I have been looking for a durable, hard to wear out sturdy shoe that would give me lots of miles. I looked these shoes over quite a few times and they looked like what I wanted so I went ahead and ordered them. They felt pretty good when I put them on. Right out of the box, I noticed the upper leather was a nice quality and the outer sole is a nice thick (what feels like) rubber (like car tires). I wanted to put them to the test and I deliberately walked on a wet kitchen floor to see if I could possibly slip and fall and I couldn't. I was anchored to the floor. All of my other Alegria shoes have the rocker soles and fits more loosely on the foot, that is what I'm used to, these do not have those qualities. One of the big things that I notice different is the way the arch feels in this shoe. For me, the rocker sole has a more stable arch and the foot remains flat. These shoes have a slightly raised heel and I feel like when I walk, the foot wants to move forward and there is a slight "give" in the arch area of the foot. These shoes have weight to them because of the thick rubber soles and not light weight like the other shoes. They are just beefier shoes. I am keeping them and have worn them every day. In spite of the differences in their shoes, I have never found a good sturdy hiking/working shoe that is as comfortable as this one. Now that I have worn them for a couple of weeks, I have become used to the feel of the shoe and I look forward to putting them on when I head out the door. In the end, I am glad I bought these and decided to keep them. I would never call on my fun and dressy Alegrias to do the same things I will demand of my Cheryl's. I feel confident, these shoes will give me many years of wear.
