I Must Agree 100% with Scooter.
I have a pair of Vasque Sundowner hiking boots -absolutely love them! Worth every penny. I have had
them resoled once already.These were Made in Italy.

I saw some new ones on sale, and decide to get my next pair now, and put them away. I tried them out - wore them outside on a short hike and was terribly disappointed..."WTH?!" they didn't fit or feel the same . I checked the inside label- "Made in China". Oh hell...
I called the company and they stated that "the 'last' had been changed."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last

Whereas, the Italian Made boots were form fitting to my foot (12D); these "China" ones have a very 'generic' fit - like a 'round foot in a square boot'.
Since I had wore them outside, they were 'unreturnable'.
And so they sit in a box.
It should be illegal, or at least considered unethical, to sell something as 'the same' when , clearly it is Not. ARRRG...

So right. If I had only known, I would have kept my italian made ones and just resoled them forever. Since production shifted to China, they just aren't the same. Fit, durability and comfort have been sacrificed Here's the worse news: I gave up on the crappy chinese made sundowners 4-5 years ago and went with a nice pair of Asolo's. And while the Asolo's are really nice, they still aren't sundowners. The asolo's are too hot and heavy, whereas a broken in pair of sundowners is like wearing a sock.

So now I'm about to go back to the chinese made sundowners. Clearly inferior to the Italian made ones many of us remember so fondly, but still a better all around boot than just about anything out there. So until I get a pair of Limmers made for me someday, I'm going back to the sundowners.