I walk all the time, hike on most weekends, and am pretty hard on shoes and boots. I've got no problem spending top dollar and paying retail prices for a quality product that is built well and is going to last. These boots are neither well built nor a good value.

This said, they are not terrible. I live in Boston, which has seen its share of snow this winter. While trudging through a lot of this snow, my feet stayed warm and comfortable. I've walked up to four miles in these boots and, as long as the weather wasn't wet, I found them to hold up. If snow did not melt, I would keep these boots.

Unfortunately, snow does melt and keeping dry in all conditions is the real reason I decided to pay $150 for these boots. Snow in Boston stays dry and cold for about two days but quickly thereafter turns to black slush and partially frozen mud puddles. I was also hoping to stay wet and dry as the city started to thaw. This was not the case.

I tried to jump over one of these partially frozen mud puddles while walking my dog on a Sunday morning. I didn't quite clear it and my heel slipped into the puddle. Because of the waterproof claims made by Sorel, I figured this wouldn't be a problem. A couple of steps later though, I noticed that my heel was a little soggy. When I got home from the walk I took out the boot liners to inspect the damage. I needed to use paper towels to dry out the insides of the shoes. Another time, while walking home from work, my toe slipped into a puddle - same thing.

Ideally I would not need to take the liners out of the boots as often as I do, but leaking requires me to remove the liners in order to preserve the wool I splurged for. Leaks aren't the only thing ruining the liners though. As if the leaks weren't bad enough, the stitching and material on the back of the liner is starting to wear. Inside of the boot, the plastic is very poorly stitched to the leather upper. This leaves the plastic kind of jutting out - which you can see (on the right of the inside of the boot) in the attached picture. So much for built to last a long time.

I hate to return products to backcountry.com. I appreciate their generous return policy and really try not to take advantage. Unfortunately, after about 1 month of use, I know these boots aren't going to cut it. I'd prefer to reinvest in a better product - but am not sure what to try. Sorel has an amazing reputation, perhaps my problems with these boots are anomalous. Based on other reviews though, I don't think this is the case. I know Columbia bought Sorel. Columbia makes nice jackets, maybe they should stick to outerwear...

I like this shoe. Here's a Pro/Con review with a little narrative mixed in:

Pros:
- Fits true to size, I am right between a 9 and 9.5 - I couldl've gone either way but am glad I decided to go slightly bigger. The shoe has a lot of padding and insulation, fits very snug, and with six pairs of eyelets you can lace the shoe tightly. Also, I feel I've got room to go with a thicker sock in the Winter.

- Yet, I also feel the shoe is well insulated. Unlike other reviewers, I have not had problems with overheating feet. I guess I should mention that I'm someone who never wears sandals - I always wear socks and shoes. If I were someone who liked to feel a breeze between my toes maybe this shoe wouldn't do. But as a sock and shoe devotee, I don't feel this shoe is any warmer or cooler than any other sneaker/hiking shoe I've ever worn.

-The shoes wear in great and remain sturdy after consistent use. I wear these shoes for hiking and dog walking. After about 8 weeks, I've probably put close to 100 miles on these suckers. They still fit great, are not fraying, ripping, or falling apart anywhere (even the toe remains firmly attached to the upper), and provide good support. Sole wear seems above average - I know I'm gonna wear these out faster than I'd like but so far I'm happy with how they're holding out. Much better than the Timberlands that these are replacing.

- The shoes are sturdy. I live in New England. Hikes here are rocky. No matter how much I'm carrying on my back or how hard my dog is pulling to chase a squirrel, I can stomp on rocks/oddly protruding boulders/roots and the soles of my feet remain cushioned. Of course my feet do feel the pressure from stepping on rocks but I don't get the pain of being stabbed that I get when I hike on shoes with worn out/weak soles.

- I nikwaxed these suckers right when I got them. So far they've remained totally water proof. For me, the real test is walking in tall grass early in the morning after a night of rain. These shoes pass with flying colors. Their waterproofing exceeds that in my Gore Tex Merrill Moab lows.

- These shoes do not yet smell

- I do not find these shoes to be light, but also am not bothered by their weight

- I have a big instep (bump on top of my foot), these shoes fit fine. Apart from this my foot has medium width, normal arch, normal toe box. That these shoes fit well I think is a testament to their versatility and quality build. For the sake of comparison, for running shoes, I go with Nike about a size larger than normal, but New Balance and Adidas fit great.

Cons:

- Very little ankle support. Those rocks I wrote about above, they don't hurt my feet but these shoes do nothing to protect my ankles from twisting. Not a big deal but I did find that these shoes have a lower than normal ankle cut. For me this is very minor but worth mentioning.

- I don't like the design on the outside of the heel - that swirl doesn't do it for me. Gives the shoe sort of a cowboy lasso feel. I'm an east coaster not really feeling that rodeo vibe.

- I don't care for the shoelaces. Again, whatever.

Bottom Line: Great shoe. Not a hiking boot replacement but worth purchasing for the versatility, design, quality build, and the fact that you can probably pull them off at work. Perfect dog walking shoe. That's where I'm headed right now...