Hi fellow Nisquallians!
Mine arrived Friday morning and I eagerly tried them on – sheer bliss!
As mentioned previously, I was in a quandary; should I order US size 10 or 11? In the end I went for 11 based upon trying running shoes of size 10 and 11 with thick hiking socks the day before I placed the order.
The 11’s are certainly slightly too big in length and I suspect that an ideal size for me would have been 10½ although my 4E wide feet comfortably fill up the width of the 11’s. My wide fitting feet and painful experience with footwear has taught me to err on the side of slightly too large, unless you can try them on. If the full width of the 10’s were the same as the 11’s then arguably, the 10’s might have done but I didn’t want to risk a return.
In terms of boots, I am more used to wearing stiff hill walking and mountaineering boots so it was quite a novel experience to encounter the delightful, enveloping softness of the Nisqually’s. I wore them inside for a couple of hours and they kind of “disappeared” as they were so comfortable. They are a very easy boot to wear, although you do notice their size and presence!
My feet were very cosy with the thick hiking socks, inner felt liners and the soft leather outer of the boots. In terms of getting your feet in, you can either put the felt inner on your foot then insert the combo into the boot, or leave the felt inner inside the boot and slip your socked foot inside the combo – either way worked fine for me.
In terms of waterproofing, the sole/rand/lower upper is a sealed/bonded unit, with the leather/upper upper stitching at some 7-9cms above ground level so in theory, I reckon that you should be able to splash around in shallow water and keep your feet dry. Long, wet grass may wet the leather uppers so certainly some leather waterproofing treatment would be good, if not just to keep the soft uppers in good condition.
Compared to après ski boots which I saw retailing in the ski shops in Brisbane at around the $60-$70 mark, there is no comparison in terms of build and material quality, so these boots really do seem to represent good value for money. They look tough.
I’m still getting used to the fact that the sole is soft and bends compared to my stiffened sole mountaineering boots, but that is just what I have been used to.
So, thanks again Chris for finding the Nisqually’s; it is terrific to have a pair of sturdy, comfortable, warm and cosy boots that should last many, many seasons.
Cheers
Dennis