Cavallo VS Konig VS DeNiro boots - fit, comfort, longevity?

[JustABay]

So I’m ready to buy my first pair of dress boots, and I will be ordering them off of Calevo

Having not had dress boots before, I’ve narrowed my choices down to the three brands I’m considering and have done some research on all of them. Yes I know Calevo doesn’t sell DeNiro but they’re so pretty I’d pay for them

I am most partial to the looks of DeNiro and Cavallo, but ultimately I want the boot that will last the longest and look the best on me. I’m super tall and will likely need to go full custom, as I have size 11 feet, with a 16" calf and 23" height. This also makes it pretty close to impossible to try on demo boots to see what I like the fit of, so I’ll be ordering pretty much blind and hoping I like what I get.

Any input from the CoTH collective before I dump a large sum of money into unseen boots?

[IndyEquestrian]

Cavallo makes a lovely boot. . . I can’t speak for the stovepipe dressage boots at all, but for field boots, they are beautiful and comfortable.

I have several friends with DeNiro boots, a lot of them are happy, but two with custom boots are not happy and have had to send the boots back more than once to make them fit at all.

I can’t speak for the Konig’s at all. . . but I bet someone else here can!

For me it would be Cavallo all the way!

[Sancudo]

I have almost your exact stats, 11 feet and as tall as they can make them. I have the Cavallos from Calevo and love them. Had them 5 years now, shine up new. Did have the replace the zipper on one a couple years ago.

[MysticOakRanch]

I have tried Petrie and Cavallo and Konigs - so from that limited point of view… I thought Petrie would be my favorite, and it isn’t. I love my Cavallos - they are softer on the inside, so I feel more close contact to my horse. Prior to these boots, I stuck with soft boots because I couldn’t stand the stovepipe, no contact feel of stiff boots. I tried a couple of Konigs and despised them. They hurt my feet (I have a wider foot) and I felt like I had NO feel at all of my horse.

Petries were better, but didn’t fit me quite right - and custom isn’t in my budget. Then I found a pair of Cavallos to try on at a tack store, and it was great - the softer inside, the stiffer outside, and a footbed that isn’t quite so narrow. So I have two pairs of Cavallos now - one for showing, one for every day riding. I love them! Can’t say how long they will hold up since I haven’t had them for years and years. I got my 2nd pair through Divoza.

If you are going complete custom, then all three brands are well respected - the one caution I’d have. You are doing your own measurements? Which means, if they don’t fit, what do you do? The benefit of going with a company who is there to measure, I think they are more likely to help you if there is a fitting issue.

[Mirakel]

I just ordered a pair of custom Konig Favorits from Calevo. They are so beautiful and less than half the cost of ordering them here in the states.

[KLCarp]

I’m also your size, and i’ve been a loyal Konig wearer for years. I found the footbed of the Cavallos to be too wide, and the Konigs were a more natural fit. My first pair lasted almost 8 years with resoling, and i’ve been wearing my current pair daily for over a year and they shine up really nicely.

I didn’t go zippers because I was afraid of them breaking. I’ll probably get the in my next pair (I have my eye on some brown boots next)

I bet though if you go custom you will be happy with whatever you end up with.

[happilyretired]

I have a pair of DeNiro boots and I love them. But a word of caution … my boots were originally ordered custom by a friend and they totally didn’t fit her. And yes, she did have the measurements taken by someone at the tack shop where she bought them. Happily for me they fit me and the tack shop was happy for me to buy them at half price and only refund my friend the other half. So I don’t know what happened in the mis-communication re my friend’s order (I am a size 8 and her foot size is quite a bit smaller – probably a 6.5 so this was a big miss) but I love the boots. Soft leather which I like and very easy to break in. Very comfortable.

[keysfins]

I’ve been very happy with my Piaffe Plus Cavallos from Calevo. I have, over the years, ordered five pairs from them. Would order the same boots again without hesitation.

ETA: these have the zipper in the forward inside position. Even with my older boots, I have not had the Cavallo zippers fail.

[keysfins]

[QUOTE=happilyretired;8326789]
I have a pair of DeNiro boots and I love them. But a word of caution … my boots were originally ordered custom by a friend and they totally didn’t fit her. And yes, she did have the measurements taken by someone at the tack shop where she bought them. Happily for me they fit me and the tack shop was happy for me to buy them at half price and only refund my friend the other half. So I don’t know what happened in the mis-communication re my friend’s order (I am a size 8 and her foot size is quite a bit smaller – probably a 6.5 so this was a big miss) but I love the boots. Soft leather which I like and very easy to break in. Very comfortable.[/QUOTE]

Very possible that the order was made for European size 6.5, which is closer to US size 8.5/9 women’s. Bummer for your friend that she did not get a FULL refund from the shop.

[happilyretired]

[QUOTE=keysfins;8326972]
Very possible that the order was made for European size 6.5, which is closer to US size 8.5/9 women’s. Bummer for your friend that she did not get a FULL refund from the shop. :([/QUOTE]

My friend came out whole. I paid her and the shop refunded her the other half.

[JLR1]

I have had all three boots. The leather used on DeNiro’s is very soft and they were comfy the first day out of the box. However, even with meticulous care and only riding one horse a day they looked bad (dropped significantly and stitching coming loose) after 1 year, and after 2 years they have been relegated to schooling boots only. Both Konig and Cavallo make lovely, well made boots that last more than a few seasons! I wasn’t thrilled with the leather quality on the lower priced models…mostly because they don’t take polish well and I’m really picky about leather. I have skinny calves and bony ankles and off the rack the Cavallos fit me fairly well. I now ride in custom Konigs Dynasty which is french calf/medium stiff and I love them. They were not bad to break in either.

[outerbanks77]

FWIW, I just bought a pair of Konigs on eBay that had a hold rubbed through the leather on the inner calf. They are labeled inside “Made in East Germany” so I have to think they’ve been around awhile. And even though they were used enough to wear through the thinner inside leather, they are in great shape and I would be proud to shine them up and show in them (I had a cobbler put a patch over the hole and voila, stiff front-zipper Konigs for under $100).

[BetterOffRed]

I used to wear Dehner’s custom boots. a pair of custom Dehners cost about $700-$800. I am 5’11" and I were a 10 shoe, and I am flat footed which makes it difficult to find an off the shelf booth. But then I went to Germany, and happened across of fire sale Konig boots! They were the konig brown calfskin boot, with zippers up the back- in my size…someone had custom ordered them and didn’t buy them. I think I paid 400 euro for them! They are the most confortable boots ever. I could wear them all day. I went to Dover, they are currently running a sale on the Konig Favorite…they are just as comfortable.

[DressageLin]

I have the Konigs Dressage Favorite and they are wonderful. Not too stiff and not too soft. Mine are the “whiskey” brown color, but I think I’ll be ordering a black pair for my show boots soon.

[Forte]

I’ve never tried Cavallo but I’ve had Konig and DeNiro and I strongly prefer Konig. My Konigs were the Grand Gester model which I believe is the medium stiffness. They were very difficulty to break in, but the quality and workmanship was second to none and I wore them on multiple horses a day for 12 years until finally I wore a hole through the calf on the inside. I think I had the zippers replaced once and other than that I was good to go! When it came time to replcace them, I didn’t want to spend the big bucks for Konigs again so I went for a cheaper option and got off the shelf De Niros from Smartpak. They are the Giotto model. The leather is buttery soft and the break in time was practicially nil. However, the sizing chart was grossly wrong and the boots I received did not even remotely match the size chart, so the boots I have are very large in the calf for me. De Niro is a more elegantly shaped boot and has a slimmer ankle. However, due to the very soft leather, they are not wearing very well at all. I maybe have worn them a couple of time a month for the last year and they are already showing significant wear. The zippers look very fragile and I’m always worried they are going to break off when I zip them up. Although De Niro makesa very “pretty” boot, if you want a long lasting/hard wearing boot, I would definitely go with Konig.

[Dress]

Konig are very hard to break in. I still have scars on my heels from breaking them. Plan enough time to break them before a show… You can also buy dome gel tubes from a figure skating shop to protect your skin. They did wonders for my skin. I’m the kind of person who gets blisters very easily.

I love the look of my boots, but I find them quite fragile for high end custom boots.I have a small hole on the inside of the calf. These boots are only 3 years old. I only ride one horse, and I never use them during the long and cold canadian winter. It’s a disapointment for me

[SnicklefritzG]

I’ve done a lot of research on custom boots since there is virtually nothing off the rack that fits me. I considered DerDau, Dehner, Konig, Petrie, Cavallo, and DeNiro. Almost all brands seem to have some complaints associated with them, so I didn’t see any one of them better than another in that respect.

What did seem to make a HUGE difference in the overall experience was the accuracy of the initial measurements. I decided ultimately to go with Konig since they had several options for stiffness and leather choice, but mostly because of the fitter. The person fitting the boots has decades of experience doing this and also guarantees that the boots will fit. If they arrive and require adjustment, they either get sent back or this person’s shop makes the adjustments themselves.

I did consider Petrie, but they can only be purchased in the US through dressageextensions, and they don’t have a good guarantee so I decided it was not worth the risk.

[AZ_TD]

Just got a pair of Cavallos with zippers, love them, easy to break in. Also have a pair of Petries, without zippers, have not broken them in yet, much stiffer, have had them a couple of years, sitting in the closet.

[shall]

My trainer measured my feet for Konigs. I ordered the Comtesse from Calevo which is the Lady model (medium) with softer inside. I did full custom as my heels are narrow, arch is high, and the balls of my feet are wide. Most of my shoes are men’s 7 or 7.5 due to width. Konig sized me as a UK 4.5!. I ordered the back of the boot lower than the front. There is some break in needed, but not much.

Amazingly, the fit is very good. I’m loving how comfortable my feet are! Usually, the width hurts or the foot is super long to get enough width. I’ve never had custom boots before. The leather, zipper, and rubber sole are very nice. Ankles are small and fit well. There are no issues at the ankle. My feet look small for a change.

Next step is boot and shoe trees, plus appropriate products to maintain them. Anyone have suggestions?

[artisticgold]

I have a pair of Deniros, not custom, but they fit me as if they were. I love them, but I believe the leather is a bit soft, so might not stand up to every day use. I use them for clinics and such.