I had the $55 (ish) Sorel slipper before this and those were great (much more comfortable and warmer than these slippers), but the tread and interior lining fell apart before the slippers were a year old. I struggled paying another $50+ for slippers I knew would fall apart so quickly, despite the comfort, and I tried these instead. For the price, they are very good. The heel is unforgiving at first, but breaks in and is fine. I suspect these will last about a year, but I paid much less for them and would buy these again each year at this price. The tread is slippery, but so far hasn't been a problem and in fact is fun to slide long distances on the wood floors.