I hate cycling shoe shopping

[bicycletricycle]

I have been giving clipless pedals a try after a long break. The pair I have now are a set of old nalini lace ups that don't fit great. I think my main problem is that my feet are a little wide but mostly that my big toe is really tall. Also I only wear birkenstocks and so my feet are used to some room and I really don't care for the super tight fit of a lot of cycling shoes. The best shoes I ever had was a set of old Sidi's mega's that are probably a size too big, I mostly wore them with the buckle undone or very loose. I still have those and they feel okay now but I would still like a little more room if possible. Those sidi's are plastic sole and since then I have owned a lot different carbon sole shoes although most of them are 10 years plus old (spec, nike, shimano, nalini, fizik) but they always seem to bother me. I guess a carbon sole shoes that fit perfect would be fine but their unforgiving nature just seems to cause me problems and adding some more cushion in the insole doesn't work because I need all the volume I can get.

So. I am looking for a cycling shoes with-

1. A big toe box, not just wide but tall. More room the better. I like my feet to float around and I don't care much about heel slip or whatever.
2. Plastic sole but I am sure the right carbon sole would work as well and I am willing to give anything a try.
3. Prefer no hyper crazy graphics but I can always spray paint them
4. Less ventilation if possible, my feet don't get hot but they do get cold.
5. Prefer a road shoe but might consider a mountain shoe

Options currently considering-

1. Recently I have tried some Lake cx175 size 46 wide, they feel okay but still wish I had more room in the toe box. Going one size up might do it but I am not really convinced.

2. When you search wide shoes you always get articles about Bont but they seem to be a real love hate thing for people. Their online fit chart says I should go with a 47 in the Riot. I am tempted to pick a pair up because it seems like the obvious answer. Does that heat forming thing reform the sole of the shoe or the upper?

3. Specialized torch 2.0, toe box looks boxy but maybe not that tall.

4. Shimano rc3 shoe. they are basic, plastic and come in wide. They don't seem to be available anyplace though.

Open to any suggestions/feedback/whatever. I hate online shoe shopping.