Vasque Women's Breeze AT Mid GTX Gore-Tex Waterproof Hiking Boots - Lightweight & Durable for Outdoor Adventures, Trail Walking & Backpacking

I wore a very similar Vasque boot for years. Both fit about 1/2 size smaller and narrower than any other shoe I own. A 9 1/2 fits like a slightly narrow 9 in my best estimation. This shoe is taking a long time to break-in. There is one tight spot on the ankle that is taking a while to stretch. The shoe is a lot stiffer than the last pair. I have worn them twice and they got a lot better on the second try. The old pair was comfortable from the start. The probably have to be worn about 5 times to get comfortable. Don't commit to a long hike on the first day.The original listing did not note the shoe was a woman's shoe and so of course on arrival it was too small for my male feet, as men's and women's shoe sizes are not at all the same. I was able to return the original shoe and get a different color men's shoe of similar design. I wish they had the same color in a men's size, but alas it was not offered...Have been wearing Vasque for years and never remember having to break them in. Not sure if they changed their materials but these boots are incredibly stiff and painful to wear. They gave me terrible blisters on our first hike with them. Other than that they are Good quality and have hefty tread. Would recommend silicon heel protectors while breaking them in.When my many year old Vasque hiking boots finally wore out this winter, I selected the Breeze AT as a replacement, hoping that I would like them as much as my old favorites. Unfortunately, that was not to be. I will say that the Breeze AT is a nice looking boot, and has many of the quality features one would expect from Vasque. However: 1. the boot runs quite narrow. I purchased the same size as my old boots (8.5W) which I have always worn with wool hiking socks over a thin liner sock. With Breeze, I literally could not get my foot in the boot with a hiking sock on. With a regular thin casual sock, I could get the boot on, but it was snug. 2. The toe box is shallow. With the boot on, the tops of my big toes were touching the top of the toe box. 3. The boots have a full Goretex liner, but the tongue separates from the boot on both sides at the third eyelet from the top. This leaves an opening on both sides on the front of the shaft where water can seep in. So the boots are not truly waterproof. Sadly, I returned these boots.Comfort and sturdyI’ve been buying this exact model or style of Vasque boot for years now. I use them as work boots and they last longer than any others I’ve tried. I love the Goretex waterproofing. I also have wide feet and these are available in wide sizes that fit well. My only negative is that I preferred the height of the previous ones. The newer one is slightly higher and rubs a bit - during the break-in period I couldn’t lace them to the very top because of this.I am an experienced hiker who has worn out at least a dozen pairs of hiking boots in the last few years. I wear Wrightsocks (anti-blister) and never have any issues with blisters. I wore these boots once and had to turn around after 3 miles because they wore off the skin on several places on the insides of my feet. I have never had this happen before. I did receive a refund from Backcountry.Excellent boots. The ankle is just right to provide a bit of extra support for longer treks, and the insole is very comfortable. Boots were pretty stiff to start, but wore-in very quickly and feel so great after only a few uses. Sized up a half size in the regular width to make room for wool socks. The regular width is quite narrow compared to other boots, so you may want to go for a wide if you wear thick socks. For people with narrow feet, the regular width fits greatHiking, winter / summerso far so goodBoots size marked 10.5 maybe size 9.5 at best