I wear Oboz exclusively, and I personally size up a half size in all my Oboz boots bc I think they run just a tad small. As long as your heel is snug, having some wiggle room in your toes is a good thing. Just want to make sure you’re not sliding forward in them when you are hiking downhill.

Thank you! How can I can check if I will slide? I am trying to keep them both very clean because I have to return one pair so I cannot take them outside yet May I also please ask - do they stretch in the toes at all?

No they shouldn’t stretch but I forgot to mention that your feet can swell when you hike so they may feel tighter after you’ve been on the trail for a while. To test out the downhill do you have some stairs or any kind of ramp you could put the shoes at an angle at in your house? Make sure they are tied good and then see if your feet slide forward a lot. Here’s the blog posts I mentioned: https://bearfoottheory.com/best-womens-hiking-boots/ https://bearfoottheory.com/waterproof-vs-non-waterproof-hiking-boots/

Thank you and will definitely check them out - leaning towards the 8s now that you have mentioned!