Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Snow Sneakers with Arctic Grip, Low Lace-Up

These shoes are effective at reducing slipping on wet ice. I had trouble with the heel collar being too high and stiff. After 12 miles of walking they rubbed my side ankle bones raw. Installed heel cups and will try again. Should be good with that modification.

These shoes check all the boxes for a great winter shoe. Just one Big problem, they are cut too high around the ankle bone. They cut into my ankle and left a blister. They will be going back!

I bought this shoe primarily for the Vibram Arctic Grip sole. My shoe size is 9.5. I always get a 10 for a hiking shoe. The 10 here was too narrow in the toe area. I tried a 10.5 but it was too big. It is waterproof. Another reason I bought it. If it fit I'd love it. A beautiful and well constructed shoe. I hope LLBean will have a greater variety next winter with the Arctic Grip sole.

Dear LL, these are fine boot/shoes. Why is the tounge so short? It digs in the ankle. I put them on and compared the to every other shoe I own and the tounge is about an inch shorter. Fix it and you have a 5.

I want to preface this by saying that 9.9/10, LL Bean knocks it out with the quality of their products. I sport many of their brand jackets, sweaters, socks, as well as Bean Boots. I really wanted to love these snow sneakers, particularly with a labrador who requires walking several times of day, regardless of the elements. As other reviewers have stated, the clearance on the ankles leaves a lot to be desired. I heeded advise to be patient, and to break them the sneakers in. Even still, after several weeks of wearing, it had advanced to the point where I felt physical pain wearing. I will say from a sizing perspective, the length and width were perfectly fine. Only the ankle clearance was problematic.

These shoes check all the boxes and look great on paper. They are narrow and cut into your ankles. They are just uncomfortable! I will be returning.

These shoes have a very long break in period. Make sure to wear them around the house and office for a month before taking them on the trail. You will need the help of a walker the first two weeks then you can transition to a cane for two weeks and the walk almost normally.

right side of shoe rubs against foot below ankle bone. This chaffing has continued after wear shoe several times. I must try to insert pad to improve comfit. Perhaps the wider fit would work better.

The eyes (where the shoelaces go through) tear the laces each time I loosen or tighten my shoes.

These are hands down THE most uncomfortable shoes I have ever worn. I had these on for several hours and could not wait to take them off. Horrible beyond description. It is a poorly constructed shoe - ill-shaped. They rubbed my ankles. I've never worn any shoe that did this! And I can't even give them to Goodwill. I won't be buying any more shoes from L. L. Bean!!!!

THE SHOES ARE PRETTY NARROW AND THEY ARE SO STIFF THAT THEY RUB YOUR ANKLES RAW.

I bought these shoes after reading several reviews in which people were returning them becasue of the high ankle cut which rubs hard against the ankle..Wow, were they right? I bought these to take to Montana and snowmobiling. I couldn't walk more than 5 minutes before my right ankle was in pain as these shoes just cut into your your ankles. I took a chance and I was wrong. This company has known about this defect for years but they do not change. Be forewarned...these are painful shoes to wear.

premature wear only weeks into wearing these snow sneakers

I usually get a 10 1/2 or 11. The 10 1/2 boot was short and a little tight, so the length of the boot runs just on the short side. The really bad news is the back quarter of boot has an extremely uncomfortable rub on the ankle (low lace up model). I tried loosing and tightening, but that made it worse. As a comparison, I measured against a competitor's boot and the low spot below ankle was 5/8 inch higher on the LL Bean. This put it right into the ankle bone. It's going back!

These are so narrow why aren't you offering these in wide?

I am a women and I often buy men's shoes because the regular width is the equivalent of a women's wide width. I bought the Men's Snow Sneaker and tried them on as soon as they arrived. The length is good, but these are narrower in the toe box and the instep than a women's regular width! It is like putting my foot into a vise, as though they are a child's size. How could this be? I thought I was spending all this money on a quality product. I rarely buy LLBean products because they are so expensive. It is shocking that their shoe sizes would not track with industry standards. Back they go.