These are great boots! I've been trying many different pairs over the past 3 years but I continue to come back to this one and have worn these exclusively for the past year. The sole is very stiff which is good because my ankles need a lot of support. They are pretty much true to size. The first thing that wears is the toe kick. 90 per cent of my hiking is desert hiking and this boot is made for an alpine environment so the loose rocks and jutting granite rock outcroppings in the southwest tend to tear the underside of the boot up after about 150 hours of hiking. I have never had a problem with stitching, the laces, the hook and eye closures, or my feet getting truly soaked (I used them when hiking through the cloud forest in Peru...I haven't seen that much rain in a month of Sunday's but my feet stayed dry).