The shoe's tongue is part of a thin stretch fabric that wraps over the top & side of the foot and sewn to shoe sole. The tongue pushes downward when putting the shoe on unless a concerted effort is made to hold the tongue up  (also made difficult due to a thin short tongue). The shoe (and Salomons generally) runs a half-size small. Aside from the shoe itself the bigger problem is it ships out of Great Britain (not disclosed on the site) and a return is complicated since it requires international shipping and custom forms. The company does not provide a postage paid return label. The company will reimburse $22+ of the shipping cost which cost me $27+. In fairness, the company communicates quite well.<br /> I love Salomon shoes but this is the exception.