The Italians produce the best fitting shoe last and it is very rare to see today. This shoe has it! The fit is perfect and the shoe is comfortable and sturdy - just what we were looking for. Thank you for reaching out to countries, other than Asian and South American - the Italians make shoes like no one else.
This is a well-constructed waterproof hiker. Reasonably priced and good for casual walking. Most are not available in narrow widths, which was a necessary feature for me. The fit is comfortable, fine in the width, but, like other Bean boots, too roomy in the heel. I can get by with it, however, by lacing the boots tight. The waterproof claim is good but not absolute, as some water can get in on top on the toe. Overall, good boots for what I needed.
I am currently just breaking-in these shoes that I bought as a daily shoe for long Maine winters. I wore them all day today and they are pretty comfortable out of the box! The goretex is going to be key for winter slush and the low profile will make for easy on and off. So far so good with these shoes!
I owned the previous two generations of this shoe and they were well made durable and comfortable. I just returned my second pair of this generation if this shoe. The shoes just will not "break-in" and became more uncomfortable to wear over time. The heel pocket of the shoe is inferior to prior versions and resulted in annoying rubbing and blisters. I never had any problems with the previous versions of this shoe. Thankfully LL Bean has a gracious return policy and I have purchased the waterproof Trail Model Hiker as an alternative.
