I, too, bought these because the standard ankle bar put too much strain on my feet and ankles. The boots are a good idea, but they appear to only fit taller people with skinny calves. My calves are a bit larger than average but nothing extreme. I am, however, pretty short, so my calves are much lower than an average person, and thus the boots don't fit very comfortably. They actually do make these in a larger size now - wish they would have had those before I spent $100 on these.