giro republic lace up shoes

P'raps this could be renamed The Giro Shoes Thread (like the Sidi one)?
I bought the Privateers a few weeks back, and am happy to share info on 'em.

• The shoes generally feel really well made. The soles are ace, and a lot more grippy than my old Dominators walking down stone/metal stairs.
  
• The buckle is a little more fiddly than the Sidi buckle to engage, and the strap itself isn't as burly, so each buckle is more of a two-hand job (fnarr) than my old shoes.
  
• The mesh area on the toe box does leak quite a lot of cool air in when cycling in cold windy weather. I'm guessing they put the mesh there to let heat out, primarily.
  
• The shoe is generally bulkier through the middle and around the heel cup compared to Dominators - I never used to get any heel rub on my cranks, but I'm starting to get it occasionally with these.
  Still, they're so damn comfy that I'm forgiving them that at present.