Angie, I'm late here -- so sorry. Am mostly off the forum for a few weeks due to work. And I haven't read all the comments. But first -- I am so sorry!! SOOOOO frustrating!!

AND, I also had to laugh, because I could have written a post with the same title this week! Not due to waterproofing issue, but because my favourite Aquatalias (the Gail, in Finds) split a seam for no apparent reason!! They are out for repair as I write. I have no idea what went wrong.

Anyway, back to your boots. First, I would say that slush is really different from rain or dry snow. If you go back a few years to my annual footwear complaint posts, you will see that many people told me, "Just wear your nice booties" in slushy conditions, to which I could only reply, are you insane????? (Pictorial argument below).

I would not wear my knee high Genna Aquatalias in the conditions below. I would not wear my Aquatalia booties in those conditions, either.

I would wear and have worn my dressier/ more refined Aquatalias in heavy rain and/or dry snow. Without any problem.

I also wore my beloved grey Aquatalia booties in the deepest downpour you can imagine, and one bootie did then (forevermore) leak at the toe seam, but honestly, this was a deluge. And my feet were immersed in deep water for about an hour. I couldn't reasonably complain.

The boots/ booties I wear in slushy or truly wintery awful conditions are my La Canadienne Cally short boots, with a lug sole. They keep me warm and dry no matter what. Brilliant boot. They are not even billed as "winter" wear by the company -- only as "autumn" worthy. But they work for me with wool socks. Their true winter boots are even better.

I also wear my knee high La Canadiennes, which are dressier, but to be honest, I wouldn't be out in the absolute worst weather in those for very long.

Of course I also wear my Ugg Adirondack snow boots for more casual/ gearish adventures. Unfortunately, those aggravate my PF so I have to be careful with them I didn't bring them to Vancouver because I didn't anticipate I'd need that degree of warmth or weather proofing -- and even with our colder than usual winter, I didn't.

I used to also wear my Aquatalia Sweetie motos and again, they handled it, although they did wear out faster than some forum members.'

The key is a lug sole or a substantial rubber sole or a small heel or a platform that gets you slightly above the worst of it.

Anyway...my point is...it might not be the brand...but the STYLE. You need to read the fine print carefully and also be realistic. Boots have seams and zippers -- so no matter what, water gets in if it is deep and if you spend a lot of time in it -- unless the sole is substantial enough to raise you above the worst wet. Dry snow is easy peasy to deal with. Rain is fairly easy unless you are walking in deep puddles. Ice and slush are the worst -- ice due to danger, slush due to feet getting wet.

A refined boot is generally not going to work in such conditions if you are out for any length of time. Fine for going from car to destination but not fine for a 2 mile walk.

Phew. That was longer than it needed to be. But you get it, I'm sure! I'm so sorry for the blisters and disappointment.

Thanks, ladies. Very helpful info.

Oh, Suz. THANK YOU for your very thorough and thoughtful response. EXCELLENT info. Can you believe that your La Cad Callies are your slush boots!

The slush and snow I walked through was worse than your pics - much more snow and slush, and piled up higher. What an optimist I was wearing my riding boots - but had nothing else

Angie, exactly. When I said I wouldn't wear my Gennas in that weather above, I was mistaken...actually, I would. (I thought I'd attached different photos with even worse conditions.) But if the slush were worse/deeper than in those photos, I wouldn't wear them. And that's what you ran into. Seattle's snowmageddon was much worse than Vancouver's this year.

Since you probably don't need a true snow boot for most Seattle conditions, maybe a good rain boot (wellie) would be in order? I'm considering the purchase of same for next year. I can't wear them as a regular item but with the special sock you can get I think they are more comfortable/ warmer/ less sweat inducing.

So sorry for your painful blisters, dear Angie! Ouch. Aquatalia is one of my favourite shoe brands so I’m especially sorry to hear that yours didn’t live up to your expectations.

Suz, again, you're dead right. I find Wellies soon uncomfortable! Maybe things have improved though. I will look in Autumn. For now, Spring has hit Seattle, and my Sperry snow boots are fine for Utah because they clear the snow and slush!!! Maybe I need Bogs? I will start a thread.

I put substantial inserts in my rain boots during the slushy weather and that worked for me. The inserts prevented me from wearing bulky socks so when I replace my rain boots I will size up for inserts and heavy socks.

Angie, you might take a look at Alice & Whittles for wellies. Bogs and similar will, I bet, be too wide/sloppy for your feet, but the A&Ws are quite slim in comparison, and they have a nice clean design. https://www.aliceandwhittles.com/collections/all

Thanks sweet, Mac and Cheryl.

La Ped, you're dead right! I need comfy wellies that are lightweight, neat, narrow and refined. I like the pink with white soles.

Do you think Bogs will be too wide and heavy?

Bogs are pretty light for the warmth they offer, but I find the fit pretty loose -- and I have wide forefeet and wear thick socks with them. I couldn't go down a size, because my toes are right at the end in my regular size, but there is some extra volume throughout. I've only ever worn the Classics, though, and some of the other styles might be cut slimmer.

So frustrating, but at least I've learned a lot just reading the comments, thank you all!

Agreeing about the thicker soles! We get a lot of slush too, and my snowboots have thick rubber soles with a wedge. I've never had issues with soggy feet with them (but don't walk more than necessary in winter).

La Ped, good to know. Thanks for your thoughtful replies.

Suntiger, I need the RIGHT boots.

Say it isn’t so! I thought Aquatalia was the fashionable go-to for wet weather! Sorry to hear your little footsies were cold and what are Greg’s Caterpillars?

Oh how awful! To keep my feet dry in snow and slush, I like LLBean duck boots. Pretty they're not, functional they are.

I also have a pair of cheapo duck boots that I bought at BJs (probably paid no more than $20) at least a decade ago that have remained waterproof through all of winter's worst weather. Go figure.

Angie - have you looked into aigle? It's a French brand of rubber boots that are narrower in the calf and very comfortable. I have a Cobalt blue knee high pair with a crisp white bottom and a sturdy low block heel. Fashionable and practical.

https://www.aigle.com/uk/en/made-in-france