I purchased these for my 8 year old daughter who was wanting Uggs for Christmas.  I did not believe it made since to purchase Uggs for a child who is still rapidly growing and wanted to find a reasonable substitute that did not look like the sort of cheap slipper knock-offs you might find at your local discount store.  She loves these boots, and had no complaints about the fact they weren't the nearly-three-times-more-expensive Uggs.  I believe the Emu sole is of higher quality than Uggs; it has a rubber layer over the EVA layer and has decent traction.  Although they are suede and not sheepskin, they do have genuine wool lining (which my daughter keeps telling me is really cool) and with a little spray of scotch guard will be just fine to wear on snowy/slushy days.  Great value overall.