Wool Runner Up Mizzle Sneaker

Sizing not the same as my 4 former Allbirds Woollies. I have ALways bought size 10. These felt like size 10 mens! But the tag said 'Womens 10". Wish I had a 9. 5. instead. Also the instep at the beginning of laces seams was very tight. It hurt. These anomalies had never happened in my former purchases. What Happened?!

I bought these last minute for a trip to Ireland. Have thought about Allbirds for years because they are wool but thought they are kind of clunky and not very stylish. With the constantly changing and wet weather in Ireland, I thought they would be perfect. In some ways they were; they were the only shoes I wore out and about every day that we were there. Kept my feet dry, were comfortable for both walking around the city or modest hiking in the country. Biggest disappointment was the sizing. I ordered a 9 (have never worn larger than that in shoes, but for athletic shoes I size up half a size). Apparently my right foot is slightly longer than my left as both feet were virtually touching the end of the shoe, but on the right it was feeling smushed. I had planned to wear warm wool socks with these in Ireland but had to wear thin socks so that they fit. I hadn't allowed enough time to exchange the size. So I would definitely recommend sizing up a half size, particularly if you want to wear warm socks with them. I did wear them with no socks one day and they were pretty comfortable.

I have several pairs of Allbirds and was expecting to like these as much as the others. But for some reason they looked clunky and odd on my feet. The thick round laces didn’t help. So I returned them and got dark blue Tree Pipers instead, which I really like. The return process let me choose a replacement pair, and refunded the difference. That was really nice, because the replacement shoes arrived so quickly.