I've purchased 3 pairs of Bearpaw's of Emma 12" in the last 3 years or so and so far, the latest 2 pairs are the best due to the redesign of the sole. The lst pair I purchased, the sole cracked immediately after wearing them, parts of it actually fell off so, they became unwearable and I spent aprox. $40 but had to throw them away.

The redesign hasn't caused any sole cracking or loosening from the suede boot. There is a slight issue tho. I stepped in my cat's throw up (gross I know) and it got into the deep tiny grooves of the design in the sole. I had to use toothpicks to dig it out because using water & a scrub brush could not reach inside those tiny grooves. It took forever to clean each tiny groove and the toothpicks would break in the process. This was so frustrating!

The sole design is cute but not practical due to the fact that you're going to step in something eventually and if you want to keep the soles clean and not track goop around, you'll need to reach the goop in those teeny grooves. Uggs don't have grooves on their soles (or my pair doesn't) and they're much easier to keep clean. Bearpaw should design the soles so that they can be cleaned easily and so no yucky goop collects inside those teeny tiny grooves.

Edit: Last winter (2017) the soles split on these as well. Even with the new soles, it didn't keep them from splitting. I never wear them outside so, these must be fragile just like the former soles.

I have a pair of Uggs from 10 yrs ago and the soles are just as intact as the day I purchased them. I know they're very expensive but I've purchased now so many pairs of Bearpaw....I could have just bought a 2nd pair of Uggs! Sometimes, quality IS expensive and there's no getting around it ...darn it, it's just the truth.

Just received my second pair of these. I got a yr out of the last pair. You may be thinking that 1 yr is not very long for heavy duty boots. For you, probably. Mine are worn 70 hrs a week and put through hell. I WAS buying the $140Timberlands and Wolverines for years and they only lasted 1 yr also. I have a wide foot and sooner or later it tears the stitching away. These are half the price and almost as well built as Wolverines...almost. If you don’t have to buy a pair every year like me then splurge for the big name brands, they’ll be slightly more comfy but won’t last any longer.

Bearpaw is an excellent, very high quality brand suede winter boot. My last pair held up for 2 winters but the shaft is crumpled and is rubbing against my shins, so I bought this pair of shorter ones this year. The lining is thick, the soles are non slip. It's difficult to imagine buying a different brand after having had, now 3 pairs if I count the 2 I wore out, in this wonderful brand. Be SURE to spray waterproofing on them. If you wear out a certain part of the bottom of your shoes, or more than one spot, like the left side of the heal on one...get a shoe repair guy to put reinforcement pieces on those spots, it's cheap to do and worth it, I needed 2 on each boot, I think the whole deal was $7 2 years ago.