I have worn nothing but New Balance shoes since being diagnosed with a chronic medical condition several years ago. Every year I buy two or three different styles looking for improvements. This shoe by far is one of the best in recent memory. Good fit (for those saying they run small, for their intended purpose the fit is correct. If you want a loose fitting casual shoe then order up a half size), great traction, excellent cushion(give them 2 days to break in) and yes they are waterproof, at least the brown and gold style is, which brings me to Amazon's description. The light Brown and Orange shoe does not have the Gore-tex feature and is NOT waterproof. The dark Brown and Gold version of this shoe does have the water proof feature. I am fairly certain this is why some are complaining about the waterproof issue as Amazon does not mention the feature differences between the different color styles of theses shoes. The people complaining probably purchased the brown and orange style thinking it was waterproof. I bought both. The brown and orange style breathes better and I do not always need a waterproof shoe. My opinion, you can't go wrong with either one.