Heel Lift Height Chart: Millimeters vs. Inches

1/8 inch is 3.175 mm, 1/4 inch is 6.35 mm, 3/8 inch is 9.525 mm, and 1/2 inch is 12.7 mm. These conversions help you read a heel-lift label. They do not determine how much elevation your foot or leg needs.

When comparing our Balego Adjustable Heel Lift with the Clearly Adjustable® Heel Lift, check the available adjustment steps as well as the maximum height. A product that changes by 1 mm offers different choices from one that changes by 1/8 inch.

Convert the measurement; do not silently change the request. A 6 mm setting and a 1/4-inch setting are close but not equal. Whether a nearby height is an acceptable substitute is a fitting decision, not a rounding rule.

Heel lift conversion chart: inches to millimeters

The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines one inch as exactly 25.4 millimeters. Multiply inches by 25.4 to obtain millimeters. Divide millimeters by 25.4 to obtain inches. One centimeter is 10 mm.

The exact column describes arithmetic, not the manufacturing tolerance or measured height of a physical insert. Reference rows do not imply that every height is available from the products below.

For example, 1/4 × 25.4 = 6.35 mm. A catalog may round that to 6.4 mm for readability. That is different from a product whose stated setting is 6 mm. Keep the original unit alongside the conversion when discussing an order.

Millimeters to inches: common heel-lift measurements

Use decimal inches to compare a metric request without prematurely rounding it to an inch fraction. The values below are rounded to four decimal places.

Two common near-matches: 6 mm is about 0.2362 inches, not 0.25 inches. A 12 mm lift is about 0.4724 inches, not 0.5 inches. The numerical differences are 0.35 mm and 0.7 mm, respectively; their clinical significance cannot be decided from this chart.

The manufacturer describes Clearly Adjustable as reaching 12 mm, approximately 1/2 inch. Read that as an approximate comparison, not a promise of an exact 12.7 mm setting. Likewise, 3/8 inch is about 9.5 mm, not exactly 1 cm.

Compare 1 mm adjustment with 1/8-inch layers.

Choose the product whose documented settings accommodate the intended height. More settings can help match a request; they do not make a lift universally better for every person.

Use our three-layer lift listing or clearly Adjustable sizing and product information for current options, instructions, and prices. Neither product becomes a half-inch or one-inch lift simply because a search result groups it with those terms.

Match the requested height before removing layers.

A 5 mm request needs a 5 mm option, not an assumed fraction.

Five millimeters converts to approximately 0.1969 inches. It is not one of the three nominal settings on our foam lift. Clearly Adjustable offers a corresponding nominal metric setting, but the appropriate model, footwear, and adjustment still need confirmation. Do not shave a layer or mix unrelated inserts to manufacture a missing setting.

A 1/4-inch request should remain identifiable as 6.35 mm.

Our Balego three-layer lift lists a 1/4-inch configuration. A whole-millimeter product would offer nearby values rather than that exact mathematical value. Do not replace the request with 6 mm or 7 mm without clarification from the person directing the fit.

A 1 cm request is 10 mm, not 3/8 inch.

Clearly adjustable lists are adjusted through 12 mm, whereas the foam model's nominal maximum of 3/8 inch converts to 9.525 mm. The 0.475 mm difference is not a reason to improvise a spacer. It is a reason to preserve the stated requirement when comparing options.

A 1/2-inch request needs more than a rounded product description.

One-half inch converts to 12.7 mm. Neither a stated 12 mm maximum nor a 3/8-inch maximum is an exact match. Confirm whether an approximate height was intended or another design is needed. A 1-inch or 35 mm request is farther outside these two products' published ranges; stacking several heel-only lifts is not an appropriate default shopping solution.

Measure the intended dimension, not the easiest edge.

Height is different from footprint size. Small, medium, and large identify fitting options, not progressively taller corrections. The clearly adjustable size guide identifies lift width separately and supplies all sizes at the same maximum elevation. A width such as 60 mm is not 60 mm of heel rise. Use the full width and shoe-size charts on the product page when placing your order.

The measuring location matters. A tapered lift is not equally thick everywhere. Clearly Adjustable's instructions specify measuring where the curved heel section meets the straight sides, rather than at the very back edge. Follow the reference point for the actual product; do not assume that the number of visible steps along a tapered edge equals its functional heel height.

Adjustment increment is not measurement accuracy. A 1 mm adjustment claim describes the available change. It does not supply a tolerance certificate or establish the loaded height inside every shoe. A worn or compressed insert is also not a reliable ruler for ordering its replacement. Our clearly adjustable product information and foam lift product information identify different constructions; matching a label does not establish identical behavior under the foot.

Clearly Adjustable also has specific low-height reconfiguration guidance to preserve the lift length. Use the current product instructions rather than applying a generic layer-count rule across brands. This conversion guide does not replace the product's adjustment procedure.

Height alone does not complete the footwear plan.

A heel-only lift is not the same as a full-length shoe raise. Likewise, an angle in degrees is not a thickness in millimeters: angle conversion would require the relevant geometry. Confirm which type of support was requested before selecting from our heel lifts, wedges, and inserts.

A measured leg-length difference is not an automatic purchase height. Yale Medicine describes treatment selection as dependent on the cause and extent of the discrepancy and individual circumstances, with both internal and external shoe-lift options. A unit conversion cannot determine the correct side, amount of correction, or wearing schedule.

The selected lift must also leave the heel secure and the shoe comfortable. An available maximum does not prove that a particular shoe has enough room. For open footwear, our heel lifts for sandals guide addresses footbed placement, retention, and straps; those checks are separate from the conversion chart.

For a suspected discrepancy, postoperative change, or persistent pain, have the fitting plan assessed rather than selecting a height from symptoms alone. Stop and seek advice for new pain, numbness, skin irritation, or instability. Do not compensate by adding or removing unapproved layers until the problem is understood.

Questions about heel-lift height

Is 1 mm the same as 1/8 inch?

No. One-eighth inch is 3.175 mm, so it is a little more than three times a 1 mm adjustment. The smaller increment offers more intermediate choices, not a universal clinical advantage.

Does buying large give me a higher lift?

Not for the two product families compared here. Select the footprint for the shoe, then configure the height according to the product instructions and the fitting plan. Check the Clearly Adjustable options or Balego lift options instead of using the size name as a height measurement.

Do I need the same lift in both shoes?

That depends on the reason for using it and the plan you were given. Do not automatically order a pair for symmetry or choose a side by guessing. Both listings are for individual lifts, so confirm the quantity separately from the height.

Will a 10 mm heel lift make me exactly 10 mm taller?

A nominal insert height is not a guarantee of the same change in standing height or measured leg-length compensation. A heel-only taper, the shoe, and the way the person stands are not equivalent to lifting the entire body on a rigid, level platform. Use the fitting outcome specified by the clinician rather than treating the label as a body-height prediction.

Order the height, footprint, and quantity as separate choices.

A useful request identifies the product or construction, the intended height in its original unit, the corresponding conversion, the footprint size, and the required side and quantity. For example, keep 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) together rather than rewriting it as an unlabeled “6”.

For three nominal inch-based configurations, review our Balego Adjustable Heel Lift. For individual-millimeter adjustment within the published range, review our Clearly Adjustable Heel Lift. Check those listings for current prices and purchase options.

Contact our product-support team with the product name and the height you are trying to match when a description is unclear. We can help identify published options; a change to the clinical correction belongs with the treating professional. For an order involving additional paperwork, our prescription and medical-necessity guide explains the separate document roles without implying that every retail lift purchase needs a letter.

Browse our heel-lift and shoe-insert guides for related fitting questions. The sequence is simple: preserve the original measurement, convert it accurately, check the available settings, and confirm the complete fit.

Educational product-selection guide. Calculations describe unit conversions, not individualized correction heights or bench measurements of the products.

Copyright © Balego Inc. All rights reserved.

1/8 inch is 3.175 mm, 1/4 inch is 6.35 mm, 3/8 inch is 9.525 mm, and 1/2 inch is 12.7 mm. These conversions help you read a heel-lift label. They do not determine how much elevation your foot or leg needs.

When comparing our Balego Adjustable Heel Lift with the Clearly Adjustable® Heel Lift, check the available adjustment steps as well as the maximum height. A product that changes by 1 mm offers different choices from one that changes by 1/8 inch.

Convert the measurement; do not silently change the request. A 6 mm setting and a 1/4-inch setting are close but not equal. Whether a nearby height is an acceptable substitute is a fitting decision, not a rounding rule.

Heel lift conversion chart: inches to millimeters

The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines one inch as exactly 25.4 millimeters. Multiply inches by 25.4 to obtain millimeters. Divide millimeters by 25.4 to obtain inches. One centimeter is 10 mm.

The exact column describes arithmetic, not the manufacturing tolerance or measured height of a physical insert. Reference rows do not imply that every height is available from the products below.

For example, 1/4 × 25.4 = 6.35 mm. A catalog may round that to 6.4 mm for readability. That is different from a product whose stated setting is 6 mm. Keep the original unit alongside the conversion when discussing an order.

Millimeters to inches: common heel-lift measurements

Use decimal inches to compare a metric request without prematurely rounding it to an inch fraction. The values below are rounded to four decimal places.

Two common near-matches: 6 mm is about 0.2362 inches, not 0.25 inches. A 12 mm lift is about 0.4724 inches, not 0.5 inches. The numerical differences are 0.35 mm and 0.7 mm, respectively; their clinical significance cannot be decided from this chart.

The manufacturer describes Clearly Adjustable as reaching 12 mm, approximately 1/2 inch. Read that as an approximate comparison, not a promise of an exact 12.7 mm setting. Likewise, 3/8 inch is about 9.5 mm, not exactly 1 cm.

Compare 1 mm adjustment with 1/8-inch layers.

Choose the product whose documented settings accommodate the intended height. More settings can help match a request; they do not make a lift universally better for every person.

Use our three-layer lift listing or clearly Adjustable sizing and product information for current options, instructions, and prices. Neither product becomes a half-inch or one-inch lift simply because a search result groups it with those terms.

Match the requested height before removing layers.

A 5 mm request needs a 5 mm option, not an assumed fraction.

Five millimeters converts to approximately 0.1969 inches. It is not one of the three nominal settings on our foam lift. Clearly Adjustable offers a corresponding nominal metric setting, but the appropriate model, footwear, and adjustment still need confirmation. Do not shave a layer or mix unrelated inserts to manufacture a missing setting.

A 1/4-inch request should remain identifiable as 6.35 mm.

Our Balego three-layer lift lists a 1/4-inch configuration. A whole-millimeter product would offer nearby values rather than that exact mathematical value. Do not replace the request with 6 mm or 7 mm without clarification from the person directing the fit.

A 1 cm request is 10 mm, not 3/8 inch.

Clearly adjustable lists are adjusted through 12 mm, whereas the foam model's nominal maximum of 3/8 inch converts to 9.525 mm. The 0.475 mm difference is not a reason to improvise a spacer. It is a reason to preserve the stated requirement when comparing options.

A 1/2-inch request needs more than a rounded product description.

One-half inch converts to 12.7 mm. Neither a stated 12 mm maximum nor a 3/8-inch maximum is an exact match. Confirm whether an approximate height was intended or another design is needed. A 1-inch or 35 mm request is farther outside these two products' published ranges; stacking several heel-only lifts is not an appropriate default shopping solution.

Measure the intended dimension, not the easiest edge.

Height is different from footprint size. Small, medium, and large identify fitting options, not progressively taller corrections. The clearly adjustable size guide identifies lift width separately and supplies all sizes at the same maximum elevation. A width such as 60 mm is not 60 mm of heel rise. Use the full width and shoe-size charts on the product page when placing your order.

The measuring location matters. A tapered lift is not equally thick everywhere. Clearly Adjustable's instructions specify measuring where the curved heel section meets the straight sides, rather than at the very back edge. Follow the reference point for the actual product; do not assume that the number of visible steps along a tapered edge equals its functional heel height.

Adjustment increment is not measurement accuracy. A 1 mm adjustment claim describes the available change. It does not supply a tolerance certificate or establish the loaded height inside every shoe. A worn or compressed insert is also not a reliable ruler for ordering its replacement. Our clearly adjustable product information and foam lift product information identify different constructions; matching a label does not establish identical behavior under the foot.

Clearly Adjustable also has specific low-height reconfiguration guidance to preserve the lift length. Use the current product instructions rather than applying a generic layer-count rule across brands. This conversion guide does not replace the product's adjustment procedure.

Height alone does not complete the footwear plan.

A heel-only lift is not the same as a full-length shoe raise. Likewise, an angle in degrees is not a thickness in millimeters: angle conversion would require the relevant geometry. Confirm which type of support was requested before selecting from our heel lifts, wedges, and inserts.

A measured leg-length difference is not an automatic purchase height. Yale Medicine describes treatment selection as dependent on the cause and extent of the discrepancy and individual circumstances, with both internal and external shoe-lift options. A unit conversion cannot determine the correct side, amount of correction, or wearing schedule.

The selected lift must also leave the heel secure and the shoe comfortable. An available maximum does not prove that a particular shoe has enough room. For open footwear, our heel lifts for sandals guide addresses footbed placement, retention, and straps; those checks are separate from the conversion chart.

For a suspected discrepancy, postoperative change, or persistent pain, have the fitting plan assessed rather than selecting a height from symptoms alone. Stop and seek advice for new pain, numbness, skin irritation, or instability. Do not compensate by adding or removing unapproved layers until the problem is understood.

Questions about heel-lift height

Is 1 mm the same as 1/8 inch?

No. One-eighth inch is 3.175 mm, so it is a little more than three times a 1 mm adjustment. The smaller increment offers more intermediate choices, not a universal clinical advantage.

Does buying large give me a higher lift?

Not for the two product families compared here. Select the footprint for the shoe, then configure the height according to the product instructions and the fitting plan. Check the Clearly Adjustable options or Balego lift options instead of using the size name as a height measurement.

Do I need the same lift in both shoes?

That depends on the reason for using it and the plan you were given. Do not automatically order a pair for symmetry or choose a side by guessing. Both listings are for individual lifts, so confirm the quantity separately from the height.

Will a 10 mm heel lift make me exactly 10 mm taller?

A nominal insert height is not a guarantee of the same change in standing height or measured leg-length compensation. A heel-only taper, the shoe, and the way the person stands are not equivalent to lifting the entire body on a rigid, level platform. Use the fitting outcome specified by the clinician rather than treating the label as a body-height prediction.

Order the height, footprint, and quantity as separate choices.

A useful request identifies the product or construction, the intended height in its original unit, the corresponding conversion, the footprint size, and the required side and quantity. For example, keep 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) together rather than rewriting it as an unlabeled “6”.

For three nominal inch-based configurations, review our Balego Adjustable Heel Lift. For individual-millimeter adjustment within the published range, review our Clearly Adjustable Heel Lift. Check those listings for current prices and purchase options.

Contact our product-support team with the product name and the height you are trying to match when a description is unclear. We can help identify published options; a change to the clinical correction belongs with the treating professional. For an order involving additional paperwork, our prescription and medical-necessity guide explains the separate document roles without implying that every retail lift purchase needs a letter.

Browse our heel-lift and shoe-insert guides for related fitting questions. The sequence is simple: preserve the original measurement, convert it accurately, check the available settings, and confirm the complete fit.

Educational product-selection guide. Calculations describe unit conversions, not individualized correction heights or bench measurements of the products.

Copyright © Balego Inc. All rights reserved.