Well Cosmic, the thing was, I could fit my foot into the 9D, and my toes were in perfect position. I don't think I'd want an 8.5 as I don't really see how baking would make the boot any longer.... I appreciate the idea though, and I understand to get a true fit, I need to bake. In all honestly, I wasn't ready to spend $800 for an entirely different skate than I currently have, especially because I am pretty happy with my Vapor XXVs. I want to see more long term reviews of the Mako IIs before I actually consider spending that kind of money.