Reading the reviews on this boot got me a little concerned so I ordered a half size up and it turns out that was completely unnecessary. They definitely took a little more work to get on and off the first couple of times and they felt a little bit snug at first. Part of this is getting used to the elastic cord laces, I promise you that they will stretch and the extra fluffy pile inside will compress leaving you with plenty of space within a wearing or two. This means that my pair is just a little bit big on my feet after 3 or 4 months of wear, but I don't consider this to be a problem since I can now put in a gel insole and wear my extra thick and fluffy alpaca wool socks in them.I recently wore them on a winter survival skills overnight trip with a 3 mile hike in and out. I also wore a thin sock liner and a new pair of smartwool socks with no blisters or hot spots. By the end of the day of hiking and building snow shelters I could tell that my feet were wet but they were also still very warm and comfortable. I took them off to dry by the fire for a little while and they might have been a little bit damp when I put them back on, they were still warm and with my socks now dry they finished drying on my feet fairly quickly. I like the ridge on the back of the heel that helps you set and keep the straps on your snowshoes in the right place. I don't like that the elastic cord laces make it nearly impossible to cinch the tops enough to keep deep snow from getting into the tops of the boots and they are a little bit bulky which makes it a little harder to get your gaiters zipped up over them.Still they are a great and comfortable boot that is worth the minor inconveniences that I have experienced. I will probably apply a couple of coats of camp dry before wearing them out again.