Lowa  Mauria Evo GTX Hiking Boots - Women's

I've had 4 foot surgeries, resulting in a wide forefoot and great difficulty finding any shoe that's comfortable. I even have to wear a toe splint, during the day, which has to fit in my shoes. Depending on the shoe, I may or may not need a wide width. Having said that, Lowa recommended sizing down 1/2 size in this boot. I normally wear a women's 10. I sized down to a 9-1/2 and my toes were just brushing the front of the boot. The boot's width was comfortable, even wearing my toe splint, and there was no heel slippage. I wore this boot around my house for about 7 days, sometimes it rubbed, sometimes it didn't. I finally realized that the Achilles pad, that rises above the back of the boot, was tucked down and into the boot. Once I pulled the pad up, all issues, except for the short length resolved. My only other complaint is that I prefer smoothe leather, over nubuck. Why? Smoothe leather cleans up more easily than nubuck. My hiking boots get A LOT OF HARD USE and sometimes they HAVE TO BE CLEANED UP. I've used nubuck brushes and the brushes don't clean off the mud and using Saddle Soap isn't an option with nubuck. I ended up returning the 9-1/2 Lowa Women's Mauria Evo GTX and got a size 10. So far, so good, fit-wise. What I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stomach is the suede-like finish of the nubuck leather. We've had very little snow to date, but enough to make the hiking trails very muddy. My old, smoothe leather boots are covered in mud when I get home from hiking, but at least I can clean them up, when needed.