Customer Reviews Columbia Fire Venture Low Waterproof

Love 'em. Can't keep 'em. Here's why: These shoes do not hurt my bunions at all. Major win. The blue color is fantastic: bright. The cushioning is generous. Excellent tread. But the one drawback with these shoes is the same drawback Columbia boots have: whatever makes them waterproof makes them HOT. All the heat stays inside the shoe. So your foot sweats. I literally was sitting at my desk with the shoes on and after half an hour--well, it's a really good thing I wear socks. I am pretty bummed, because everything else about this shoe was a home run right out of the park.

I am disappointed. I LOVE the color of these shoes. When I walked around in my house to test them out, they felt great. But after a couple excursions in the outdoors, they started to chew up my heels. I don't know if it's that they're a bit smaller than a true 9 or if the back is just weird, but I ended up having to take them off in the car on the drive home because my heels were screaming. I'm trying to find someone who is an 8.5 to buy them off me but thus far, no luck. I bought the water RESISTANT version of the Saucony trail runners that I love and those have worked beautifully so far, albeit not quite as waterproof as the Columbias would have been.

I needed warm shoes with a gripping sole for winter, and these do the trick. I received them just before we had temperatures in single digits, and with a pair of thin wool socks, my feet stayed warm. I am happy with these shoes!