I bought these for my husband as an alternative to his clunky/heavy hiking boots. I wanted something that would look passable with shorts by still have good traction. These fit the bill perfectly! He wears size 13 but I ordered size 14, since Columbias run a bit small and he likes extra toe room in hiking shoes. So far, he’s worn them traipsing around Zion and on a few day hikes—which were mainly loose gravel—and they didn't slip. They didn’t require any breaking in time. His only complaint was about the original laces. They were the flat/smooth type that are usually seen in sneakers. They didn’t seem to want to stay tied but that was easily remedied by switching them out for boot laces. These aren’t going to last a decade, like his boots, nor would I expect them to. The trade off is cooler, lighter, more flexible shoes that will have to be purchased more often but we’re okay with that.