Solid boot; warm and comfortable; zipper is stiff and some trouble using at times; not the most elegant-not for dress
but very functional and seems to be well built.  Time will tell how the synthetic sole wears.
UPDATE: DEC 2013-4 yrs post purchase- well it happened as I feared, the sole split across the width of the boot about half way between the tip and the heel.
The boots are no longer waterproof.  I don't know about most people, but this is very disappointing. I expected them to last longer. I rotate my footwear so
this is not because of unusual amount of use. It only happened on one boot so I don't know if this is an isolated defect or a more general problem-I wanted to
make sure that this was added to my review. Took away 2 stars