting and reading, my socks were sweaty. The waterproof-breathable stuff, I've not been too crazy about for technical reasons.
Yes, I noticed customer's feet would change over the years after they would try on some of the longer-lived models like the Vasque Sundowners. Some people would have to go up a half size if they had their old boots for more than 5 years. I would have them sit down to be measured and then stand up and remeasure to see if there was a change in the way their arch maintains its shape. If there was, like their feet elongated quite a bit, and I couldn't pick up their big toe while standing at attention, I would talk to them about Superfeet, especially this group of people. The feet tends to change over the years, especially if they don't stay on a healthy dietary and let themselves go. I mean major changes in some cases where illness is involved, and they're just starting to get back outdoors on easy hikes as part of their health recovery program. When they lose weight, a few months later they'll come back and ask for a different boot because their feet are different from the conditioning and weight loss.
I'm one of those people whose feet stay stable and my weight stays the same, and that's why I'm willing to buy the extra pairs knowing they will fit me years later. That's what I've had to do working in the office environments with pumps or flats, depending on the job. I ought to mention that one thing that keeps my feet in shape is the fact that I drum with a double bass drum pedal on my drum set, and I like to play rock.
