Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Portland Boot Lace Up

Runs big size down a full size from athletic shoes.

MOST COMFORTABLE GREAT CRAFTSMANSHIP GREAT PRICE GREAT QUALITY

For blazing a trail through a cold and windy city like New York. Leaves no possibility uncovered. Verified pioneer gear.

The Portland lace up boots have been great purchase. Right out of the box the fit and finish have been spot on. I had little to no break-in period which since I am on my feet all day long walking on concrete. I would definitely recommend these boots.

Beautiful craftsmanship with sturdy thick leather.My wife and daughters all said they're the prettiest boots I have.I bought 1 whole size down from my tennis shoes and the boots fit perfectly.

I'm excited to review these because I think LL Bean has something pretty special here. I do think there are some asterisks to the 5 star rating, but feel like docking stars for them is silly. For one, a real home run with this sole. Vibram created something that feels every bit as stable and grippy and reliable as expected, but with some serious, almost running shoe pop to them. You won't feel propelled forward or anything like that, but jumping, climbing, even running, feels really good here. That sole is coupled to a boot that looks great in person. Seriously, fantastic design. The leather is light without actually feeling thin. The footbed is soft without feeling vague. The toebox is roomy enough that my toes can splay out properly, but without going full barefoot/duck style. My main gripe would be: so, D rings on a boot are super useful. But these are really only D rings in shape only. There's more to them, usually. Proper D rings allow for laces to fly through quickly. They dangle, they move, they facilitate quick lacing and let you dial in your fit really well. These are static and don't help even a little bit with lacing. It's hard to make the boot lace exactly the way you want them. Too lose or too tight is basically the only two options, and that's frustrating. These rings do hold the laces well... enough to cut them a little bit. Nothing crazy, and it's sort of expected on a boot at this price point. More pressingly, I believe they're made of zinc, not steel - so I do have a feeling that when these boots encounter their first durability issue, it'll be here. I wish these were true stitch-down boots. These are glued *very* strongly, with no loose pieces at all out of the box - but I wish I could count on repairing/resoling these. But I can't complain too much here. I'm a boot nerd and I think these have a good chance of staying together a long, long time. Stitch-down would probably make these too expensive, but a man can dream. I think the pull tab is perfectly sized and the tab on the tongue is a bonus, I definitely like having it there. All in all, a real win for LL Bean. The boot isn't without it's frustrations. But I think these are so well made and so comfortable, I really don't mind.

Very comfortable to walk in or wear to work. They only took a few days to break in. Ordered a half size smaller than some of my other shoes and they fit great!

Feels and looks well made, durable and comfortable, even through the break in period. Nice boots.

LL Bean is Grrrrrrrreat. I am a big person and they take good care of me . If something doesn't fit they exchange no questions asked. I brag about this company.

Very comfortable boot with good padding above the ankle. Stylish and good value for the price.

Very nice boots. Well made and comfortable. I've been looking for a solid hiking boot for a good price like this for some time.

Love the look of these boots. I have to admit, they will need some breaking in (read blisters), but the quality of construction makes it worth the sacrifice. Already got a compliment the first time I wore them.

These are great but run big and don't match the pics. To start I followed the size recommendations on the page and ordered my normal size 10. I'm almost always a size 10 in any shoe, maybe a 9.5 in some larger boots but never a 9. Well I had wonderful help from customer service and they sent me the 9 to try before sending anything back and the 9 fits perfectly. I would've never guessed I'd have to drop down a full size but here we are. My only other issue is that the brown finish does not look like the photos. There is no color lightening or worn look to the finish. That being said I can see how they will easily take on some nice character after wearing a few times so at least they'll be personalized lol. I would prefer to know that they were solid color before ordering because why not show what they actually look like? Either way happy in the end and many thanks to the fantastic support and will probably snag these in black too. Here's some pics of what they look like out of the box

I purchased a pair of these boots for myself and my son and both were too large even though the reviews said they were normal size. I loved the look and feel of the boot and returned both pairs with the intent of reordering a smaller size but my size wasn't available. I did reorder a pair for my son and he loves them. He's been on one hike with them and said they were very comfortable right out of the box. I'm a size 10 and needed a 9.5 and my son is a 12.5 and ordered a 13 but needed a size 12.

Excellent boot, well built. Broke them in over 7 days visit to NYC. Walking 16,000+ steps a day. Works well with jeans of any color, and matches to all my shorts, sweaters and jackets (I mostly dress in shades of black, white and gray). Highly recommend

Love the boots but i wish it had a side zipper and also disappointed they were made in China I think if it's LLBean brand they should be made in USA

I am usually a 11.5/12 depending on the shoe or boot. I got an 11.5 size I saw reviews mentioning they run large. The 11.5 were still wayyy too big for me. Had to return and will be going another size down when I get them again.

These boots look good! With jeans. With cold weather lined clothing. They look good! The sole has sufficient traction for light snow. I've worn them with both mid weight and heavyweight hiking socks and they kept my feet and ankles warm when the temperature dipped into the mid teens. Just a little snug in the toe, but not pinch and blister snug. Did I mention how good these boots look?

Getting more comfortable with a little break in time. Howeverthese boots get scuffed and marred very easily. I constantly need to use the bean boot wax to keep them looking nice.

I am a 10.5, I bought thick boot socks and an 11, it feels like a 13. My feet slide all around inside these boots. Definitely can order at least a half-size down even with thick wool socks. I am returning for a 10 to try. The construction is solid, but so solid you definitely need to break these in to not get your feet destroyed.

I purchased size 13s -- I normally wear 13 in athletic shoes and actually 13.5s in some Danner Military Surplus boots -- however these are way large. Toes had dance room size space and the my heel would not stay in place. Since the boots use sturdy leather I could not get them tight enough to make them fit. The leather looked good but was sturdy -- lace hardware appeared sturdy with the top two have speed lace and holes which I have never seen before. I returned them since I could not get a fit I though would work -- and since they do not offer 12.5 I have not replaced -- I am leary of 12s fitting but maybe they would.

They are very nice and well built. However, they are going to require a long break in period

My problem with boot was with lacing, could not pull "tight" above ankles. Boot also rubbed through socks around ankles.

way too big. sized down one size due to other reviews, but likely needed to size down two sizes. good looking boot and seemingly good quality, just way too big. returned and got some Danners.