These boots are cute, and that's important to me. These were the first Western style boots I've ever had, and these looked like I expected and had a tiny bit of tread which apparently is unusual on cowboy boots. Which means in the normal ones you slide. And if you slide without control, you die. Or at least fall down and hurt your butt and skin your knee on a rainy day so your pants get wet and yay it was muddy too. Yes, I bought another pair of Frye's at the same time and had problems with the smooth bottom. But these have a little bit of tread on them, which is nice. What I didn't know about cowboy boots is that the inside is the most painful uncomfortable thing in the world. You will need shoe inserts, or actually new insoles, as these are completely hard and flat on the inside. I don't care if it's historically accurate, I think there should be a tiny bit of padding on the inside. Cheap fashion boots have a slightly padded inside, why not expensive boots? However, the construction is great, and I can tell these will last for a very long time. (New to this style, not new to being able to identify quality leather shoes.) There is a heel but you don't feel it much and it is much better for horseback riding than tennis shoes or fashion moto pleather boots or what have you. Overall, a good life-beyond-just-riding boot unlike some other smooth bottomed Frye styles, good for rainy days, casual Fridays, and visiting the countryside without feeling freakishly overdressed. It is also highly amusing and admired when visiting foreign countries, I get a lot of &#34;this is what I always imagined Americans look like!!!!,&#34; so that's kind of fun for me.