Columbia Women's Newton Ridge Lightweight Waterproof Shoe Hiking Boot

Pros:Boot fit perfectly. I'm an 8.5, ordered an 8.5, and took them to work the next day with no blisters. They are waterproof. Good grip on them.Cons:However, I read a lot of reviews before purchasing these boots and trusted them but my boots did not meet my expectations. I love and trust Colombia, but these boots get extremely hot with a little sunlight. Your feet feel as if they are burning and I often have to put water on them to cool them down. I'm a field biologist working in San Clemente Island and we hike where there's lots of cholla and prickly pears. The cholla went right through my boots! Very painful. The worst part is that this is the only pair of boots I have with me on the island so I have to suffer with them until I get off.

I should have read the reviews more carefully. I came back to re-examine the negative comments and can now see warnings everywhere.Even when sized correctly, the step crease in the top of the boot folds down and touches the top of my big toe, which first creates a painful blister, and then eventually rubs the skin off. I've never had this issue with any other shoe or boot, but it seems like a common complaint for this boot.For me the problem WASN'T immediately evident upon trying the boot on -- it actually took a mile or two of hiking before the pain kicked in, and then it didn't stop. I was wearing perfectly appropriate socks (fancy SmartWool specifically designed for hiking).Had to bump it up to two stars because these would have been perfect for me if not for the toe issue. Love how they look, they're strong, lightweight, great ankle support. Wish I could have been one of the lucky ones whose toes escaped the wrath of the crease. :(

I took a few steps with these boots, and took them right back off, they hurt so much! They bend where the pic is marked, and the way the boots are stitched they have to bend at that place. I wear heavy socks but it still hurt. The distance from the bend point to where the toe starts rounding down is 1 1/4", whereas my bare feet measure 1 3/4" from their bend point to the end of my foot. Add in 1/2" for fitting, and the boots need to measure 2 1/4" in that area. So this area of the boot is one inch too short! I said 'fit as expected' above because the boots felt great standing in them, but actually walking....! I notice in the reviews that this is an old complaint from some women with this boot.

Let me start out with: THESE ARE AMAZING BOOTS and YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THESE BOOTS. These boots held up against all different types of climates and weather and water on my road trip and they still look great! We went to Arizona, Utah, Nevada; the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Zion, Salt Lake. We went through water, dessert, rain, and mud, and these boots held it fine. The only thing we didn't go through was snow, because apparently even though we Californians were freezing our butts off already, the locals said the weather was actually great, and that the colder weather and storms were actually late this year xD.Anyways, these boots were extremely lightweight and required almost no breaking in. My friend had some HiTech hiking boots and she said these Columbia boots were a lot lighter than hers. They were so extremely comfortable and easy to walk in. The size fits as expected if you go a half size up, and walking through the river, it kept my feet nice and dry. I think it would definitely keep you dry, but remember only as far as the shoe goes will it keep you dry lol. They've also got amazing grip. Whether we were on wet stones, or gravelly and sand covered rocks that could easily give way and make you slip or fall they worked amazingly.

After reading reviews, I decided to order a half size up in order to make room for thicker socks. When I tried them on, they were a little bigger than I anticipated and my feet kind of moved around in them. Right away, I noticed the slight pain in my toes from the crease, just as people had mentioned. I ended up going to a sporting goods store where I found the same boot in my regular size. I decided to try them on and right away could tell a difference. No toe crease pain! And they fit perfectly with a medium weight wool sock. They were on sale for cheaper than I could get them on Amazon, so I went ahead and bought them and returned the larger size. I just finished my first short hike in them and they were comfortable from the start!My advice is to get your normal size unless you have wide feet, then I might consider going up a size.

Super pleased with these boots. I bought a size 8, the same size I am in sneakers. I typically wear a 7.5 in other leather non-hiking shoes. They're a little clunky looking around the ankle IMO, but look better than most other hiking boots. They didn't need a lot of breaking in -- I wore them once on a short 2-mile hike in PA and then didn't wear them again until I went on a much longer hiking trip across the Southwest in autumn. Wore them for five days straight in dust, on rock, in soil, in small creeks across the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion, including a few strenuous trails, and they performed amazingly with good traction the whole time. They felt lightweight and flexible. No blisters, no discomfort. I would buy them again tomorrow if anything happened.

I got these initially and loved them. unfortunately, after walking for a bit i noticed that as my toes bent in my stride the top of the shoe would bend and press down on my toes. After a short while i had to go back home and change because my feet hurt so much. They look great and the support is there, but the comfort is not. I hope that they will fit better for you guys.

I broke these boots in a few days before embarking in a multi-day treck through the highland backpacking trail. First off, they're very comfy. Second, they're not water proof. Which leads us to the next part of the story: I set these boots on fire when I placed them a little too close to the fire trying to dry them out after a long day of hiking through the rain. Didn't notice at first, but now the entire top of my boot is melted. Honestly wasn't sure if I'd be able to use them after that, but I had no choice but to try, as I was already a day into the hike with no backup shoes. I pried up the laces and gave em a go. Turns out, melting the plastic made them waterproof. They're ugly as all hell now, but they're more functional than ever. 10/10 would buy and melt again.

I bought these after doing a fair bit of research, these seemed to have good reviews and were within my price range and didn't look hideous. I was so pleasantly surprised, they are comfortable, they didn't hurt, I wore them in before our big camping trip, I got some good hiking socks, and off we went on 16-20km hikes, through mud, rocks, water, by the end, my feet and socks were bone dry and still comfortable, great investment!

Really nice boots, excellent fit size 3, eu 36. Still space to wear thicker socks if needed. Not heavy on feet. Would defo recommend.

I have never had a pair of boots that were so comfortable from day one. Best boots ever

I bought these boots for their waterproof feature unfortunately the rubber on the toe is already separating. I wear these boots every day at work but I expected them to last more than a couple weeks being Columbia.