This was my first foray into trail shoes. I have been using hiking boots all of my life but i wanted to try these out to see if using a lighter shoe would be better. It certainly helps with speed as I felt lighter and hiked faster than I normally would even though the terrain had lots of elevation gain. I did have a little trouble keeping them cinched up, though, but I believe that this was just part of the breaking in period. As I hiked, they started to feel roomier in the toe box and I noticed a lot more movement of my foot within the shoe. I did buy 11.5 W shoes and I wore compression socks and thick wool socks with them but I did not expect to have some much room in them. I am 5'10" and weigh 224 lbs, so I am not a lightweight hiker. I put nearly 16 miles on them in the past 2 days and they have held up well. I wasn't carrying a pack so there was no extra weight. I'm not sure if trail shoes are right for me over long hikes or with more weight on my back since I really need more ankle support. I see lots of YouTubers doing ultralight thru hikes in these shoes so I know they can be used for this purpose. I might have to adjust my hiking style to adapt to these shoes but I'm still undecided if I would use them for this purpose. They are fine for local day hikes but long distance hiking in trail running shoes might not be what works for me. They do seem to have plenty of padding and were extremely comfortable, which I liked, but I might have to get used to using a shoe that is considerably less sturdy than a leather mid-rise hiking boot. I am going to try to build up my ankle strength as I think that might be part of the issue. My Merrell Reflex leather hiking boots are broken in and are very comfortable and are extremely durable so I am not ready to stop using them yet. Overall, the shoe is great!