These shoes were great I went hiking out west and when it rain my feet stayed warm and dry. If you ware hiking in a warm dry environment these shoes might not be for you. They are insulated and are quite warm. However if you unzip the zippers it does have some ventilation. I am very happy with them. They are very comfortable and provide great support. I would recommend some kind of gaiter to keep out dirt from the top. I ruined a few pairs of socks b/c I did not have one.

I bought this pair of North Face Storm Peaks to replace an aging pair of Montrail Susitna XCR's. I loved the inboard laces with zip-up shell (very handy for military PT where we are required to tuck our laces). The Storm Peaks seem to have as solid a design as the XCRs, though time will tell (3yr continual use expected life). The only advantage the XCRs have on the Storm Peaks is that they came with a pair of rubber gaiters that snapped onto the shoe. The Storm Peaks do not include this and are thus still vulnerable to water entering the top of the shoe if you are running through puddles in the rain. Another issue with these shoes is that they come with rather thin laces that would be prone to fraying with continued use. I replaced them first chance I got. Despite my common practice of replacing insoles on mostly all my shoes, the standard insoles were decent, though I definitely felt a weird difference when I used them in the old XCR's of the same size. I use non-prescription Dr. Scholls sport-type or similar insoles to provide the best run possible, and these shoes made that preference easy. Unfortunately, Montrail does not make the original Susitna XCR anymore, and similar designs were hard to come by. This was definitely a good replacement, though.

I was also replacing a pair of favorite shoes which I used for just about everything. The MeanBlueSpider was right on. This is a very comfortable and tough shoe. The zips are terrific and keep laces tidily out of the way. NO leaks! I do recommend these shoes.