First, I wanted to thank those that responded to my thread. I followed your advice and sent the Meindles back to Cabelas. I was poking around in town and found a store in our area (18 miles from home) that just started carrying hiking boots. They carry Merrels, Hi-tec and Vasque. I must have tried on 40 different boots (didn't bother with hi-tec) and found that the Vasque boots fit well and were more comfortable out of the box. Lots of toe room and my heel didn't want to slide with most of them. The boot I'm thinking about is the Zephyr GTX by Vasque. Anyone have any experience with this boot? About the fit. They felt good with wool socks and there was a little room between toes and boot in size 11. In your experience, would you stay with the 11 or would you go with a boot a half size larger? Thanks again for you help!