I'm just curious to see what most high school marching bands consider to be the de-facto step size for forwards and backwards march. I have to say that after "two" (not counting the first where I marched in fundamentals but not in the show itself) years of marching, 8-to-5 (22.5 in.) feels the most normal forwards; almost like regular walking, w/o the knee bend, of course.

For backwards, 12-to-5 (not sure about exact length, but clearly smaller than 8-to-5 and bigger than 16-to-5) seems the most normal. 8-to-5 feels too big, while 16-to-5 feels TOO small.

What do you guys think?

When I marched in high school, it was always 8-to-5

It's 8-5.

8 to 5 both ways. Get over it. Backwards feels bigger than it is.