I ordered one size lower than my normal shoe size. I wear a 11B, ordered a 10B and the boots are too short. Besides being too short or small I was disappointed to find that the boots upper leather doesn't have a form fit to the leg. The best way to describe the fit is that of a pull on boot. After putting on two pairs of socks I found to tighten the boot uppers to my leg I had to pull the leather together all the way to the eyelets and I still needed more. The boot is not cut to accommodate a narrow foot and a narrow leg.
ProsGreat Value, Comfortable, Performing as Expected
The boot: I am not a leather expert, nor do I have any clue about rubber. That said, these boots appear to be of good quality leather and rubber, triple stitched together. I was initially concerned about the stiffness of the leather and thought there might be a long break in time, but so far no issues. The shoe strings seem cheap. One already has slight fraying (the laces are old school, with a nylon braid covering some kind of inner white cord... I can see the inner white cord in one spot) where it rubs against the eye hole. The in-soles have some cushion to them and provide arch support. The Thinsulate liner only covers the rubber section of the boot. Some older reviews mention the liner is velcroed in, however mine appear to be fused in under a flap of leather in the heel. In other words, I don't think there is any risk of it coming out soon. There is a loop on the back of the boot to aid in pulling it on which is handy and sturdy.
The Fit:
I ordered the Bean boots with Thinsulate following the sizing instructions posted online (i.e. one size down with med. weight socks, normal size for thick). The first pair of boots were too small (one size down) so I sent them back and got my regular size which I am pretty happy with. I have several pairs of wool socks (thick ragg wool, to medium weight merino wool) and they all seem to work well. There is a review on here by someone who retained the ordering directions from days gone by where the boots were custom fit. I wish that was still an option. I have skinny chicken legs, and the leather has to be cinched as tight as possible at the top to fit. It is not a big deal, but I prefer a more secure feeling. Keep this in mind if you have chicken sticks.
Durability:
No idea. I have had them for about two weeks. I anticipate them lasting many seasons, given my perception of build quality.
The Customer Service: LL Bean provides outstanding customer service. Seriously. I have been an occasional shopper of LL Bean over the years, usually wandering to their site or catalog as an afterthought. The outstanding service this go around has gained them an advocate and customer for life.
Final thoughts...
I love that they still make the boots in Maine. I love the customer service. I love the value. I like the boots. Give me a year or two with them and maybe I will love them too.
Be comfortable with the idea you might have to send them back to get a pair that fit the way you would like.
And LL, please consider a custom sizing system for these boots. I am sure this does not fit in with modern manufacturing. But how cool would it be to get a pair of these boots using the sizing method outlined earlier (two pieces of paper, outline your feet, measure up 10" and measure the circumference of your leg)?
I bought these boots for an 8 day trip to Russia. The weather was warmer than I expected (~34F) and my feet were never remotely cold. I am always cold so this was a great comfort. The only issue I had was with a small blister on the top of my right inner ankle. It might be an issue with the way I laced up the boot, too tight or not tight enough, wrong socks, who knows. Aside from that I would recommend the boot.
ProsDurable, Great Value, Comfortable, Performing as Expected, bean boots
I've been wearing Bean boots for more than 40 years. For wet weather and ground surfaces, they can't be beat. Leather boots leak - Bean boots don't. My old ones wore out. I wouldn't be without them.
