I've worn steel toe boots all my working life, I'm a mechanic working with heavy equipment. I still have all my toes, my biggest problem with boots is the break-in time. I tried these on in a local store so knew my size before ordering. What I received was exactly what I tried on in the store. These boots are lighter than standard steel toe boots but I feel my toes are adequately protected. The break-in was so much quicker with these boots, my feet never needed a break from them during that time. I've only had them for a month but they look to be quality made and I expect them to last for several years, I confess that I'm hard on boots so for me a couple is a good amount of time. They are comfortable and fit perfectly, I will be buying these from now on.