Tuesday, June 7, 2011

New boots! Of necessity but fun to shop

My wonderful Devonaire Freedom field boots ($70, purchased 2009) stood up to hard daily use, including mucking stalls, turning horses out/bringing in, and riding for several years. Finally this winter, one of the seams around the capped toe started to separate.  I was shocked that the zippers and the soles held up well. I'm still wearing them but their days are number. If you can love a pair of boots, I loved those. Made of synthetic leather, I just hosed them off occasionally and went my merry way.

I contemplated snapping up another pair, but... I didn't. Now Devonaire doesn't make them any more.

I have a new pair of Petries (purchased 2005) that I've worn only a few times--the are not good daily use boots, so I need another pair. Only Equistar had synthetic leather boots, but they don't come in slim. I've tried these in size 8/8.5, slim/tall.
  • Weatherbeeta Saxon, under $100. Reviews indicate the zippers don't last; Slim was too wide.
  • Dublin Aristocrat, under $200. Footbed too small; Reviews indicate zippers don't hold up.
  • Mountain Horse Firenze, under $200. Great looking, slim is SLIM, Spanish tops are slick-looking, footbed is perfect. SOLD!
Mountain horse has a great reputation and they hold up ot hard use if you can believe the reviews. They look and feel great. MH makes a dressage boot (Victoria) but they are $50 more...


12 comments:

  1. hammerhorsesJune 7, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    I'm so excited that you got the Mountian Horse boots! I love mine and hope you love yours also!

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  2. appydoesdressageJune 7, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    I know I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Mountain Horse boots. They had "bad" zippers and now use YYK zippers, my two pairs of boots finally let go by way of the zipper. After 5+ and 7+ years of hard abuse each lol. Just bought a new pair a couple of months ago.

    I went through Ariats like a pair of contacts after my last MH boots failed, still have a couple pairs of them laying around that fell apart in less than 5 months. Never again. Hope you love them!

    http://logdogacres.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. RiderWriterJune 7, 2011 at 3:59 PM

    Those look pretty nice! I guess the field boot edition of these would be the Venice model, which is what I'd want. Glad to hear the Slim really is slim. I hope you'll give us an update in a couple weeks about break-in time and drop. The latter is what scares me about getting new boots; I'm really afraid of the behind-the-knee abrasion. Hope they work out well!

    P.S. Sorry about the double posts yesterday - I thought Blogger ate the first one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeanJune 7, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    I love my Mountain Horse boots as well. Zero break in time, even for the dress dressage boot. Good fit and good quality.

    Hope you find the same with yours.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ArethusaJune 7, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    It's good to see that Mountain Horse doesn't take itself too seriously.... Look at what I found on their web site!

    http://www.mountainhorse.se/index.php?p=products

    ReplyDelete
  6. JaniceJune 7, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    I'll wait to hear your "several months down the line" opinion of these. I am leery of riding boots with zippers (call me old-fashioned, but I also hear from other local riders that the zippers fail early and often). But these sure look lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  7. ValJune 7, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    I love the foot bed in the Mountain horse boots. I have the Rimfrost and the Sportive High Rider II boots.

    My only complaint is that the stitching along the elastic and leather right behind my knee is still rubbing my skin after weeks of use. I am worrying that they will not drop enough to end my agony!

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJune 8, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    I love my MH field boots! Let us know how they work out for you. After busting a zipper out of a pair (different brand) I got the MH boot and the zipper is 100X better and they really aren't kidding about little to no break-in.

    ReplyDelete
  9. RiderWriterJune 8, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Val, I have the Rimfrost Rider winter paddock boots and love them. Every else at the barn would be moaning and groaning about how cold their feet were in their plain leather boots, while mine were toasty and warm. They ARE very clunky, and don't bend; I feel a bit like Frankenstein thundering around in them but it's worth it to be warm. Never understood why more people don't get winter boots!

    ReplyDelete
  10. BeatrixJune 8, 2011 at 10:26 PM

    Hmm, maybe if the zippers go, you can get them switched with the zippers from your old boots. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. JaneJune 10, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    I love my Mountain Horse boots. Daily wear, for 4-5 hours a day, riding, walking, mud, muck. I've found the instructions are right (I know! I read them, finally, when I got my new pair.) and they hold up forever if you put the inflatable trees in when you're done. Keeps the zipper from getting funky.

    Tip: I'm in sand a lot. I clean zipper with dry toothbrush to get sand out, then spray toothbrush with ShowSheen, and brush zipper tines (not fabric). Works great at keeping zipper smooth and zippy.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ElenaJune 10, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    I have a pair of MH field boots that I wear every day and they are AMAZING!!! So comfortable!

    ReplyDelete

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