I'm a Plant Engineer for a forging company in Texas. I've purchased Timberland Pro boots back in the '90's, but for the last 10+ years I've been going with Wolverines (specifically the McKay boot). After trying on these Timberland Helix boots at the local store, I decided to order from Amazon because of the better price. I tried the boots on last night: they fit well (I bought a 10-1/2D), feel excellent, look good (for now :) and are light.<br /><br />This morning as I'm walking into the plant, I can feel something sharp stabbing the inside of my right heel. I get in my office, take the boot off thinking there is something that I dropped in there, but there's nothing. At closer inspection, there is a sharp object protruding from the footbed at the inside right heel. When I press on it with my finger, it has a spring to it, but it's fairly rigid and my heel does not apply enough pressure to deflect it.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this appears to be a manufacturing defect. I'm very, very disappointed in this. I've ordered several of the Wolverine McKays from Amazon and never had any issue whatsoever. I've called my wife to bring me my old (year and half) boots so I can package these up and send them back. I'm not planning on trying another pair (the fact that you have to return it, wait on another - just irks me to no end).<br /><br />In manufacturing, sometimes there are defects in your products - no different with us. We deal with internal rework and scrap all the time, but what we try to mitigate most is external rework, and worse yet, external scrap. These shoes are scrap and I'm not wasting additional time, money and effort by ordering another pair, hoping that the quality control is right.