KEEN  Targhee III Waterproof Mid Hiking Boots - Men's

I have been wearing KEEN Durand mid hiking boots for the last several years, and I really like them. I noticed several differences between these new Targhee III hiking boots and my old Durand boots. 1. The Targhee III mid boots are narrower than the Durand mid boots. They still have the wider toebox that KEEN is known for, but they are not quite as wide. I found them to be comfortable but not as spacious in the toe area. 2. There is a more aggressive tread than the Durand mid boots. Especially on the outside edge of the boots, there is a lot more "grip" in the tread. This is really useful for keeping your feet where you place them on the trai. 3. The Targhee III mid boots are also a little shorter in height than the Durand mid boots, especially in the back heel area. They seem to be cut steeper back from the front towards the heel than the Durand mid boots. 4. Styling is always subjective, but I do like the dark brown and slightly more aggressive look of the Targhee III mid boots. 5. Like the Durand mid boots, the Targhee III seem to run about a 1/2 size small. I ordered an 11 1/2 size, and I normally wear an 11. The 11 1/2 fit great, just like with the Durand mid boots. 6. These boots are also waterproof, which I have found to work great for dewy grass or brief water exposure. It's nice to keep your feet dry on the trail. Overall, I think these are a great pair of boots.

I've loved my Keens for years, but these Targhees are testing my loyalty. To try and find a pair that fits and is durable, I've been through 2 pairs of the vented Targhee in 11.5 and 12, a wide low Targhee 3 in 11.5, a size 12 Targhee 3, and 2 wide 11.5 mid Targhee 3's. Suffice it to say that the reliable fit I've been accustomed to with an 11.5 in Keen shoes is no more with the new Targhee (vented) and Targhee 3 WP shoes. The toe box on these tends to be more crowded and lower, requiring either a half size up from the common Keen "half size up" sizing , or to go for a wide version of my standard 11.5 Keen sizing. The size 12 was doable, but a bit more room in the toe box than I cared for, so I tried the wide 11.5. I thought I had found a solid fit and then with less than a week of casual wear the waterproof booty/liner started separating from the shoe in the toe box. It would droop down and rub against the top of my toes when walking. The low Targhee 3 WP version had some build issues, which I'm making mention of here because they have started cropping up in this mid versions of the model I have tried. Put simply, the look of the shoe, specifically the strips that run along the sides of the shoe, just above the cushioning of the sole, don't look like they do in the product images. The 2 pairs of the wide lows that I got had strips that appear to be taller, particularly as the strip gets closer to the toe cap. Instead of those strips basically showing the edge of the strip towards the toe cap as you look down at it, that trim comes up roughly a 1/4" or more than what is shown in the product images. For my experience, it's not just esthetic. That strip, with the added height as it approaches the toe cap affectively starts to come up and wrap inward and over the big and little toes, working to cramp the toe box beyond the initial sizing issues. With the earlier 12 regular and 11.5 wides, the construction looked like what you see in the product images and were free from these issues. I've also found that the strip, particularly the taller ones, can have the effect of reinforcing the natural buckle point of the shoe, basically where the little toe bends. Put simply, that natural buckle point appears to be reinforced by those fancy little strips. Where there should be some give despite the leather buckling in, there isn't, which creates a chafing point. After the lining on the 11.5 wide started to separate, I tried to get an exchange in store and found that the newer pair had the issues noted above that were present in the low versions of the shoe. I also found that with the second pair of 11.5 wides I tried, that those strips inserting at a higher point in the toe cap appeared to create a poor seal at that juncture of the leather of the toe box, the rubber of the toe cap, and the side strip. Not only do the taller strips cramp the toe box, create chafe points, and fail to represent what the product images shown for the construction, there appear to be subtle variations in each pair. The lines of those strips as you look down on them appear to be inconsistent on the most recent pair. See the pics and compare to the straight down view shown in the product images and hopefully you'll see what I'm getting at. In the attached pic of the grey boots, that outside strip has a more straight line on the left boot while it has a more curved line in the right. I've also included arrows in one pic to demonstrate where those strips should insert into the tow cap, according to the two earlier pairs I had as well as the product images at both REI and Keen. The other pics demonstrate a comparison to the 12 regular construction and the low 11.5 wide and 12 regular. Simply put, I don't know what's going on with Keen that these issues would be happening, but I hope they get it straightened out. As it is, I'm hoping for some improvements in their quality control so I can stick with their shoes/boots. I've been a big fan for 5+ years and this has been disappointing, to say the least. I need my Keens to work the way they always have!