I've got five pairs of outdoor shoes, and four of them are Oboz. I'm kind of a giant and need extra long, extra-wide shoes, which usually limits my selection, but Oboz offers multiple choices. I've got these in both the waterproof and standard variations, and both are supremely comfortable and well-crafted. My oldest pair still see daily use--from the 2-3 miles of dog-walking I put in every day to mowing the lawn to grocery chopping--and occasionally going out into the woods, where they're submitted to rocks, mud, tree roots, and all sorts of indignities. I keep another pair relatively nice, but they'll eventually be demoted to replace the mudders. Finally, I have this pair for dry weather hikes--they've keep my feet happy in Badlands Park, Utah, Colorado, and places in between, and I have a pair of ankle-high boots for longer hikes and tougher terrain. All of them fit like a glove right out of the box, required very little breaking in, and show little wear despite abuse. No loose threads, no broken down heel pads. They're truly marvellous--but I have an agenda in my glowing review: I've never had better shoes, and I want to keep Oboz in business so I can keep buying them!