Its a hiker, not tennis shoe. So it has decent weight and support. I purchased this shoe in brown about 4 years ago. It is absolutely the best shoe I have ever owned. We dress casual at work so I started wearing them every day. Then I bought a grey pair so I could color coordinate a bit better each day. Tried them out on the golf course and have since trashed all my golf shoes. These are the only shoes I can wear for four hours while walking the golf course and end my round with NO foot pain. I've been afraid that they might be discontinued so I recently bought a third pair to save back for future use. My foot measures 8 1/2 D. I usually by size 9D. In this shoe, I buy 9M and it's a perfect fit. I wear a full length Spenco orthotic arch support in all my shoes. For this shoe I replaced the original insole with the Spenco. I highly recommend this shoe for all of your hiking and walking.
I only recently received these shows. They have a nice look to them, similar to older hiking shoes I owned decades a go. Thus, I like the appearance of the shoes and the style. They are slightly heavier than the previous shoes I had, I used Merrell’s before these. The Merrell’s were also Gore-Tex shoes but failed the water proof test when I used them on a trip to Alaska. I had many bouts of wet feet with those shoes. I use them for golf now and they still appear not to be as water proof as advertised.
So, far these LL Bean replacement shoes appear to be better in the waterproof department. I though they feel heavier and appear to have a narrower bottom than the Merrell’s.
But they feel good for daily use and have not let the rain in, yet.
This is probably the 4th pair of these shoes that I have purchased over the last few years. Unfortunately this latest pair does not compare to the previous several pairs I have owned. Unlike previous pairs, these shoes take some getting used to. Even by adding inserts, they are still not that comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The fact they have eliminated the quick lace hook at the top means they take longer to get on and off. It is too bad they had to change this once great shoe.
These shoes were well made but had soles that were so stiff that they were very hard on the feet. Uncomfortable and heavy. Long break in period if they break in at all.
