I really love these shoes. I got them last fall when the heavy dew and the likelihood of rain returning(I live in the Pacific NW) made my Tangas less than optimal. The water resistant membrane does it's job. The bottle yarn will be noticeably wet and my feet stay dry. They're not warm so I stopped wearing them in November and moved into my Mudee Ls. Now that spring is upon us, I've been back in the Howgills since the middle of March. I wear them in all the conditions my life throws at me(pasture, gravel, trails, exposed bedrock, sand) and the only complaint I have re:the lugs is that I sometimes slip when I first step off of wet earth and onto wet tiles or flagstone. But most any shoe can slide in that moment. So I attribute it more to operator error than blaming the shoe. Laces work just fine, tied them once and have never touched them since. Bootie collar is comfortable and keeps the world out. All of my Freets are 43, all of my US sized shoes are 9.5 or 10...Freet calls their 43 a 9US. Regardless, the 43 Howgill is slightly large and I probably would have been fine in a 42. However, because they're spring/fall shoes, I tend to wear socks which helps with the slightly too big 43. I'm also leaving the insoles in, both to help with filling the volume, and to provide insulation from the cold ground. One thing that has not worked for me is the Airmax insole, it kept bunching up under my toes in an annoying fashion. Since I rarely use the Flexile insoles that came with my Tangas I put them in these shoes and the problem vanished. A truly minimal shoe, so comfortable you can forget you have them on. Thanks Freet!
Freet UK
Freet USA
