My Tredstep half chaps are on their last leg. I have custom full chaps from Journeymans, but wondering what the pro and cons are between the two…does anyone have any insight on one or the other?!
If you can swing Pinnell’s, he’s absolutely my choice. The style and fit of Pinnell’s are amazing (but for a price, of course!). The Journeymans full chaps look fantastic, but I’m not crazy about their half chaps - maybe they’ve changed recently but older ones I’ve seen have a straight top and a sloppier fit. I got Pinnell’s 7 years ago, and they still look new.
I have a pair of Tenney half chaps I ordered through Bevals ten years ago. I know there have been mixed reviews on here about Tenneys, but I have nothing but great things to say about them. They have a Spanish top and snake skin with piping, plus a monogram. I believe I paid ~$350-$400 back then. I am terrible about taking care of them. I wear them around the barn all day, bathe horses in them, clean stalls etc. I clean them maybe once a month at best and they have worn like iron. I just sent them back to Tenneys after ten years to have the elastic that goes under the boot replaced. For less than $100 he also replaced the neoprene down the back and put new zipper pulls on. After ten years of hard use and relative neglect, I am very impressed. They still look relatively new and I think will last another 10 years.
That said, if you can swing the Pinnels, go for those! Beautiful chaps, but easily 2-3x what I paid for Tenneys.
I traded my Treadstep half chaps which I love for Ariat front zip Volants and haven’t looked back.
Good call on the tops of them…totally overlooked that! I’ve got the suede Tredstep’s and they are about 6 years old. I love them, but want to “treat” myself! I will give Pinnel a call and inquire their starting costs. Journeymans quoted 200 to start.
I have Journeman’s and I love them. They’re a good workman chap, they hold up well and are nicely made. You don’t get the bells and whistles options like you do with Pinnel’s but the cost is also way, way less. I think I paid around $300 for them, which included trim and piping.
Mine are going on 10 years old. I had them replace the wear leathers on the insides and the elastics on the bottoms last year and they did it for a fraction of the cost of new chaps so I figure I’ll get another decade or so out of them. The only thing I wish was different about them was that they had the Spanish tops as an option - I really like that look, especially on my short stubby legs.
