I tried to take a photo to post here but can't seem to get my phone in there...It felt "bumpy" so after removing the insert, stuck my hand in and can indeed feel that as my hand runs along the insole and gets very close to the toe, there's a sudden rise. If you weren't paying attention, youd think you hit the front of the shoe, but you haven't - it's a raised part that starts about half an inch or so from the toe of the shoe. Its also sticky, the rubber comes up, and not all that evenly either (not sure about this part). Sort of the way some trays have a lip? that's the only analogy i can think of. You can also see it if you then look in and shine a flashlight. Its not comfortable to walk on, perhaps because its uneven or perhaps just because its raised up. I don't know if these are a defective pair, or if maybe its supposed to be that way and maybe the toe isn't supposed to go that far forward (but any larger would be too large; these are the right size otherwise, maybe even a tad on the too large side already), or maybe its inentional and they designed the toes to be higher for some anatomical reason I don't understand, or maybe its for some reason how they attach the sole and its only noticable because its not even and its supposed to be raised but evenly. anyway, just don't know. Trying to contact someone who would know but just don't think i'm going to have any luck. I just got these from Amazon Prime, and now it looks like they're already only available thru 3rd party sellers. Best case scenario would be to find out these are a dud and just exchange, but don't know if that's going to turn out that way.  (I should say otherwise, seems awesome. Flexible sole, plenty of toe room and width, light enough (not featherweight like some these days, and balanced a bit to be bottom heavy, but that's a real quibble since they're fine), look decent, a nice removable innersole that's just the right thickness and comfort. Hence the 3 stars giving it the benefit of the doubt until i learn more. Incidentally, size wise, I find this to be about half size larger than marked, though I guess with some brands, that could mean a full size larger than marked. so this size 3 is like a 3.5 in many brands, and even like a 4.0 in some brands)