Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Gumshoe

this is my first pair of beanboots. I am a chef and spend 50 hours a week on my feet, maneuvering slippery, greasy floors. These are the best work boots I've owned in all my years as a chef. They dont slip, super comfy all day, and they clean up easy. Not to mention they work great in the duck blinds on my days off. I wear a size 10.5 shoe with gym socks, and I fit a size 9 Bean Boot. Perfect fit!

These shoes did not come in half sizes and I ordered a whole size larger. I normally take a 9.5 and ordered a 10. I found them a little large. And then the holiday blizzard arrived. I needed these shoes. With a pair of heavy socks, they fit quite comfortably. They were perfect for the heavy snow and slushy sidewalks of New York. They also have good traction on the icy patches. The construction is very sturdy, and they are comfortable. Overall I'm quite pleased with this purchase.

My feet are actually 13B, but given the difficulty in finding shoes that size I generally wear a 12D - including the LL Bean 3-eyelet moccasins and penny loafers I usually wear. Thirty-five years ago - and new to the slush, mush, and mud of Tennessee winters in college - I placed an order for a pair of these Gumshoes (along with half of the freshman class at the school I attended) and after considering all the inputs and assuming I'd usually wear them with at least a pair of wool ragg socks I ordered them in size 13. They were way too big, but after ordering a pair of sheepskin liners with steel arch supports the shoes became wearable - and they're still serviceable to this day although the rubber is cracking and the soles are thin. Fast forward to 2010 and I've just received a second pair. They're a size 12 medium and with the ragg socks, polypro liner socks, and (the same old) sheepskin liners they fit perfectly. Follow the instructions and order them a size smaller than your usual shoes; you'll save yourself the annoyance of wearing these way too big for half your life!

Wear a 10-1/2 B shoe. Purchased a 10 narrow and they fit perfectly with medium to heavy socks.

Excellent footwear. I normally wear 11.5 6E with the addition of an arch support insole. The 11 W gumshoe with arch support insole replacing the insole fits fine and is super comfortable. I'm still wearing the LL Bean boots I purchased 20-something years ago. You can't beat this product.

Incredible - after 38 years going strong. I purchased this pair of LL Bean Gumshoes in 1972, using them in wet, snowy weather in Colorado and daily to clean my hunting dog kennels. The soles are now thin, the rubber faded, but still serviceable with new laces. These Gumshoes were my first purchase from LL Bean. I have been a very frequent customer since. I submit this testimony to LL Bean's exceptional quality and this shoe's long service.

for about nine months a year, I wear my gum shoes for morning walks. It is the lightweight way to keep feet dry when grass is wet with morning dew or last night's showers.

Excellent! These are replacement of same shoe that I owned for 20 years; the rubber bottom finally wore-out. I expect the same longevity from these new shoes. As always, L.L. Bean product quality and customer service is unsurpassed.

My 5th pair of these boots in 55 years appear to be the same high quality that I am used to. These boots double as my everyday winter/spring shoes and so get very heavy use.

This pair replaces a pair I have had many years, maybe 20. They just wore out and it took a long time. The fact that I made a repeat purchase speaks for itself.

As reliable as my first pair which lasted many years. Sorry to see the soles wear out as the uppers were good but worn in.

Have had this model shoe for the last forty years - just bought a new pair - good as ever. Leave the laces loose for slip-on, tighten the laces after if you feel like it.

The gntleman on the floor was a godsend. He was spot on when he stated that the shoe boots ran large. My husband takes an 11 1/2 wide and he actually got a 10 in this shoe. Hubby originally wanted the slip on boot shoe, BUT the clerk showed him how to tie the laces so they were clinched on each side and able to slip on the shoe. A great experience.

I've wanted a pair of these for a very long time! Ordered by your sizing chart and they fit perfect. They are very comfortable and fit great!

The last pair of these lasted some 15 years...looking for the same performance. Excellent fit. Prompt shipping.

This is the second pair for my husband in 35 years (I own 2 pairs myself). They are rugged, durable, and comfortable. The price is reasonable; it's the only around-the-yard/woods foot wear that's worth every penny of its long and useful life. Keep up the quality. By the way, can you make them Labrador Retriever proof? That was part of the demise for the first pair. "Dusty" took its name literally- GUM shoe.

I've owned bean boots for many years and this one is a favorite already. I've had this boot before only in a larger size. Because it fits large and I wear ankle socks, this boot is truely more comfortable in the correct size (one size down). Great boot LL

After many years of use it was time to replace my old gumshoe boots with new ones. It's good to see in a world where what you buy today is not around tomorrow, the gumshoe boot has not changed ! By the way Iam still keeping the old ones !

Fast shipping and love the item the shoes runs BIG..... So be cautious when ordering.

First of all, one should note that this isn't "officially" a waterproof shoe. Nowhere in the description does it say "waterproof," and my online chat with one of the LLBean sales folks confirmed that. To be waterproof, you need to have taped seals. So don't go dunking your feet in half a foot of water expecting to be bone dry. That being said, as long as you keep water below the level of where the leather is stitched to the rubber, you should be fine. I bought these for being out in the rain, since my other "waterproof" shoes, which were leather, got decidedly un-waterproofed after sitting at a football game in the pouring rain for 3 hours. These rubber uppers will really do the trick. Also, the insert of this shoe is very thick and supportive -- and removable, so I can use my own orthotics -- so the shoe is very comfortable. Finally, as others have suggested, make sure you follow the fitting instructions. My feet are an exact size 9, and the size 8 shoes fit perfectly.

I received my Gumshoes about a month ago and I love them, I wear them everyday. Very comfortable and light. I highly recommend these shoes for everyday use. Also follow the instructions on size ordering it's right on the money!

Surpassed all my expectations!!

Excellent value for the money. Great on slippery surfaces.

I love these shoes. It is my first pair. I anticipate that I will wear them year round. They are extremely comfortable.

This review might be of special interest to people who wear orthotics, and/or have very wide feet. I'm a 75-year-old guy living in Oregon's Willamette Valley. As most people know, it's pretty wet out here, especially from late fall through spring. After looking for reasonably comfortable shoes or boots to wear for walking my dog once or twice a day (2 or 4 miles depending on weather), I decided to try these. They're no longer brand new; I've had them for 4 months of rainy weather now. While I will advance various additional review remarks later on, let me say here that they perform their stated function admirably: they keep my feet dry in the rain, and while wading through shallow puddles. My day-to-day shoes are size 12/4-5E, depending on brand availability. I normally wear lightweight casual or semi-dress shoes of known good quality. These will normally have a minimum of 5 eyelets, and usually six. I insert my orthotic into whatever shoes I'm wearing; without them any amount of walking would be impossible. (And, even though I'm aware that all shoe makers recommend removing their own support inserts when using orthotics, I've always had far better results - comfort - by leaving these in along with the orthotic.) This is all relevant in the context of my following remarks. FIT: I was uncertain what size to order, what with my orthotic use, so discussed this with a very pleasant young lady over the phone. It was suggested that I order a size 12W, which it was felt would be wide enough and also spacious enough to accommodate my orthotic. - This proved a perfect fit for me, again while leaving in the shoe's own removable cushion support along with my orthotic. (If I didn't leave in their cushion pad, these shoes might either be too wide or at least borderline so). These shoes have a prodigious toe box (literally wider than my 12-5E shoes), plus additional space! I can see why they easily suggest double socks; these shoes would allow this even for me with my orthotics. SUPPORT: As I'm used to a 5-6-eyelet shoe, these can't possibly provide the lateral support of that footwear. However, these are fully adequate for my dog-walking purposes, which involve either paved walks or graveled trails. I personally wouldn't want to wear them on appreciably sloped surfaces or hills of any real steepness, though. WEIGHT: These shoes are called "lightweight" in several locations. In my opinion, they don't truly qualify for that description, at least based on my own experiences. For instance, compare the weights of my following shoes, all with built-in removable cushions but without orthotics, in sizes given (weights are for one shoe, not a pair): Propet casual, 12-5E: 495 grams Propet semi-dress, 12-4E: 448 grams Bean Gumshoe, 12W: 698 grams For me, they're OK to wear on walks in the rain but I wouldn't choose to wear them for day-to-day use. Maybe this is partly my age, though lifting the extra weight along with somewhat less comfort and stability makes the comparison moot. OVERALL: While these shoes aren't perfect for my full time use, I still give them 5 stars as they perform their function flawlessly; are very well made and show every indication of possibly outlasting me; and have even proved well suited to additional uses such as outdoor work in a wet environment (I found I preferred wearing these to work boots while putting in a 700+ foot, 8 foot tall deer fence around my 1/2 acre vineyard). Highly recommended!