Birks are my favorite! I have a pair of thong style sandals that I purchased in high school.....wow, more than 15 yrs ago. I need to take them in to get recorked. I also have a pair of Birk hikers that I've even taken snow-shoeing. They were a bit more than what I was planning to spend on hiking shoes at the time but so worth the extra expense. They were comfy right off the bat and I have never had any blisters in them. Very, very good value too. None of my other hikers lasted more than a couple of years, these I've had for maybe 5 years. Too bad they decided to drop the hiking line.