Brown Tall Boot Under $500

[GraceLikeRain]

I am at an impasse with my next pair of brown boots. There seem to be three avenues: economical to the point of questioning durability, paying an inflated price for stock boots, fork over an amount that starts to look like a mortgage payment.

Realistically, right now is not the right season for spending $800+ on a pair of boots that I don’t even really need. I’ve never “worn out” a pair of boots in terms of wearing through a calf/busting zippers/cracking through/etc. so I may have more longevity than some with a lower quality product. On the other hand, I love beautiful leather and so many boots I’ve felt in recent years feel cheaply made even at a higher price point.

Below is the most exhaustive list I could curate on brown boots under $500. There is a mix of styles because I’m open to dress/field/full lace since these will likely never see the show ring. Does anyone have first hand experience with any of these products? If anyone has personal photos I would LOVE to see these “in the wild”.

Smartpak

• Eliza Field ($170)
• Eliza Lace Up ($200)

Brogini

• Capitoli V2 ($200)

Moretta Pietra

• Tall riding boots ($200)

Tuff Rider

• Keswick ($230)

Ovation

• Sofia Grip ($150)
• Mirabella ($230)

Dublin

• Galtymore ($330)

Ariat

• Heritage Contour II ($330)
• Capriole ($500)

QHP

• Tamar ($250)
• Sophia ($330)

Cavallo

• Linus Edition ($350)

Mountain Horse

• Aurora ($275)
• Sovereign ($400)
• Sovereign Lux ($450)

Sergio Grasse

• Evolution ($400)
• Advance ($423)

De Niro

• Tricolore Quick Signature ($450)

Ego7

• Orion ($400-500)

Deniro

• Dressage boot ($540)

[hybriseris]

I have the Mountain Horse Sovereigns in the light brown. Mine are semi-custom since I’m a little hard to fit, company was a breeze to work with and leather feels amazing. I do take good care of them but not to a crazy extent, and they’ve so far lasted three years and counting. I can work on getting a picture!

[js]

I have the Ovation Mirabella dress boots in brown, they are a very dark brown, kind of hard to distinguish from black in poor light. My computer isn’t cooperating and coth won’t let me post pictures or I’d post one. Can’t comment much more, mine are too small in the foot so I’ve never worn them.

[Heinz_57]

Not on your list, but Petrie makes a variety of brown boots in both regular “brown” and cognac that can be had for under $500. I have black Padovas, ordered from Ooteman that were about $350 including shipping from the Netherlands. The Cognac Padovas are on my wish list. They are a sturdy boot, though I’ve only had them a year I’m very happy with them.

[2tempe]

I just bought a pair of the Mountain Horse Sovereigns in black; have been a MH fan for years, have gone through two other pairs over a long period of time. I have an old pair of lightly used Ariats for show, but the MH get hard wear and I admit to being lax on care. Love them, and the new ones break in in no time.

[StormyDay]

I have the mountain horse sovereigns too. I show in them, they are lovely boots. I also have a pair of Ariat heritages, but in black. I am a tried and true Ariat fan because their boots last for a very long time.

[atr]

I have the Ariat Caprioles in brown. I’ve only been riding in them for about a month, so I can’t give a full review, but they are quite comfortable and look good enough to get compliments. They do take a bit of breaking in to get the shafts so they bend round your calves properly, but once they do, the fit is good. I wore them round the house for a bit before they went to the barn.

[skip99]

I have the Ariat Heritage Contours in brown. I bought them as my every day boot. So far they are holding up well… the ankles are a bit loose on me but I have very small ankles even in relation to my extra slim calf, so I expect that unless I’m going custom. Deniro Amabile comes with a slimmer ankle if that is a concern - I had them in black and got a couple years before the soles peeled away from the boot.

The leather on the Ariats does seem prone to scuffing/scratching, but I am not kind to them nor have I polished or cleaned them besides wiping off the inside of the calf. They were easy to break in. Picture attached from my first ride in them.

[blue_heron]

You should definitely check out this thread: Show me your favourite brown boots!

Mine are in there, around ~$350 IIRC.

[enjoytheride]

I got a pair of Mondoni’s from Divosa. Shipped from the Neatherlands I paid under $200 (including shipping).

https://www.divoza.com/en/rider/riding-boots-riding-shoes/leather-riding-boots/dark_brown

[beowulf]

Slight thread hijack… where – or what – are the boots that last 5-10 years without failure? I’m ready to “one and done” even if it means the $500+ price tag – I am so sick of buying a new pair of boots every few years. My most recent pair (Tredstep Donatello) only had ten or so rides in them before the stitching on the zipper came undone. They have only been used for shows and clinics and I don’t show more than twice a year… My Ariats before that fell apart within a few years, too.

[Jealoushe]

I have MH Aurora and I LOVE them. They aren’t too common in N/A so not as many other riders have them,but they are so so comfy and look gorgeous. The fit is taller so size down on height if needed. Lots of photos of them on my insta @bossmareeventing if you want to see how they look in a jump or dressage saddle.

[GraceLikeRain]

@enjoytheride

I got a pair of Mondoni’s from Divosa. Shipped from the Neatherlands I paid under $200 (including shipping).

Those whitehavens look soo much like the MH it’s wild. Would you be willing to share a picture of the ones you have? I’d love to see how they break in.

Take that back. They are the MH. When I changed to US currency all of the titles also changed

[enjoytheride]

I have this photo. They are dark because they got wet, they dried back to match.

[Spudsmyguy]

Are you sure you paid US dollars? The website uses Euros

[js]

You can change the currency at the top of the page, also the language.

[enjoytheride]

Yes, you can change the currency to US and then underneath the price you see the US price without the VAT which is even cheaper. I guarantee that’s what I paid. They often run a 15% coupon as well. The Whitehavens are $196 when you remove the VAT, then you can take off 15% with the coupon and then add in your shipping of $40ish. I ordered my boots on Sunday and had them on Thursday! I didn’t order the Whitehaven, I ordered the solid brown boots.