I bought some of the previous version of these shorts last year, and they were great, I lost them at some point... I'm pretty sure my x stole them when she left, but that's another story.

Anyway, I couldn't remember what size I had, so I consulted the sizing guide. I usually wear pants in a 33 or 34 waist, so I ordered a medium.

This was incorrect, the shorts wound up wedged up my butt, with a sizeable bulge on the crotchal region. Some might consider this to be a benefit, I don't.

Please don't misunderstand, I don't like baggy shorts, especially for something I'm going to be relatively active in, but you might want to take into consideration that the sizing guide may err on the slim side.

I don't know how I managed to put it off so long, but I moved to Missouri from Texas about ten years ago, and just now bought my first pair of winter boots...

I've spent years ruining pair after pair of leather shoes and sneakers trudging through the muck that accumulates here in the winter from the ashen road materials and rain/snow slush, and the crap that winds up in the sidewalk from various shop owners throwing out their own special mix of ice repellant.

Additionally, I guess my feet are just naturally cold, I never thought much about it until after I bought these boots, but they've always been pretty uncomfortable.

That said, when I bought them I was worried that they would be too warm because it just doesn't get below 0 here in the winter, and it's rarely below 15...

Since I purchased these I've worn them every time it's been raining, every time it's snowed, every time I though I might come across mud or muck, and every time it's been below 45ish. I have to say, I am extremely satisfied. The only thing that bothers me is the pressure around my calf, because I'm just not used to a full boot... but I'm sure that's entirely me. They're just great, they've kept my feet dry, and warm-enough (they're still pretty cool when it's 10 degrees outside, but I can at least feel them now).

Probably the neatest thing to me was that I ran all around elephant rock park a few days ago when it was in the 50's... I know they're not a hiking boot, but I felt very comfortable with them, and they let me run through puddles and muddy areas with my dog without thinking much about it. Pretty nice.

I hope this helps someone else that may be in a similar situation.