Put ~20 miles and +/- 2500ft elevation behind me this past weekend in the Ribelles in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Mostly a well-graded trail but we did play around in the steep snow higher up, including a climb up a 45° gully.
I found the boots a bit stiff and clunky on the trail, but for such stiff boots they were surprisingly comfortable. By mile 12 or so, I was starting to wish for my Zodiacs, but certainly had no major foot or joint pain, no blisters or hot spots, etc. The hike to camp the evening before was about 6.5 miles, and over that distance I could hardly tell a difference in overall comfort between my Zodiacs and the Ribelles. Simply put, they're STIFF, but given the stiffness they're exceptionally comfortable.
Once we hit the snow, the Ribelles handled like a dream. Kicking steps in the Ribelles was WAY easier than it has been in my Zodiacs, which themselves are no slouches in the snow. We didn't encounter any opportunities for real toe-pointing in crampons, but I did wear my crampons for a couple miles and played around on the steepest snow slopes I could find. They're obviously not dedicated ice-climbing boots, but for the stretches of toe-pointing I expect to encounter in general alpine mountaineering, I think they'll do fabulously.
Happy so far! And the 43.5 was the perfect choice. I've got a glacier climb scheduled for the end of the month; I'll check back in with a report afterwards!