I purchased these boots based on many reviews.  I was very pleased with their performance. I have a horrible knee, which is plagued with arthritis and bone spurs. I also have a bad IT band in the same leg so downhill hiking is excruciating. I wanted a boot that would take some shock off the impact so my knee could survive the miles of hiking we were going to do at the Grand Canyon and Mount Zion.  The boots performed as expected.  First, the shock absorption is top notch. I did not have any pain in the knee or hip because the boots did absorb the shock. These boots felt like slippers on my feet.  They did not get hot. This was important since we hiked in July in the Canyons. They also held up through four monsoons. The outside was water resistant and the only reason the boots got wet on the inside was because I wore shorts and the rain poured down my legs into the boots. However, the liners came out and I blew them dry along with the inside of the boot. The boots are very durable and they did not need to be broken in before hiking.