Ariat Paddock Boots

[gumtree]

I have had a couple of pairs of Heritage (men’s zip). Well, I bought the first pair. Comfy out of the box. But this IMO is due to the thin leather used. I did not wear them as my day long barn boot, footwear. I mainly rode in them, (at the time 6-10 horses daily) then took them off. Never mucked stalls in them or allowed them to get wet any more than necessary.

When polished I wore them as “dress” shoes from time to time.

A very nice paddock boot for the price, around $120. But, after around a year or little less the leather split on the outside of widest part of the foot. I bought them at Dover. They had no problem exchanging for a new pair. I got a new pair 3 years in a row. Felt a little guilty going back for a 4th.

To be fair my foot might be on the wide side of average. I would buy them again at that price point.

Decided to replace with a custom pair made by Kroop and Sons who have been around forever in Maryland. I had fabulous pair made for me a long time ago. Left them a friends house in Ireland and never saw them again.

At $350+ my new pair of Kroops are a disappointment. Have had issues with the soles de-laminating not long after buying. The latest generation of this old family owned business are nothing like the founders. They were not very nice to deal with.

In hind site I would have rather gone with Ariat’s top of the line Devon Pro.

I would suspect the Scout is a nice enough paddock boot for the price. $80 is pretty cheap. If they have the same warranty/exchange as the Heritage you’ve got nothing to loose.

Personally I like leather soles that can be replaced on high end foot wear.

Side bar; My wife works for Apple at one of their biggest retail stores in the country. She met one of the founding owners of Ariat. Her last name is not Ariat, she told my wife they made it up. I think it is a great name. They built a heck of a good name brand.

She offered to give my wife a personal discount card. (they talked horses). She turned it down because it is against Apple policy. I said fair enough but what about me? I don’t work for Apple.

[Mallard]

Ariat boots are not the quality they used to be

My Granddaughter has the ‘Scout’ paddock boots. They are just a cheaper version of the Heritage. I’m not even sure the uppers are leather.

[Sansena]

Thank you Gumtree. The splitting at the sole/ widest part of your fit is also my problem, however I thought it was due to wearing mine mucking. I’ve also returned them in within <1 yr for full exchange.

I appreciate everyone’s input.

[Sansena]

Aaaaaand, Smartpak has the Heritage model for <$90 so I’m IN!! yay

[Write_amp_Ride]

http://marystack.com/ariat-heritage-iii-ladies-lace-paddock-boot-free-shipping/

$87.99 and free shipping; the Scout was a model we carried briefly determined our customers wouldn’t be happy with it. That’s the type of boot meant for someone taking weekend lessons or going on an equestrian vacation, not for regular riding and barn chores. Whatever you replace your old boots with, be sure to give them some love. Regular cleaning and conditioning is not fun but it will prolong the life of your boots.

• and just saw your post directly above mine, lol!

[luvmyhackney]

I bought the scouts and returned them a few days later. Felt cheap and were not as supportive as my other Ariats. I would have walked out of them in a few months. Fine for weekend lessons or riding 1x a week, otherwise will not hold up. I exchanged for the Heritages, and they are still going.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Sansena;8960191]
Aaaaaand, Smartpak has the Heritage model for <$90 so I’m IN!! yay :)[/QUOTE]

Lace ups. Not a fan of lace ups. Kind of defeats the purpose of a quick off and on boot. Like I said in my post I take mine off to do barn stuff. Slip off and slip on my LL Bean rubber mocs. If my paddock boots were lace up I would get lazy about the time it takes to swap out.

Keep in mind when ordering certain stuff on line. If something needs to be exchanged, returned in the future. I find it a PITA extra $$$ and time to find a box and send it back. Then have to wait for it to be replaced.

Not sure if a local retailer could exchange for the same when not bought from them.?

For me it is worth paying $25 or so more to buy my paddock boots at my local even though it is not exactly around the block. I walked into Dover with my old ones and walked out with my new ones. To me that was worth every dime of the extra $25+ I paid for them. Especially considering I did that several times.

Your welcome and thanks for the acknowledgment to my previous comment.

side bar; I love buying from LL Bean. Besides the fact I grew up with their stuff. Their return policy is ultra liberal. So much so they were featured for it on a TV show about customer friendly businesses.

I had a pair of Bean rubber mocs that were less than 2 years old. A new puppy chewed the leather upper to bits on one of them. Took them to my local Bean outlet asking if they could be repaired and how much. If not or too expensive to fix I was prepared to buy new ones.

The sales person said they will just give me new ones. I said in all fairness they weren’t defective my oversight leaving them with the dogs smelling like something tasty in a barn. She laughed, thank me for my honesty but LL Bean has a no questions asked return policy. I am a 3rd generation LL Bean customer for good reason.

[Sansena]

Gum, you freaked me out!! No, I’ve got zip ups coming.

You present a valid point about brick and mortar returns vs online, but honest the post office is closer than any tack store so this will be fine if they shit the bed.

Off to LLBean now to check out their holiday sales for true muck shoes. I’ve had similar experiences with them… and Eddie Bauer.

Merry mucking everyone

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Sansena;8960833]
Gum, you freaked me out!! No, I’ve got zip ups coming.

You present a valid point about brick and mortar returns vs online, but honest the post office is closer than any tack store so this will be fine if they shit the bed.

Off to LLBean now to check out their holiday sales for true muck shoes. I’ve had similar experiences with them… and Eddie Bauer.

Merry mucking everyone :)[/QUOTE]

Sorry about that. At the price I figured it might be worth picking up a pair. The picture on the link showed ladies lace up. Didn’t scowl down. Men’s zip were $10 more. Men’s stuff is always more expensive. But free shipping is a big plus.

“post office is closer than any tack store”

I hear ya. I always keep the boxes stuff come in for a long time just in case a return is needed. I’ve got quite the collection now.

[Bluey]

I have several Ariat boots.
I didn’t know about their replacement guarantee?

I bought some lace-up all terrain HO2 a couple years ago that felt just right and very comfortable, plenty of support in them, out of the box.
Well, they fell apart with daily work use in the first couple months!

I went back to my older ones that were still ok.
Wish I had known to return them, must have been defective.

[atlatl]

I just switched back to Ariat paddock boots, Devon Pro, after getting about 2-3 years out of a pair of Hoof & Woof boots. The H&W boots were crazy comfortable right out of the box, but when the stitching came apart, for the second time, at the toe cap, I decided enough was enough.

I got the new Devon Pro boots from SmartPak on the Black Friday Sale, 20% off, and while they are a little stiffer than the H&W were out of the box, I’m confident they will give me more years of service. My last pair of Ariats lasted for almost 6 years.

And after this weekend they are officially broken in as a horse stepped on my foot, so one has the lovely arc mark of a shoe on the toe cap.