I bought these boots to replace my three year old boots that I had bought to replace my summer weight non waterproof boots that I still have and use if I know water won't be involved. All the boots I have bought in the last 5 years have been Hi-Tec. They fit and feel like a sneaker once you get them broken in. I am in the process of breaking these new ones in, it has only been two days so they are still a little stiff. I figure that by next week I will be good to go in these. I use these for work, daily wear, hiking, walking, walking in rain, steeping in streams, walking in snow, mowing the lawn, using the snowblower, snowshoeing, and they work great with my yak-trax when I walk on ice. The only reason I replaced my old ones is because they were starting to leak water when I submerged them for more than a few seconds. Great boots, I don't regret any pair of Hi-Hec's I ever bought.

1/23/12 UPDATE! I am now on pair number 4 of these boots and I will say that while these are every bit as good at protecting my foot as every pair of Hi-Tec boots I have owned there was a down side this time. It has taken over two weeks of daily wear to get these broken in, and they still need a little more work. Mostly they are tight in the ankle area but softening. I really like the boots, but over two weeks to break in is a little much.