text: I loved these shoes at first. They were fairly comfortable and seemed pretty rugged. However, on the past few hikes I've gone on, I've started getting increasingly painful foot pain on the balls of my feet. I stopped and checked the soles of the shoes---they were SUPER soft!! I don't know what happened...when I first got these, the soles were sturdy and protective. Now they are absolutely terrible...I can feel every rock and by the end of my hikes I'm in a lot of pain. I'm very unhappy...they're still fairly new, too...I've had them about two months, gone on around 8 6-7 mile hikes, and now I'm not sure I can wear them anymore. My tennis shoes would provide more protection than these at this point.