I purchased this boot after trying on the vioz 996 at rei. Since knowone carried the 1006 in store I bought online without trying on assuming the size would match the other 996 vioz model. As you may know it is made for wider feet on a wider last than the 996. Basically it adds 3mm to the width and a larger, roomier toe box. The reason I wanted these over the 996 was that it has Zamberlan's RRS rubber rienforcement toe rand in the front for added protection while being an all leather one piece upper.
Immediately after putting them on I noticed the additional width...roomy but not in an overkill sort-a way. The construction is fantastic, the lacing system was excellent and the comfort level very exceptional. THe forest green color was quite nice, dark and very well done. The gussett comes all the way to the top for maximum water protection and all the hardware bits seemed top notch...even better than my older zamberlans...nice step up. I really liked the laces and the color, a dark blue green, was a perfect fit for the boot.
Unfortunately, to no fault of the shoe, I had to return. Even though the width was fine I noticed the room in the toe box was more than I expected- at this size my toes had a whole playground of space up front...allowing me to fully flex my front toes up before touching the top of the shoe.. I also found my heel slipping just a tad in the heel cup and after wearing them around my driveway for 30min decided it might not be a good fit for me.
I though about returning them for a smaller size down but wasn't sure if it would solve the issue with the heel. Point is the wider last seems to make the size bigger for normal size feet by about .5 inches.
Here is my advice, if you have wide feet the size will be fine.. However, with a larger last almost always comes a bigger heal cup- just make sure your foot doesn't slip around. And if your going at this shoe from a normal size foot then size down .5inches.
Great shoe...actually, amazingly awesome shoe...BUT it really is intended for moderate to EEE wide feet.
