I will say that the each person I talked to at the Rocky customer service was polite and spoke English. I believe these folks are in Ohio. They were pretty much got stuck on the receipt end of it and I'm sure they were aware of the 6 month waterproof warranty but didn't make me aware of it. I thought they carried a 1 year warranty. I do think that if I had a receipt, even in the 11th month, they may have replaced them. They also told me to try and call the DePere Rocky outlet store as another option to get them replaced.
It was the person at the outlet store who explained the warranties, told me waterproof doesn't mean you can stand in water, explained the difference between Gortex and Rocky waterproofing, and recommended silicone spray. The difference is the gals in Ohio work in a call center and are hired for there telephone and computer skills, and don't know much about the boot. They're trained by scripts, not experience. The scipt for worn out souls must be send new ones. The person at the outlet store is trained to sell boots. To sell them you have to know about the boots. This person obviously knows about the boots. He knew that you can't stand in water with them no matter what it says on the boot. lol I'm sure he was thinking,"Dude, they're made in China, what did you expect? Let me sell you some Gortex."" lol
Anyways, I've learned a lesson or two and hope others learn from it to. It's probably not just Rocky Boots pushing the definition of waterproof and it's your toes at risk. I don't know if Gortex is any better or worse than the Thinsulate or one company any better than the next. Clues are the fine print in warranties. 6 month waterproof? Beware. 1 year warranty? Beware. Take a look at product care before you buy. I don't recall anything about spray on waterproofing needed, but I'll know to look for it next time. I know now to take better care of my boots and if you'd like to save your toes, take good care of your own boots. Leaves me with the question, what kind of silicone spray is oderless enough to bow hunt with?
Maybe by complaining they'll all have to change the industry labels and the deffinition of waterproof not to include boots that have to be re treated to stay waterproof throughout the life of the boot or any clothing for that matter.