I had previously had my first experience with Rockports with a boat shoe that they had a few years ago. They didn't need a break in period and they were comfortable. All I needed to do was change the insole and they were still going strong. They're STILL going strong, but are finally showing signs of wear that I may not be able to repair at some point. Having such a great experience with Rockport Work shoes, I did some research (they no longer make that boat shoe, boo) and the Daisey boot caught my attention. I've always had some sort of slip on sneaker or low cut, like the boat shoe, for my work shoes. Going for these somewhat fashionable boots looked like it'd be a nice change of pace, AND It'd be nice to be able to wear whatever socks I want since they wouldn't be visible because of the boot cuff. Like before, was able to take them for a spin through a shift and they essentially were comfortable and no foot pain you can get in new shoes sometimes. The only caveat is because of the safety toe, it tends to make the toe box a little different since it won't really conform to your feet. Because of this, the only small issue I had was that the sock seam tends to hit the pinkie toe just so along that area of the toe box and it can rub. Solution- athletic crew socks. The seams are meant to be smoother and more padded vs your run of the mill socks. Other than that, the shoes are great. Comfortable, the leather is soft and nice, and the insole provides good support. Not sure how insoles would fare in these, but I'll find out down the road when the current ones wear out (which are a really nice, suede-ish material. However, note on sizing- I wear a 6 in my boat shoes, so I ordered a 6 in these. One foot is a bit smaller than the other, so that one slips a teeny bit, but I know if I went a half size down, there's a good chance they'd be too small. So I would technically fall between a size 5.5 and a 6. The slight slipping doesn't affect comfort or stability at all though. Just a note for anyone figuring out sizing. Update 12.29.21- am a bit disappointed that the tread is starting to show significant wear in some areas. I've only had these 8-9 mos, so this is discouraging. My other pair of Rockports didn't do this, so not sure what's going on there. The rest of the shoe is still going strong though! Update- 9.12.22- The tread continued to wear quite a bit, and today, I realized that the leather tore along the outside heel right at the oustole. It's not a separation, which could be fixed by gluing back down, but a hole AT the separation point, so I'm bummed. The interior lining deteriorated pretty quickly, but that could be because of the foot movement inside these, which is a caveat for slip on/non lace shoes sometimes. Would I still recommend these? Eh, maybe. I've had them almost a year and a half, and mostly wore these 4-5 days a week (would alternate with another pair sometimes). They were comfortable, and I didn't slip much in them. For the price point, I'd hope they'd hold up better and last a little longer, so I'm not sure I'd recommend them for that alone. If I were to find these on sale or closeout, then sure, why not? But dropping $100 on a pair of work shoes that started showing wear 8-9 months in and being almost totally done a year and a half after purchase? Eh.
