I bought my normal size 8, and when I first put them on I was worried they were too small. Near the toe feels like it's squashing down on the top of my foot. Like the tongue is in the wrong place or something. I wore them for a few days and now they feel like they've stretched out, but the part at the heel moves quite a bit. I think they'll be fine if I wear thick socks. Haven't hiked in them yet, but they feel solid and waterproof. Another thing is the color. In this picture they look alot lighter and greyish to me. They are DARK black. Not nearly as "girly" looking as the one in the picture. Not too bad though. My light Merrell's are probably better for every day wear and these are for real hiking. - I'm a day hiker on weekends. Definitely not an expert. Thanks!