Just curious if anyone that has the Ego7 tall boots can help me decide if I should try to make these work or move up to a bigger calf size? I can get them on and zipped, very slowly and carefully, but they are TIGHT. Like painfully tight. Otherwise the fit seems great (correct height and foot size), but I’m just not sure if I should go ahead and try to break them in or move up to a bigger calf size. Will they stretch, or will I bust the zippers instead? I’m dealing with a long distance shop so can’t just go try them all on. If others have had a similar initial tight fit that stretched out to comfortable, I’ll keep these. I’d hate to go up a calf size and have them end up too loose. But I’d hate to go through the pain of breaking these in and then have them not work out and I can’t return them. Any help?
Mine are tight, very tight and have stayed tight…I can get them zipped easier than when I got them but they did not stretch a lot. BUT I am still very glad I did not go up a calf size as I think they would’ve been too large…mine do not make my legs throb but they did slightly at first, they are now what I’d call, comfortable tight! I only wear them for shows though, and the zipper is definitely holding up well and is one of the best I’ve had.
oh, and they have not dropped in height much either! When I first got mine, I couldn’t even zip the one boot, so the store stretched them for me. Took about 4 days as the left them on a leg form to keep the shape…maybe the store can do this for you?
I don’t own that exact brand or style of boot but I ride in Ariat Monaco Field boots which are similar in leather quality and I will have to say that mine didn’t have much stretch in them. The leather did soften quite a bit, but didn’t have much stretch. I would suggest exchanging them for a bigger size or at least going in to try the next calf size up to compare to how your current ones feel.
When I buy boots I want them to be almost impossible to zip. I have a pair of Tuccis that took a second person to help me get zipped up the first five or ten times I put them on. They’re now perfect. Every pair I’ve ever owned that I could zip up (and didn’t put at least one of my legs to sleep) from day one ended up too big.
When they’re killer tight like that, I put them on, stick a hose in the side or back of the boot, fill with water, and walk around until they’re dry. I have never had it impact a pair of boots negatively, and in every case have wound up with boots that are effectively custom molded around my leg.
My Ego7s were so tight when I bought them that I literally could not zip them myself (took two of us several minutes to get them on), and were so painful it made me lightheaded to wear them - unfortunately, they have not stretched enough for my liking (and thus, are still a little tall - I use heel lifts with them but still get blisters behind my knee quite often.) Trying to get them zipped after a day of sitting behind a desk at work is not fun. In fact, I’m strongly considering bringing them to a cobbler to get a gusset put in. I soaked them in a water/alcohol solution (similar to PNWJumper above) and it didn’t do the trick. I strongly wish I had bought one calf size up, even if I had sacrificed a bit of that ‘leather sock’ look.
These are great boots, but you will put undue stress on the zippers on these if you try to cram them on. They really do not stretch much, and trying to zip them up tight hoping they will stretch will stress the zipper significantly and it will break when you least expect it. One of my friends religiously used the stretch spray AND waxed her zipper daily. The zipper still popped in less than a year of show use only. She decided to buy another pair in the same size because she liked “the look.” The pair was special ordered and took weeks to come in. When it came in, she could hardly zip them up but still liked that they made her calves look smaller. BUT she can only wear them for her classes because her entire leg throbs, and she can’t really get her heels down in them. For some reason, she still wears them for shows… I asked her why she won’t school in them, but she says they cut off the circulation in her legs.
My other friend had her pair less than a month and the zipper popped. Since she insisted on the tighter fit, the tack shop wouldn’t take them back so it was $100 for her to have it repaired. She was able to have the cobbler adjust the zipper slightly to make it a little wider.
I highly recommend buying a pair that fits.
Thank you all for trying to help. I’ll try them again and wear around the house (so they don’t get unreturnable dirty) and see how they feel. They thankfully aren’t as tight as ChasseurSauteur describes, and they do have that stretch panel so that makes me feel a little more hopeful. If I decide to keep these, I might try the hose method, which I’ve done before, but that was in summer so I have to think about whether they’d even dry in a day or if I’d have to sleep in them.:lol: I might even order the next calf size to compare, then send the loser back. I hate buying boots! Almost as bad as saddle shopping, but thankfully less expensive, and only has to fit me, not horse too.
I have also been considering these. I need to replace my schooling boots. For those of you that have them… is the leather soft & grippy or not so much?
I love everything about mine except how tight they are! Still kicking myself that I let the tack shop convince me to buy the smaller size, as otherwise I think they are a super boot with lots of great features.
I love mine…so far after 2 show seasons they’re holding up very well and the panel on the inside is grippy and not wearing throat all. I still have to wear a silicone anti rub sleeve for behind one knee though, as they have really dropped but that’s a minor issue lol
