After reading around on reviews for a good utilitarian pair of cold weather boots I decided on these. And I'm fairly impressed. I've leapt into partially frozen puddles that froze my kin under my jeans, but moisture didn't even drip into the boots. Then I stomped around and shuffled around in two feet of snow and still my toes were toasty and dry!! Even with really thick socks these fit true to size. They didn't need breaking in, either, something I was worried the only thing I'm slightly disappointed in is how stiff the ankles were. That took some work to adjust my walking style. That and the not very flattering look is why I gave hem a four.