Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Trail Model Hiker 4 Ventilated Low

Had I read others' reviews, I would not have bought these. The "chemical" smell that others have described is overpowering in the pair that was sent me. The smell is that of formaldehyde, a tanning and specimen preservation chemical. The first morning I tried to wear them, I could smell them as I was having coffee reading the paper. I shall be returning them, and buying the slightly more expensive version of these shoes, to replace their brethren which are giving up the ghost after many, many, many satisfactory miles!

These shoes tend to come unswened at the toe before the sole is used up.

The chemical odor is too much. It has lessened a bit after days in the sun and using a hair dryer. Wear them only outdoors. Socks retain the odor.

I ordered 2 pairs of hiking shoes following previous good experiences with LL Bean shoes. Both pairs arrived with strong chemical odor. One pair's odor is so strong, even after 1 month, that they are unwearable. Shoes with such an obvious stench should never have left the warehouse.

Unlike the great ventilated hiker of a few years back which has given me years of good service, the toe box in this version is simply cut too narrow in the toe box. It's not something you want to wear on a long hike or working on the landscape, when your feet need to have some room to spread the toes or to swell a bit.

I have a wide foot and for years bought LL Bean women's hiking boots in D width and they were wide enough for my feet. Now after returning a pair of women's boots that were too narrow I decided to try a man's size. Both the D and EE widths in men's are too narrow for me. The EE was not much wider than the D width. So I have rated these boots as "poor" as the width has been reduced. It is very disappointing to me as I generally have found the LL Bean hiking boots to be of good quality. I urge LL Bean to revisit sizing with their manufacturer to increase wide size to its former width.

First off, let me say that I have been using these shoes from LL Bean for over 15 years, something like 5 or 6 pair, same size. From the canyons of Utah to the top of Mt. Katahdin these shoes have served me extremely well. Never a problem, never a blister, until this pair. From the very first walk I took in the neighborhood, I developed a heel hotspot. OK I said, new shoes, be careful to break them in. I took them to Hawaii on a HVNP backcountry overnight hike and by the time I was back to my car I had huge blisters on both heels. OK I said, my bad, should have dealt with the hotspots immediately, still relatively new shoes, just need to break them in. So I changed-up my lacing style to reduce heel-lift, changed socks, maybe this would help. Have been wearing them since on day hikes and have well over 100 miles on them and guess what? I am still getting blisters. Both heel cups have small tears in the lining where friction has worn through and these are causing problems. I hope that this is just a one-off and for some reason these shoes were an anomaly. Just be warned.

I had to return them. While length is just barely OK, it fits extremely snugly and too tight at left outside ankle, even with lacing almost completely undone. It rubs enough to promise a blister if I continued to wear them. Lists as regular wide on filter. It's not. I could feel the treads through the sole of the shoe. Interior padding is unacceptable. There's hardly room for my foot let alone a thicker pad. I returned them for credit today, too bad, a nice shoe otherwise.