The North Face  Shellista VI Mid Waterproof Boots - Women's

I could not hate these boots more if they called my mother a strumpet. I found it very difficult to tighten the laces, the area around the ankle was incredibly stiff and made it difficult flex my foot while driving. And I found the toe box to be too narrow compared to previous versions of the Shellista.

I'm on a quest for warm, comfortable boots for snow/rainy day dog walking/hiking. I really thought these were going to be the ones-the general build is great, but they fit so tight. I usually wear a 6.5/7 and have a narrow foot. Started with a 7 for warm sock room and it was too tight. 7.5 and 8 felt exactly the same size--they were all like a glove fit (which I do not want with boots); no room to wiggle my toes or swap to my custom insoles. All three sizes felt exactly the same.

I bought these hoping for something to wear in the cold, but not for hiking. I wear a 9.5 in altra trail shoes and a 40 for danskos - my two favorite shoes. I got these in a 9.5 and my feet barely fit with regular socks on and were squished with hiking socks. The toe box is narrow and uncomfortable. The uppers were comfortable and easy to lace and the shoes felt well insulated, which is a shame. These are great if you don’t have wide toes.

1. I have to have footwear that does not flex in the toe joint. These are very nice boots but they do flex and wouldn’t work witih my arthritis in that area. 2. I am constantly cranky about the fact that a lot of shoe companies do not offer women’s 1/2 sizes over size 10. This is why I live in Hokas, which also have rocker soles and work for my toe joint. I was so delighted to see that North Face makes the half sizes. Only problem - they run small! My toes hit the end with the 10.5 size and I had to order 11s to seriously try out. Nothing is standardized!! 3. I would like to add that I then bought the Norht Face Vectiv Fastpack, which like the above styles is insulated and waterproof, unfortunately is a shorter cut, but has a rocker sole. Again, the 10.5 was too small but I am now in love with the size 11 of this style. I wish they would make one with the same rocker sole in the taller size as well.

These weren’t what I had hoped. They felt rather cheaply made for North Face. The right boot felt funny in the toebox, putting quite a bit of pressure on my big toe. Though I only tried them on in the house, they didn’t feel particularly warm, leaving me, concerned about how they would function outdoors. Needless to say they’re going back.