Joan of Arctic Waterproof Wedge II Zip Bootie (Women)

The first time I saw these boots, I was quite taken by the sleek upper offset by the bold outsole lines. Brought a 7.5 pair home with me, my usual size, after trying both the 7 and 8 as I always do, just in case. The clean lines of this design meant these boots paired well with just about everything, and they became my primary footwear for the 2-3 days per week I am out of the house on full-day to-do lists. I loved hearing ice crunch under the hefty rubber outsoles - every bit of that crunching was one more instance of me *not* slipping on the ice anymore. I never did slip on ice again after getting the Joan of Arctic - adore the name, though amused that the name's been recycled through several rather different designs. After the first day of wear, I noticed my feet aching more than normal. I shrugged it off, thinking I was just feeling it more due to staying in last week, though I'd gone several weeks without extensive foot activity before and never felt this odd aching. After day two, the aching became louder. My three days of activity came to an end, and the weekdays of working on the laptop started, as did throbbing in my feet. The next weekend, the ache flared again after the first day - except more apparent, sharper. By the end of the second day that week, I couldn't tell if I was experiencing an ache or a sharp pain. Day three, I started suspecting my Sorels could be the actual issue, because lifting my feet came with pain that made me wince. I went through a month and a half of 2-3 days each week before I was able to replace the Joan of Arctic a month ago. By then, the pain at the top of my Sorels was so unbearable that I cut days short and opted out of days where possible to avoid additional aggravation of the inflamed areas. Even so, my weeks were spent consciously spent easing the pain and walking with a conscious level of effort to minimize excessive movement in avoiding stress to the top of my feet. The pain was so bad that I found myself repeatedly adjusting my leg and foot placement in bed trying to ease pain enough to eventually fall asleep. It's been four weeks since I've replaced these Sorels with a similar style from another brand, and I have not had a single flareup since. I became worried enough after figuring out the issue that I looked up extensor tendonitis to ensure that an experience did not create potential for relapse. My feet are still very much in recovery and make sure I'm aware of that fact every now and then - the reason I remembered at the end of April 2022 to write this review I meant to write when ice and snow were still covering every inch of Minnesota ground. Important facts to note regarding my complaint: My shoe size was correct. The shoe was not too narrow - I did not need a 7.5W. I wore one pair of socks in regular thickness, so there was no excessive bulking to cause this stress point. I don't have an abnormally high foot. The top of the shoe was simply too low. I've owned far too many pairs of fashion, rain, and snow boots over the years to count, including Sorels, and have literally never experienced anything like this. The shoe quality was as expected of Sorel. I adore the sleek styling, and the fact that these defied any sheet of ice was why I kept wearing them while trying to understand what was causing my growing foot pain. One thing for sure now - the next time I ever experience this kind of pain again, I'll walk in flipflops on ice if I have to before subjecting myself to this extensive recovery period again. Lesson learned - the top of my feet are still aching enough for me to consciously register it without seeking to even now.