Ariat Heritage vs Ariat Challenge... Thoughts?

[AliBird]

Hey everyone, so I’ve been dying for a pair of brown boots for a while and I discovered Ariat carried both a dark brown and lighter brown / cognac pair. I like the two with my preference being the darker brown (at the moment) but I’m wondering what the difference is in the quality of the boots. The dark brown comes in the Heritage and the light brown comes in the Challenge.

What are your thoughts? Please convince me of one or the other because I’m torn!

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

Though it’s less expensive, I find the Heritage to be the better-looking boot. Softer leather, higher Spanish-cut top, more refined. I like the Cognac color of the Challenge a lot, but the darker Heritage is more my style. They do fit a bit differently in the calf/ankle (Challenge is more forgiving), so try both if you can.

[wood_snake]

I have a pair of the heritage in cognac. Didn’t know there was another color choice. I love mine. It took about a week to break in. I ride 2 to 5 per day. Now they are super comfortable. They cost the same as new paddock boots and half chaps, which had always been my (brown) go to schooling turn out. I have no regrets.

[Brutus614]

I just bought a pair of black Challenges and LOVE them! I had older Heritages before, and the Challenge was a huge step up IMO.

[cobiemurphy]

Melissa, do you mean that the Heritage is more snug around the ankle than the Challenge? I have skinny ankles and athletic calves, so it sounds like the Heritage may be the way to go?

Wood snake, do you have any photos of your boots in action? Would love to see them on a real person

[AliBird]

I really appreciate the feedback! I’m trying to discern if one is higher quality than the other, though they both sound pretty equal based on comments here and reviews I’ve read. I think at this point I’m leaning towards the dark brown heritages, but if anyone has any more feedback, I’d love to hear it!!

I would like to hear about how the ankle differs between the two, as cobiemurphy mentioned.

Thanks!

[King_Creole]

![]( have the Challenge. Before that, the Ariats I had were the Heritage that I bought in 2008 I think. HUGE difference in the quality. But the difference may not be as huge w/ today’s Heritage vs today’s Challenge. I’m just not familiar w/ the new Heritage to tell you.

My Challenges are more comfortable than my Tredstep DaVincis. They broke in super easy as well. I wear them every time I ride at home or school at shows. I rarely ever put my half chaps on anymore.

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[DejaVu]

I had the Heritage Contours for schooling, but the quality was no where near what I need for a schooling boot, so I replaced them with the Challenges. Both of mine are black. Personally, I love my challenges and I think they are so much nicer than the Heritages. The heritage’s leather stretched a lot, and took a month to fully break in without blisters from the drop. The Challenges, on the other hand, are much slimmer and fitted, especially through the ankle, and took a little less to break in. The leather and the craftsmanship is nicer on the Challenges, compared to the Heritages. That being said, I prefer the chocolate brown color over the cognac… but you could always oil and darken them with black polish.

[wood_snake]

Ok. Quick correction. I have the challenge in cognac not the heritage. When I got mine the other one wasn’t offered yet. Mine are good quality and holding up great to daily hard use. I’ve had them about 3 months now. The tops are more straight across then the heritage. They also came out of the box pretty ‘red’ but mellowed with use and cleaning. I would have had a hard time choosing between them if I had known I had a choice when I ordered mine. I do love them.