I bought these shoes from REI because they were recommended by the salesperson for long walks and light hiking.  I normally wear an 8.5 and have never had a lot of trouble with shoe sizing, but these have a really strange fit.  I found that they run about a half size small in the toe, but are average in length.  So I purchased a 9 thinking that with thick socks they might be alright.  Well, I was wrong.  In order to wear them all day I need to wear a bandaid on my heel because they are still just a little too long for my feet and a little too narrow to wear especially thick hiking socks.  This is a little too much of an inconvenient considering the price of the shoes.  Another problem I have with them is that I get strange cramps in my toes and over my arches when I wear them.  I've never had this problem with any other shoe before, but I do have low arches and these shoes have rather steep arch supports.  That said, they are clearly very good quality if you can find a size that fits well and they are compatible with your arches.  The soles are a hard rubber that absorbs shock really well, they are indeed waterproof, and of all the hiking shoes out there they are relatively attractive.  Sadly, I will be returning mine because of the bad fit and I recommend that people buying on Amazon or other places with less flexible return policies than REI do a lot of walking around the house before wearing them outside because some of the problems I had weren't immediately apparent.