The primary purpose of a pair of these boots is to keep the water out and your feet dry. Anyway, that water can find its way into your boots not only defeats that purpose but can turn a pleasant walk miserable. One of the most common ways this happens is that the rubber near the two of splits.
Typically only an issue with cheaply made rubber boots, this can also occur if you repeatedly twist a stiff boot in the same direction. To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, think carefully about how you plan to use your footwear, and the types of motion that these activities require.
For example, gardening requires a lot of up and down movement, so you can expect to be flexing your toes quite often. If this is what you will be doing, find a pair that has a lot of extra give to the material or check the models of the best gardening shoes. If all you will be doing is walking, you probably don’t need to think about this at all.
Some rubber boots leak because of design flaws in the seams. If this happens to you, contact the retailer asap to see if you can get a refund. Another way that boots can get wet is through the top. This is more of an issue with ankle-high boots, but it can also be a problem with unusually wide boots for rain. Try to find comfortable rain footwear, yet snug against your leg to make sure water won’t come in from above.
Besides the issues of non-waterproof boots, the also major problem that can be found with these types of shoes is a difficulty when putting them on or taking them off. Usually, this problem is rooted in a too-tight space around the ankle when moving your foot through the boot. Sometimes this can be solved by moving up a shoe size, but that doesn’t always work and can make the shoes fit worse.
Typically, this problem is only an issue while the shoes for rain are being put on or taken off, and has no reflection on how comfortable they actually are. Therefore, for some, this issue is not actually that problematic and can be tolerated. However, easy on and off action is one of the main draws for rain boots. If the boots you like have this problem think carefully about how important slip-on shoes are to you.