You and me both, sister. :lol: With the snob part at least. But since I am not showing right now, I’m not indulging yet. But I will, baby, oh I will! :lol:
I tried a pair of Irideon’s … they fit, actually fit very well… but I HATED the material… and I’ve not found any Irideon’s advirtised in a different material… it was like cheapr feeling slippery… polyestery … yuck. And I could never ever imagine wearing them in the summer. Just based on that one pair I’d never bother trying them again unless I knew for sure they were a different material.
VCT did you get the “corded” one’s, they are a bit more expensive,
and I feel the same way about them, wayyyyy too much spandex 
The smooth one’s are IMHO far better, and you save a lil ching too.
Ware Whip!
Okay. I’m really ticked and dissapointed. Seriously. I was wearing those Devon-Aire boots walking around today to start breaking them in and the damn zipper split wayyyyy down at the very bottom at the back of my heel. Like THAT makes any sense. That part isn’t even under much stress… not as much as the widest part of the calf.
I HATE these freaking zippered tall boots. Can barely find any without zippers anymore and I certainly can’t find any that FIT without zippers cuz these are the only pair in TWO YEARS of looking that I’ve found that fit! Everything else was either too small or too big!!! I’m so upset. 
They took 2 and a half months to get here and now I have to send them back. They’ll take forever to break in if I get new ones and I dunno - whos to say the zipper on those won’t crap out on me eventually. Maybe I should just give up on showing. I’m so sick of this.
[QUOTE=VCT;2324490]
Okay. I’m really ticked and dissapointed. Seriously. I was wearing those Devon-Aire boots walking around today to start breaking them in and the damn zipper split wayyyyy down at the very bottom at the back of my heel. Like THAT makes any sense. That part isn’t even under much stress… not as much as the widest part of the calf.
I HATE these freaking zippered tall boots. Can barely find any without zippers anymore and I certainly can’t find any that FIT without zippers cuz these are the only pair in TWO YEARS of looking that I’ve found that fit! Everything else was either too small or too big!!! I’m so upset.
They took 2 and a half months to get here and now I have to send them back. They’ll take forever to break in if I get new ones and I dunno - whos to say the zipper on those won’t crap out on me eventually. Maybe I should just give up on showing. I’m so sick of this.[/QUOTE]
Get better quality then Devon aire. all my friends that had a pair of them that the only part that “breaks in” is the ankle which starts to bunch up but the rest of the boot stays stiff.
Like what? I’ve been looking for boots for 2 years. They either don’t come in a wide enough calf or are too wide if I get the plus sized boots. I’m stuck in the middle. I don’t have 800+ to spend on customs.
If you know of another brand that makes boots that will fit a 17" - 17 1/4" wide calf, then please let me know.
[QUOTE=VCT;2324634]
Like what? I’ve been looking for boots for 2 years. They either don’t come in a wide enough calf or are too wide if I get the plus sized boots. I’m stuck in the middle. I don’t have 800+ to spend on customs.
If you know of another brand that makes boots that will fit a 17" - 17 1/4" wide calf, then please let me know.[/QUOTE]
Scroll up a bit–I posted about the Mountain Horse dress boots that fit a 17" calf (they say they fit up to 16.9 but fit my 17" calf with room to spare). I love them and got them in two days.
Here is a link to them:
http://equusunlimited.com/Shop%20Factory/en-us/dept_1710.html#item_12684
There has been very little break-in time, and the zipper seems very sturdy. Believe me, i totally understand your frustration. It’s just awful. I’ve tried on dozens of brands and sizes, and these are the only ones that do it for me. And they are super comfortable! You can call the company (number on their webpage) and ask for Shaun. He was SO wonderful. Wanda, the owner is also awesome.
Its great that the Mountain Horse Boots are coming in sizes that fit you and me, but I can’t wear those to shows really… yanno? Thanks though for trying to comfort me in my time of freaking heheh
I tried on the hispars I have that were too tall and too big in the calf… now they are just too big in the calf because I had them shortened to 17.5 inches… and I think theyre like 18 inches in the calf or something… but anyhoo… I decided the footbed/ankle area of those is wayyyyy more comfy and fit better than the Devon-Aires… and the leather does seem nicer and the zipper is more sturdy, even though I think it’s the ugliest style of zippered boot I’ve ever seen…
So anyways, I went on ebay to eHimalayas and ordered a pair with custom calf and sent my mesaurements. The Devon-Aires are being returned… and I dunno what I’m doing with the shortened-but-not-taken-in-Hispars. Maybe I’ll just take them to the local boot guy and see if he can take them in and then I’ll have a spare pair. I dunno.
Hopefully this will solve the problem and I’ll end up with some decent boots. -sigh-
VCT, what size feet do you have?? My hispars seem to fit from about 16-17" It’s a snug fit for my fattie calves. I had a pair of Devon Aires too and they did the same thing w/the zipper, at a show no less. :mad:
The zippers on the hispars are really heavy. My boots are technically a size 7.5 but I think they fit more like something between an 8-8.5, they really feel loose. If you’d like to try them you’re more than welcome, just send me a PM. I have really short legs (I’m 5’ tall…and even then I lie…technically 4’ 11 3/4". So I say 5’) :lol: They’ve dropped and even though they still are a little tall for me, it’s nothing extreme.
My boots are an “older” style Hispar though, they look nothing like the new ones they make. Of course, you can tell from beeehind that they’re zippered, but hey, the price I pay for a little bit-o-storage I guess. 
Good luck. It took me YEARS to have combined enough money and time looking to find a pair that fit me.
I’m still looking for those majik breeches though…:lol:
VCT - what size foot are your boots? I have an 18 inch calf and need a 17.5 inch height tall boot…
Why can’t you wear them to shows?? They look like regular dress boots to me.
Equusrocks - Thanks for the offer but I wear a 9.5… Nice to see you over here! :winkgrin:
Gayla - I show in H/J and hoping to do a little eventing this summer. I’d be the only one at the rated shows wearing dress boots. It’d be pretty strange.
Boot Zippers
VCT…
If the zippers split on your next pair of Devon Aires take them to your local leather repair shop or a cobbler. They can replace the zippers for you and put in something a little more heavy duty. Even having a better quality zipper put in the book will cost you a fraction of what you’d pay for customs.
Mountain Horse does make a field boot. Just not sure it comes in Wide.
It has the fancy traction stuff on the tread?!? I can’t remember the name. Dover has them though. VERY traditional looking.
Mountain Horse does make a field boot that comes in a wide – 15.5" to 16" is what I’ve seen the maximum wide calf measurement.
http://www.victorycanter.com/product.php?productid=19486
These are my last hope for a non-custom field boot. 
The Devon-Aires were so tall that they came over my knees, and the widest part of my calf was closer to the ankle on that boot than the top of the shaft.
Well, the wide calf in the moutain horse boots would not fit me anyways. I need 17" for sure. One calf is 17 1/4 and one is 17 1/2.
I don’t think they really look all that traditional either. They definitely look like a “new model” type thing to me. They seem more streamlined and whatnot… and they have that odd swagger tab type thing with the silver triangle. I don’t think they’re bad looking but I wouldn’t buy them personally. I don’t even like that most of the boots available have zippers. I like the old school look of boots.
onelaneroad -
I am getting the Hispars with the custom calf for $285 incl. shipping. I have an older pair of their boots and the only bad thing I can say is that the older ones were not shaped as well in the calf as they could have been (but they were off-the-shelf) and the zipper is very obvious and ugly… but its very heavy duty. The leather is really nice and the footbed/ankle is really comfortable.
Yes, I forgot they still have that stupid logo. That bugs me too.
I’m with ya on ‘real’ boots. I dont’ think the zippers ‘add’ value unless you have a real problem that needs them.
Have you looked at Nittany? Results are mixed on them, but I saw 2 pair in person and they were thick, well stitched and very nicely cut (just a wee titch too tight in the calf for me ) I was about ready to order a pair when I found my Effie’s on Ebay. Customer service as a potential buyer was excellent in my experience, which was around the holidays too.
For those of you who, like me, school in cotton/lycra stretch pants, Wally*World has a CUTE new model out that is somewhat tailored in the waistband. Not the heaviest tight in the world, but not horrible either. I only school in them, and don’t go ‘in public’ in them (like, not even to the corner store) but they last pretty well and come in at $9.96.
Hell would freeze over before I would buy anything from Devonaire.
Haven’t seen the field boots, but the dress boot’s don’t have the annoying triangle–they look like any other dress boot but of course they do have the zippers up the back. Dehner’s are another option–custom and pricey though. good luck in the search 
totally off topic:
Coreene, I discovered the Willem threads one night just before I was going to bed. I was up reading until all hours of the night, laughing my butt off…and then sobbing at 4 in the morning when I got to the later threads. Unbelievable. Thanks for sharing.
