This is my second pair of Red Wing boots and as with my first pair, these are just the BEST!!! When I took them out of the box, the leather seemed pretty hard so I thought it was going to take me a while to break them, but once I started wearing them, they felt awesome. I followed the advise from the Red Wing website and ordered a smaller size. I usually wear a 10, for these boots I ordered a 9.5. The fit was perfect, not too loose and not too tight.