First thing I did was swap the laces for round, proper, boot laces (purchased on Amazon). They slide better and allow for finer tuning of the fit. Also they look much, much better to my eye. ( and to my teenage son's eye, who,like all teens, knows everything). Because of the return policy I was comfortable buying on-line. I have basically replaced my entire shoe collection, in the last year, upgrading from size 13 to 14 or 15, as I developed a bunion. On first try on, I thought perhaps a 14 wide would have been better. But the next day i tried thinner socks, better lacing method, and am pleased with the fit. Lots of room in the toe, while the upper lacing provides a stable fit. In terms of durability, my careful inspection of the sole, leads me to belief it will be quite good. I think you may have trouble if you wear these 5 days a week at a labour-type job, or walk a lot on oil, or gasoline. I think you could damage them if you do a lot of rock scrambling. Also the leather is high quality and should be treated and maintained a bit. Otherwise, I am wearing them tonight to a higher end restaurant and, walking my dog through he woods this morning. So the look and feel is very versatile. These are real Rockports and arrived packaged in an OEM box, with UPC, and stuffed with tissue paper. 2 thumbs up from me. Edit 3/22/2022.Photo number 3. I just completed hiking the Big 5 National Parks in Utah over the last 8 days. Plus 2 state parks. I wore these boots on all the hikes, 3 hours per day. They got covered and caked in red dust, but rinsed off nicely in the hotel sinks. I also wore them on the airplane, driving 1000 miles, and out to casual dinner joints. They look great, and nicely broken in. I forgot to pack mink ( boot) oil, so I lightly applied the body lotion provided by the hotels. Today I am ordering a second pair, in a slightly lighter shade, as I fully expect to wear these exclusively in the cooler times of year and for hiking anytime of year.
