The Gaerne boots are amazing comfortable and 6 months later and still 100% waterproof after many days in full muddy , boggy wet rising conditions... However i broke my pinky toe and severely bruised the next couple two weeks ago by folding my foot over after a minor spill.... My fault but they do offer very little toe protection.... My other gripe is a piece of scrap barbed wire has torn through the leather surface on the toe upper which was lying on ground somewhere. The same thing happened with some other sharp edge on the other boot... Its not through the leather but annoying. As another comment states they do get very soft when wet. I tried the black Hebo boots before and they were completely crap. Totally un-waterproof, cheap plastic straps and terrible quality synthetic uppers.