As of owning these for 2 weeks and using them twice: The first time I got a blister on my ankle, used better socks and problem solved. The second time was working on a farm and they performed well. Was worried about mud mainly, but they protected my feet. I didn't lace them up all the way, because when I did that they seemed too constrictive on my ankles so kept them one notch below. I really like these shoes and am looking forward to taking them on an actual hike. If anything changes about my opinion of these, I'll update this. Other than that, for the price, I'd recommend these for comfort, protection and versatility.