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Another Tall Boot Thread -- DeNiro vs. Tucci vs.?

I plan to buy a new pair of tall boots for showing this year. Luckily I am a pretty standard fit and can do off the rack in all brands. I had perused the other threads on here and thought I had narrowed down what brand I wanted, until some input from fellow boarders last night changed my mind. Her is what I had arrived at:

Parlantis - I had ruled these out. I want a more rugged boot with a longer shelf life. I’m not a huge fan of the sock leather trend.
Dehners - I like a spanish top, so I had ruled these out as well.
Ariats - these are my old, tried and true favorites, but from reading online, it seems the quality has gone down. My last pair lasted me 12 years.

The boots that made my short list were:
Tuccis - have no experience with these IRL, just read good reviews on COTH forums
DeNiros - I had pretty much arrived at these as my choice, after reading many positive reviews. Until I got feedback from a fellow boarder. She and another boarder have the DiNiro Salentos. The zippers broke on both sets of boots, and don’t stay up when they’re not broken.

So now I am back to the drawing board. Do I just go back to Ariats and hope for the best? Another boarder really likes her Tredsteps, but again, I have no real life experience with these.

Talking to a friend the other night and her experience has been the exact opposite of mine, but I love my DeNiro’s (I have the Salento dress boot). They were comfortable to walk and ride in from day one, had minimal drop, and have held up extremely well. I did start to wear through the inside of the calves after a few years of very regular wear (which is standard for me) and I had those patched, but I’ve never had zipper issues or any other problems. I also have a pair of Sergio Grasso’s, but I always seem to reach for the DeNiro’s. I’m dreading the day they die because I’m afraid I might not have the same great luck when I try to replace them.

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I have a pair of Tredstep dress boots that I got on a crazy good sale from Dover awhile back. They are beautiful and fit so perfectly. My only dislike is they rub the back of my achilles to the point that I will only put the boots on right before getting on my horse and will immediately take them off when I’m done. I broke them in by wearing them around the house for about an hour at a time before deciding they could be worn for riding.

If you ride multiple horses or want to be comfortable keeping the boots on for the entire duration you are at the barn then Tredstep might not be a good choice. If you can try them on at a tack shop and walk around in them I think you’ll know pretty soon if they are going to rub.

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I love my DeNiro’s. I bought them in 2016, only use them for showing (5-20 shows/yr). They’ve held up great, still fit perfectly. Minimal drop, the ankle still looks clean and sleek. No issues with the zipper.

Going to give another shoutout for DeNiros! I have the Salento version that I show and clinic in, and they have held up beautifully.

I also have the Tricolore version for schooling, and they have also held up nicely (riding 4x a week, wearing them for all my barn chores before/after riding). In fact, my trainer has converted from Parlantis to the Deniro Tricolore as well and so far they are holding up for her beautifully (all day wear, riding 5-10 horses).

https://www.myridingboots.com/ has an impressive selection of DeNiros and are wonderful to work with.

Good luck!

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I bought these last summer and they held up really well

https://www.wiltontack.com/deniro-s3312-field-boot.html

Another vote for DeNiros. I recently got a pair of the Tricolore Pros and they are stunning, and feel very high quality for the price (~$600 USD). Granted I haven’t really put a lot of wear on them but they have a ton of different size options and I have heard good things from others about the durability over time.

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That’s really interesting! Online, I had preferred the look of the DeNiro Tricolore Amabile’s to the Salentos. I am very traditional in my look and really don’t like anything modern-looking. I have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century :slight_smile:

ooh these sound interesting! Do you have a link to them online anywhere? I did a quick Google search but turned up nothing.

https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/tricolore-new-amabile-smooth-dress-boot-24283

These are the ones! They don’t say “Pro” in the description but I think it was on the box when I got them - they are a slightly updated version from the first model of Tricolore Amabiles.

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I have two pairs of Tucci tall boots, 3 years old and 2 years old. I wear them only to show. Leather on older pair is flaking at ankles. Vertical side seam on newer boots is coming undone. No more Tucci for me!!!

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Fabbri boots are my favorites. They take longer than Parlanti’s to break in, but most boots do (I had some really painful moments with the Fabbris), but they wear extremely well. My 2 year old pair look like new except for stretching in the foot from my giant bunions. I like a stiffer boot. I could sleep in my 3 year old Parlantis, but I don’t feel ready to ride in them anymore. I like a little squeeze! My Parlantis have really fallen as well, and are even short for me, who is large pony rider height essentially. I also like the relatively understated look of the Fabbri vs. Tuccis, but that is my personal preference.

I have Salentos semi-custom (xw calf but custom knee because I have huge calves and not-huge knees) and would loooove the Tricolores if they could be customed at the knee as well. The Salento boots were so gorgeous when I opened the box, I was scared to wear them!

I got a pair of DeNiros back in November and love them. They have been hell to break in on my Achilles tendon, but nothing a gel sleeve couldn’t help with—I just haven’t been that bothered. They aren’t ultra-soft sock leather, but I hope that that means I get a lot of life out of them. I ride 2-3 horses a day and usually stay in my boots doing other things at the barn (bathing, etc.).

I would put Romitelli on this list too. Very reasonably priced for the quality, IMO, and a more “rugged” boot than Parlanti, better made than Ariat, etc.

I have the Salentos. I like them, they have beautiful high quality leather, but I really wish they were a bit more fitted through the ankle. As you mentioned, I did also have issues with the zipper at first. It broke on my first pair very soon after I got them, thankfully I had bought them from SmartPak so they replaced them. However they couldn’t do anything to speed up the 6 week shipping time on the replacements, which was very inconvenient.

I have two pairs of denero. One pair is full custom and they are amazing but they were expensive. My second are tricolors, the zip isn’t the same quality but there were more than half the price. The zip will fall down but that’s because my calves are a bit fat for them but I have strange legs. I just put a lace through the zip and it stays up. These are my daily drivers. They get worn 7 days a week for at least one horse, if not two. They are still in very good condition considering the fact that I treat them terribly. I’m guessing I’ll get a good few years more out of them.

You can get Spanish tops on Dehners, and even taller “Italian” tops.

I LOVE my Dehners.

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What model did you purchase?

Could you get the custom through My Riding Boots??