Customer Reviews L.L.Bean 8" Bean Boots GORE-TEX®/Thinsulate™

I was a little worried because of LL Bean advice to buy a size down, but then some reviewers stating buy regular size. I am size 11; bought size 11. The exterior of the boot is bigger than my foot (bigger than a usual shoe would be). However, the interior is OK. A little loose w/ light socks; fine w/ heavy socks. So, it is true that the Gortex / Thinsulate lining does make the shoe smaller. I think a 10 would have been way too small. Maybe buy a 1/2 size down if going to wear with light socks; (I don't think they sell 10.5) As for the boot themselves: very warm! The only thing I don't like is that they are VERY STIFF! I have been wearing them to break them in, but I think that is going to take years of occasional wear. They are also a bit heavy. A bit clunky to wear while driving. But, I like them for what I bought them for: warm & waterproof

These boots are as warm and waterproof as I was hoping, but do run 1/2 size large.

I expect these boots to last me a long time. I'm buying them for my retirement to a snowy climate and envision myself shoveling the walk with them or trekking around on my 5 acre "spread." I normally wear a 9 E (extra-wide) so length was good but the fit a bit narrow; still wearable with socks so I am keeping them. I haven't tried them out in the elements yet, but the quality looks like what I expect from this company. I hope I get 15 years out of them like another reviewer did.

I owned a pair of these boots for 15 years. I bought them when I was in High School and lived in New Hampshire. I loved them and a certain unnamed individual in my family borrowed them two years ago and lost them. Even though North Carolina doesn't get much snow, I missed them for the few slushy yucky weeks out of the year and after one year of being grumpy I broke down and bought a second pair. My only complaint is that I wish they were pre-broken in. I hope it won't take long. My 15 year old pair was perfect! I have medium to wide feet and wear a 7 1/2 to 8. I bought size 8 wide and am happy. They fit well with thick socks.

Apparently there is a sizing issue. I ordered these for my daughter in law as a birthday present. She has the plain Bean boots and we ordered the same size. These are too small. YOu would think they would size allowing for the insulation. We are ordering a larger size, but with the backorder won't have them for this year.

Good boots-but I am glad I ordered wide because even the wide seems a little narrow when I wear thick wool socks for winter outdoor use.

I bought my boots at the beginning of the winter. I wanted to love them and I like the fit, but my feet are always a little damp. It's like the Gore Tex is never dry. They have felt like this since the beginning.

I so wanted to love these timeless classic LL Bean boots but alas even ordering down a size they were still too large. I would have reordered but I ended up going another direction.

I was really excited to get these, but they just didn't work for me. 2 diff sizes and they were too big and too small at the same time. I have narrow, size 11 feet in boots and the 10 med was too narrow, but the right length and the medium 11 was the right width, but too short. Doesn't make sense. I gave up because I don't want to keep paying for return shipping.

Unfortunately I received a pair with a small defect. The customer care was great though, the manager was quick to send a replacement pair (and return label) so we don't have to deal with a refund. Unfortunately I had some other size related issues with the boots. The width of the boot bottom was perfect but the length was a bit off for me (about a half inch wiggle room, with thick socks) my regular size is a 7. The fit around the leather top of the foot portion was too loose feeling for me, even with the laces completely tight. My heel and ankle kept sliding up and down which I found to be very annoying. It seams to lack ankle structure, the leather just smooshes down (not sure if that is due to the boot style or the fit) and I find that to be a little uncomfortable. On the plus side, I do love the way they look and they seemed to be quite warm for the short amount of time I wore them around the house. Hopefully the replacements will be better!

Keep my feet dry. Lining provides extra warmth, though my feet and toes still feel the chill if I submerge them in snow. In the top right corner of the boot where the leather seam and lining meet, the boot cut my leg. I have to wear them with thick high socks to avoid rubbing there.

I am a true size 8 medium/regular width. I purchased a size 8M boot. With light weight socks on these boots fit more like a size 9. I'll return them to a local store that is about an hour's drive away and try on the size 7. I was also disappointed that I was sent someone else's return. The tape on the box had already been cut and the boots were not wrapped with the plastic sheet inside. The left boot appeared to be a second, as in quality. It felt like there was bunched fabric sewn into the inside at the large toe, and the rubber on the outside front toe area of the boot was dull, not shiny like the right boot. I'm hopeful the smaller size will fit and the quality of both boots at the store will match.

These boots are stylish and warm. However, there is very little padding at the ball of your foot. Therefore, wearing them is a little tough on an older person's foot and it isn't wise to wear them to walk 3 or 4 miles. A short trip to the store is fine. By the way, like another purchaser, I purchased a 9, which is my size. It was humongous. I then purchased an 8. It feels fine but the smaller size is likely causing the pad of my foot to not hit the pad of the boot in the right place, as mentioned above. There must be something wrong with the mold for the size 9s at the factory.

These boots seem to be amazing quality and I so badly wanted them to work! Unfortunately, they didn't fit. The 9s were a touch too small/narrow and the 10s were massive. I wish these came in half sizes. For the price, I couldn't justify keeping the 9s to see if I could wear them in. Please make half sizes!

These are attractive, well-made boots, and good on rainy days,. However I'm finding that they are not as warm as my old Stormchaser boots (which leak after 10 plus years) and not as comfortable - they don't have enough cushioning under the foot. I'm planning on exchanging them for new Stormchasers. I changed to this boot because I liked the rubber going all the way around the lower portion of the boot, whereas in the Stormchasers it only goes part way around.

Bought this for boot for my wife. She wears a 7.5/8 in sneakers so, as recommended, we ordered a 1.5 sizes down which is a size 6. The length of the foot of the boot was okay but the problem was in the ankle/shin area where the tongue of the boot is integrated with the tube of the boot. There is a fold of material where the lateral edges of the tongue is connected to the boot. This makes the boot stiff at those areas and makes it uncomfortable when the laces are tightened. So, unfortunately, it looks like these will be returned. Other than that, the craftsmanship appears to be top-notch.

I was surprised to see the stitching on these shoes I bought for my daughter. There is a spot in the upper to lower stitching that appears to be loose, separating, with glue leaking from the stitching. We can't tell if it is defective and will leak or is cosmetic only. Either way, disappointed in these boots and will likely return them.

I had to send them back for an exchange due to the interior sole not meeting the edges and my toes hang over on the inside. Uncomfortable from the start. Hopefully the new pair will fit correctly and I will be in love.

As everyone know, these are well crafted boots, but I decided not to keep them for a few reasons. A proper winter boot needs a layer of insulation in the sole between the foot and the ground. These appear to be the same rubber frame size that is used for the regular boot, so there is not enough room for insulation. The thinsulate lining may help some but it is thin and a bit textured and scratchy. The insole is hard and so I found it not toe-friendly unless I would wear thick socks. Like the other reviewer, the wide version is a bit too wide in the ankle where most people don't need it. More depth in the toe box would allow customers to add a cushioned insole for more warth and softness. The boot felt best with the Bean boot socks. i wear a size 8 and the 8 wide may have worked but pushing off against the hard insole was irritating my toes just walking in my living room. Boots feel best when they are soft inside, not hard. This winter boot needs its own, deeper rubber foot base to make room for adding layers of warmth and cushioning that customers could add themselves if there were room to do so. Maybe replacing the existing insole would help, but I decided to forego that and just return because there's not much room to work with.

I don't think the thinsulate / rubber combination is the best for those of us who get cold feet easily if the temperature is below 32F, and I've tried them with two layers of wool socks.

Bean Boots have been a family and friends favorite forever. But L.L. Bean is missing an opportunity by not offering the Goretex/Thinsulate Lining in some of the other colors for women. Women are more likely to suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, which causes their extremities like hands and feet to get cold and go numb much faster, and is often painful...I know this personally. Having the option to get your favorite boot and still be warm is a must.

I bought these boots last year and they were backordered. I waited into the spring for them to arrive. When I finally was able to wear them I found them to be huge. I have big/wide feet but did as others suggested and sized down by one size. Still they were enormous. I wore them a couple of times with varying socks trying to get them to work and they never really did. I found it difficult to drive in them. Im disappointed, They are expensive and it feels like Im stuck with them as I have worn them but only 2-3 times.

I purchased these to replace the LL Bean Thinsulate Boots, and ordered based on sizing down like they instructed, just like the ones lined with Thinsulate. Those fit perfectly. These were SO TIGHT! I have to exchange for my normal size.

After waiting months for these (they were on backorder a long time), I finally got my boots, and because they are so popular I guess I expected them to be perfect in every way. I found them to be narrow, so that I can't fit my toe warmers in them. I need to wear thick socks because they are very stiff around the tongue area, and they dig into my legs around the ankle. The lining is a rough, scratchy material that sticks to your socks so that when you pull your foot out, the whole lining comes with it. We have similar boots by other brands that have a soft fleece lining, which feels much nicer. I was hoping these could be the boots I could just pop on to run out without putting more sock layers on. That said, they are certainly waterproof, seem to be warm, and with the triple stitching will probably hold up for many years. The company was very good at staying in touch about the backorder, offering apologies, and even sent a small gift. Maybe after they break in awhile I will like them better.