Customer Reviews Ahnu Balboa

I purchased a pair of these and tested them at home, inside on carpet, over a couple of days. Confident that they seemed correct, I took them on a 12 day vacation where we would be doing a lot of walking. Alas they did not work out well. After a day of use I could barely walk - my feet were both sore, and my left ankle developed something similar to tendinitis. I am not sure what it is about the footbed, width and/or pronation of these shoes, but people should test them carefully before committing to them to be sure they will work for your foot structure. Since we were in Spain, I could not find a suitable pair of size 13 shoes to wear instead. I am not sure why Europeans generally do not wear anything larger than a men's US size 12 - as a last resort I ended up buying orthotic inserts. These helped quite a lot, but there was still significant, but tolerable, discomfort. One positive about these shoes I will emphasize, and which was called out as a negative in another review, is the rather large toe box. If you have issues with your toes, I would actually recommend you try these, all the above notwithstanding. I have an issue with one toe that can be extremely painful, and these shoes posed no discomfort in that regard. After calling Zappos and discussing the experience with customer service, I was very pleased to learn I could still return them, as I doubt I would ever wear them again.

Seriously comfortable, stylish with good support and a nice wide toe box. Wider than typical shoes that run small, e.g. Nike, Merrell, etc. Put these shoes on and did not have to break them in. Pleased with the style and noticeable quality in craftsmanship. I typically will wear 11.5 in most shoes, e.g. Asics, Kenneth Cole, but these are a half size smaller than my normal: I tested them out with some wool socks to ensure that they would fit when the weather gets colder. A-OK.

Great shoe. I have flat feet and these are extremely comfortable for walking.

I ordered these shoes right before two weeks vacation in Europe. I was nervous that I would get blisters or they wouldn't be a good enough fit. Of course, prepare better than me, research and test out your shoes earlier than I did. I did mostly city-walking, about 70 miles. Awesome shoes! I did have superfeet insoles and only thing I would recommend is wearing good socks. This probably goes without saying, but I should've bought better socks before this trip. I'm happy with my purchase 'cause I can use these shoes for trail hiking also. I sprayed on shoe/leather protection like scotch guard. Solid durable, great support even without insoles (I tried without insoles too).

Great comfortable good looking casual shoe! I wear them all the time and this color goes with many styles/colors. Solid construction and feel. :)

I have wide feet and usually have issues with having to break in shoes. Sometimes I have to wear a half size larger for the correct width but then they feel clumpy. These shoes fit perfect right out of the box. I am not sure why anyone would say that they seemed narrow as for my feet they almost feel too big. However that is because they felt a perfect fit for my flapper feet (narrow at the heel and wide in the toes). Construction is first rate and I received these on Tuesday after placing my order Sunday night. Way to go, Zappos!

So this is the 2nd pair of Balboa that I've owned. I've had the 1st pair for probably 5 years and they were great from the first time I put them on and are still great, just a bit worn looking, hence the new pair. The new pair look a bit different and felt different when I put them on which made me a bit skeptical. Ahnu did it again, I've been wearing the new ones to work everyday and they are as goog as my originals. I have a stand up desk, so I stand about 6 hours a day. No problem.

i like the variety of textures and colors on this shoe. a word of caution that the photo makes this shoe looker more brown than it actually is in person. there is brown but the suede has more of a tan color than brown. fits true to size.

I bought a pair of these about 3 years ago and and loved 'em. I recently bought two more and couldn't be more pleased. A truly classy and comfortable shoe.

These are the most comfortable shoes I have ever bought. They feel like they were custom made for my feet. I have a fairly narrow foot and these seem to fit better than some of the other Ahnu models I tried on.

Very comfortable shoes. Not recommended for outdoor activity, more of a street shoe. Size and fit are accurate.

I own a three-year-old pair of Ahnu Belgrove that are virtually bullet-proof. I decided to give Balboa a shot, and so far I've not been disappointed. Very comfortable right out of the box. Like my other pair of Ahnu's, the craftsmanship appears to be outstanding thus far. I'm a doctor who is on my feet quite a bit, and the Balboa is comfortable, durable, and professional-looking enough for work duties. Perhaps the only thing I would have changed for the Dark Gray variant is the accent color of the lateral suede straps to make them a little more contrasting against the gray. I suspect I'll get used to it though, and this isn't a deal-killer for me. As always, Zappo's customer service and shipping were fantastic.

I normally wear a size 9 but ordered an 8.5 based on reviews. Still too big all around so I have to exchange. I like the style of this shoe but it's definitely on the heavy side.

Great quality shoe and pretty comfy, but whoever said they run small and/or narrow is flat out wrong. I am a true 13 and sometimes 13s are a little small. These are roomy, especially in the toe box, to the point of being slightly too big. They seemed just a hair big out of the box, but got bigger the more I wore them. Unfortunately it was too late to return them at that point. I say buy a half size down from what you normally wear. Awesome looking shoe and great quality, would just love a 12.5.

A previous reviewer had stated that these shoes were narrow, but I don't find that at all. I have a wide foot and these are plenty wide for me and true to size, and very comfortable.

left shoe arrived with a small cut on the outer side