I've never owned a pair of Uggs, so I can't make any comparisons.  I've enjoyed this style of boot -- regardless of brand -- but have been put off by the price.  $200 for such a simply made boot?  Come on.

These Emu's came up on a one-day-only sale -- so I finally bit the bullet.  I read the glowing reviews here on amazon, bought a size down -- and have been enjoying them ever since.

Here's the skinny:

These boots are well made. The stitching is tight, the soles are nice.  The insides are warm without making your feet sweaty. The sheepskin is supple.  Everything about these boots is quality... I can see these lasting for quite some time -- and when it is time to get a new pair -- I won't hesitate to pay retail.  Buy with confidence.

UPDATE (4/3/10)

Weeks of constant wear was bound to result in disaster.

One rainy evening I exited my car curbside, stepping into a gutter filled with rain.  One boot was saturated about an inch into the sheepskin.  I wasn't worried at the time -- I figured it would dry and be fine.  Oh, but I was wrong.  Apparently the gutter water was greasy, and the sand-colored sheepskin stained a dark brown.

Attempts to clean the sheepskin only resulted in making it worse.  Wiping the stains with a damp sponge succeeded only in smearing the stains around.  Before too long -- one boot looked drastically different from the other. I purchased a sheepskin cleaning kit made by Ugg -- but it didn't help at all.

Eventually, I was driven to more extreme measures -- I set my clothes washer to hand-wash, cold water, said a prayer and tossed the boots in(LET IT BE SAID I do not recommend anyone repeat this.  I have read that other people have done this with success, but you can totally avoid this!).  Suffice it to say I had reached the point where -- at best -- I had hoped to damage both boots at least similarly.  It was that, or throw them away. It was a last, desperate attempt to save the boots I loved. I'd already broken down and bought a cheaper suede pair of Emu's.

With my sheepskin boots somewhat cleaner but dried out -- I began a web search to find out if there was any sort of additive that could restore softness to the sheepskin.  This is when I discovered an article that more or less explained that the most valuable sheepskin cleaning tool is a sheepskin/nubuck brush.  Luckily, I had one in the Ugg kit I'd bought.

I include this update to tell all of you that the most valuable tool you can buy to preserve your boots is this brush.  My boots now look like new, despite all of my attempts to destroy them.  They are once again supple and smooth.

The brush you need has bristles on one side, white chalk on the other.  Around the sides are soft teeth -- like a rubber comb.  Using these simple elements you keep your boots looking like new.  The white chalk will remove the nastiest of grease stains.

I brushed the boots thoroughly while they were still slightly damp, raising the texture of the sheepskin suede, using the rubber comb first and then the fine brush.  I then used the chalk on the grease -- some stains I had to go over a few times -- but soon they all vanished.  It took about an hour or two of brushing -- but both boots are clean and free of stains -- and look new again.

So please -- heed the advice of other posters -- particularly if you are getting these boots on sale -- spend the money you save on a cleaning kit.  Prep the boots with a stain repellent before you wear them, and use the nubuck brush to remove stains.  Do this -- and these boots will last and last....