Steve - I too have curvy calves and long boots are impossible to find - when I did a lot of riding I could never wear the cheaper rubber riding boots - I had to have expensive leather ones such a PITA - I also have really high insteps which means that if a boot is deep enough across the ankle area to get my foot into the boot then it's usually too big in the foot even with several pairs of socks.
In the garden in winter I either wear walking boots or old jodphur boots or Crocs - and I try to keep off the garden when it's wet - not just because it's bad for the garden to stomp around on it then, but also 'cos I just don't have really suitable boots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I buy inexpensive wellies from the local supermarket (Dordogne, France). I put insoles in them which cushions them, stops them getting smelly (charcoal) and makes them a lot warmer to wear. They last 5 or 6 years (boots not insoles). One year my OH wanted to get me a good pair when we were in England. Can't remember the make though, but they were about 6 times the price of my supermarket ones. They lasted 1 season and then split along the top of the toes.
I need proper waterproof wellies that you can rinse under a tap as I have the field shelter to muck out for 4 horses. I also use them for walking my dog in winter, the paths in the woods can get very wet.
My feet are the opposite of Dove's - large and flat and I have slim calves.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Tee he!! Reading this thread this morning has really made me chuckle!!! You can't beat a long-lasting willie!
Sorry, serious answer! Le chameau! Probably the most expensive pair of any kind of footwear I've ever owned but 11 years later, after some serious abuse, they are still going strong! I wear them every day, gardening, on the farm at home, with the horses and when I was a farm vet too.
Don't get hunter, I had a pair and they only last a few weeks before they split! And I also got a leak in my muck boots! But maybe I'm just unlucky!
I got a pr of spotty willies (joules) last xmas, had to go up a size as I have a high instep too. Very comfy and warmer than most wellies.(Wear thick socks too) Don't wear them for gardening tho as I don't want to spoil them
I've just splashed out on a pair of really good wellies so I looked at lots of brands. Apparently Hunters used to be good quality but are now made to a different specification and have gone seriously downhill. I needed a pair of wellies that I could go long walks in (with dog) so my priority was comfort, grip and being long-lasting. I ended up with Aigle Parcours and they are completely fabulous - more comfy than slippers, and as good as my hiking boots over mud and rocks. Ten mile walk no problem, and nice and warm too. But you do pay for them - mine were just over £100.
For gardening I mainly wear my hiking boots, but that's cos our garden is on a 1:3 slope and made of rocks!
Oh Steve - a vet with large calves - bet they were hard to deliver!
seriously though - I can't bend my foot round the bend to get into normal wellies. Does anyone wear shorter ankle ones, and how good are they, and who makes them?
Posts
Steve - I too have curvy calves and long boots are impossible to find - when I did a lot of riding I could never wear the cheaper rubber riding boots - I had to have expensive leather ones
such a PITA - I also have really high insteps which means that if a boot is deep enough across the ankle area to get my foot into the boot then it's usually too big in the foot even with several pairs of socks.
In the garden in winter I either wear walking boots or old jodphur boots or Crocs - and I try to keep off the garden when it's wet - not just because it's bad for the garden to stomp around on it then, but also 'cos I just don't have really suitable boots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
This thread has made me chuckle! I've only ever owned one at a time! A pair would only confuse me!
I buy inexpensive wellies from the local supermarket (Dordogne, France). I put insoles in them which cushions them, stops them getting smelly (charcoal) and makes them a lot warmer to wear. They last 5 or 6 years (boots not insoles). One year my OH wanted to get me a good pair when we were in England. Can't remember the make though, but they were about 6 times the price of my supermarket ones. They lasted 1 season and then split along the top of the toes.
I need proper waterproof wellies that you can rinse under a tap as I have the field shelter to muck out for 4 horses. I also use them for walking my dog in winter, the paths in the woods can get very wet.
My feet are the opposite of Dove's - large and flat and I have slim calves.
Tee he!! Reading this thread this morning has really made me chuckle!!! You can't beat a long-lasting willie!
Sorry, serious answer! Le chameau! Probably the most expensive pair of any kind of footwear I've ever owned but 11 years later, after some serious abuse, they are still going strong! I wear them every day, gardening, on the farm at home, with the horses and when I was a farm vet too.
Don't get hunter, I had a pair and they only last a few weeks before they split! And I also got a leak in my muck boots! But maybe I'm just unlucky!
I thought I was unique!
I got a pr of spotty willies (joules) last xmas, had to go up a size as I have a high instep too. Very comfy and warmer than most wellies.(Wear thick socks too) Don't wear them for gardening tho as I don't want to spoil them
Sorry Steve- guilty as charged!!!
I've just splashed out on a pair of really good wellies so I looked at lots of brands. Apparently Hunters used to be good quality but are now made to a different specification and have gone seriously downhill. I needed a pair of wellies that I could go long walks in (with dog) so my priority was comfort, grip and being long-lasting. I ended up with Aigle Parcours and they are completely fabulous - more comfy than slippers, and as good as my hiking boots over mud and rocks. Ten mile walk no problem, and nice and warm too. But you do pay for them - mine were just over £100.
For gardening I mainly wear my hiking boots, but that's cos our garden is on a 1:3 slope and made of rocks!
laugh a minute - this site!
Oh Steve - a vet with large calves - bet they were hard to deliver!
seriously though - I can't bend my foot round the bend to get into normal wellies. Does anyone wear shorter ankle ones, and how good are they, and who makes them?
Also Rigger boots are good, with pull-up straps and steel toe-caps and fleecy insides.