So I purchased a 7W in these shoes directly from the Salomon website. I'm not getting paid or reimbursed for this review in any way/shape/form. I had different pair of moderately expensive ($130+) hiking boots from a really popular manufacturer (unsure if I'm allowed to name them) but, after my last surgery, I couldn't wear those anymore. I had a bunionectomy which was revised with the cartiva implant and, as a result, the joint in the big toe is much bigger now. This caused quite a bit of pain from the old pair and eventually (through some online research) led me to these.

So far I *really* like these. I've only put a little over 20 miles on them, but I'm a pretty big fan. They hug my feet perfectly, are plenty comfortable over a decent amount of distance and have plenty of space in the toe box. Why then am I giving these 4 stars instead of 5?? Because the laces are god awful!! And everything I've read suggests that you have to clean them after each and every hike (or they'll deteriorate?!). Yeah... that is in no way a realistic expectation. Also, I can't seem to comfortably lace them. They have to be insanely tight for my foot not to slide in the shoe. The "tie" mechanism that comes with these shoes are also pretty horrific. I couldn't possibly hate anything more than the terrible laces that come with them.

So I put thin round athletic laces in them. Hopefully it doesn't impact the durability of the pieces of fabric that function like eyelets, but I've read other reviews that indicate that that may be a problem down the line... even with the original laces. So we'll see. I surely hope not. I'll update if anything changes.