Meindl Comfort Fit Hunters are in play. They've been on my feet for a couple of hours and so far I'm stoked. The toe box is wide and I'm not getting the outside toe pinch that I've been fighting with my other boots. These are in line to replace my Lowa Hunter GTX Evo Extreme which are also an insulated boot. This toe-to-toe shows the broader toe box on the Meindl.
They are NOT super stiff through the midsole. Less so that my Lowa Hunters, Tibets and Ticam II, more comparable to my Lowa Baldo. This is the Hunter, I can't speak to the Extreme but from what I can tell they are the same midsole. The box says that these are a B/C rated stiffness for "ambitious trekking" in low alpine. I like the flex.
The cork footbeds are really interesting. They are super comfy, we'll see how they hold up.
On sizing, all of my Lowa boots are a 11D. Phil with Meindl assured me that the 10.5 would be the size I wanted, and it is. I was intimidated going down that 1/2 size but it was right on.
thx man!