These are head-and-shoulders above other rain boots! Instead of being that stiff, shiny material like every other rain boot I tried, these are soft as butter. It's kind of like patent leather to vegetable-tanned leather. I am between an 8 and 8.5, and these 8s are large on me (they fit best with two pairs of wool socks), so I would definitely say they run large. I kept them in this size because they have the unfortunate practice of not making half sizes, but I do wonder if I might even be able to fit into a 7.