I purchased these boots for the Northern Michigan winter.  i had searched for women's boots, but I kept coming back to these.  I first ordered a size 9W not knowing how the men's sizing converted to women's feet :)  They were a bit big, so I just received the size 8.5 M.  They fit perfectly!  I like to go for long walks, so they had to be comfortable, warm and dry.  These are awesome in all those areas.  I put them on and went on a 4 mile hike to test them.  No problems at all, they are more pliable than any other new boot I've ever had- meaning I didn't have to wait for breaking them in before I was off hiking.  I like it when other review refer to size, so here's a recap on that:  I normally take a women's 9.5 W, the men's 8.5 M (normal width) fit perfectly with 2 pairs gym socks and a thin pair of wool socks.  I'd say all those socks would be similar to one pair of really thick wool socks.  Will be recommending these to friends.