Highwood Chelsea Boot

I buy Birkenstock for the quality, fit and the fact that the cork forms perfectly to my feet. But these boots - while perfect in every other way - have PLASTIC insoles that would never form to your feet. The plastic is uncomfortable and hard, so unfortunately I now have to spend another $30 (or more) to purchase cork insoles in order for them to fit like Birkenstocks should. I've been wearing Birkenstock sandals for 40 years and this is the first pair of closed-toe shoes I've tried. It may be the last.

This shoe was easy to put on and had the wonderful and comfortable Birk foot bed. Unfortunately the top front of the shoe cut into my leg. While I have other areas of concern, my feet, ankles and calf are not oversized. Based on other reviews and images of other customer's with skin abrasions I decided not to keep. Disappointing.

I purchased the Highwoods from Nordstrom 14 months ago. I had been wearing a pair of Chelsea boots from Keen which were discontinued. They were still in good shape but started to look a little shabby and I needed a new option for work. The Good: I love a chunky boot, but have a wide toe bed and need really good arch support. In addition, one of my feet is a half-size larger than the other. Docs and Blundstones didn't work for me, so I decided to try these. They are SO comfortable, roomy and easy to get on and off. The leather is lovely and has remained pretty flawless, just a few creases. Overall, I like the way they look - although I sometimes wish they were just a little more stylish. The Bad: A few days ago I noticed a strange rattle coming from the heels of each boot, as if something had come loose. Upon closer inspection, I saw that each boot had an almost identical hole/slit in the exact same spot. I don't think anything has gotten into the heels. I think it actually is something floating around inside. I'm not sure about the holes/slits. If it happened to just one boot I would assume I'd stepped on something, but it's the same on both sides (see pictures). I feel like for the price and Birkenstock brand, these should last much longer than 14 months, especially, since I didn't wear them at all for 5-6 of those months. I wore my Keen boots for 4-5 winter seasons and they're still in pretty decent shape for every-day wear. In fact, I just took the insoles out of the Birks and put them into my old Keens and think I'm going to start wearing those again - at least for casual (not work) purposes. In any case, if someone were to give me another pair of these, I'd take them! I just don't think they're worth the money if they won't last.

I loved the look of these boots, better than Birds Stalon, but it was too wide. They are a shiny black and slighter taller than the matte black Birk Stalon Chelsea boot. Even though it says womens B fit on Nordstrom site, it's not a Narrow Fit style by Birkenstock. Only comes in Regular fit. Had to return because it was too wide, but was sad, because they are so cute.

This might be a great fitting boot but I can’t vouch for it because it’s not the right size. Nordstrom says it’s a “B” (it’s not) and they say all women’s Birks are B width (men’s are supposedly D) and that B=Narrow. Birkenstock widths are not gendered—there’s just Regular and Narrow. Regular has a little outline of a foot on the footbed. For Narrows, it’s not an outline; the little foot is filled in/solid. The boot that arrived is Regular width (which Nordstrom considers a D). But the listing says it’s a B. Wrong size. In Birks, my husband needs Narrow; I need Regular. Very frustrating that nearly all Birks at Nordstrom come only in narrow for women and regular for men.

I found these incredibly uncomfortable. I wore them around my house for less than a minute before deciding they would never work for me. They were super hard and stiff, providing no cushioning and jabbing into the top of my foot and the back of my calf uncomfortably. I ordered my normal size, 40EU, and these were a little too narrow through the forefoot.