Ariat boots - lifespan?

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soloequestrian

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I have a pair of Ariat Glaciers which I LOVE. I gave them a good clean today and was disappointed to see that the leather is starting to crack slightly and come away from the sole at the point where they bend with my toes. I've had them two years, and although I haven't been obsessive about cleaning and treating them, I've been pretty good. The only time they've really had prolonged exposure to mud is the past three weeks when it has barely stopped raining! I don't do yard work in them - only walk through mud to get the horses in and then sometimes on the way home from a hack. All the other parts of the boots, including the original laces, are fine.
Is this normal, or could I expect them to last a little better?
 
My Windrush boots are awful. First pair lasted 11 days before the membrane leaked, equestrian clearance replaced them with a new pair. New pair lasted a month before the upper is coming away from the sole and leaking again. Equestrian clearance are this time taking them back for repair.
 
I've got grassmeres and bromonts, bromonts are 4/5 years old and still in great condition, grassmeres 3/4 years old and also in good condition - have obviously dropped though and are now a little baggy round the ankles! I am religious about mine though, they get leather conditioner every week, twice a week at the moment due to all the rain. The grassmeres are my general yard boot and I only ride in the bromonts.
I did have a pair of windemeres which lasted a year of serious abuse with literally no care whatsoever!
 
Ella19 said:
My Windrush boots are awful. First pair lasted 11 days before the membrane leaked, equestrian clearance replaced them with a new pair. New pair lasted a month before the upper is coming away from the sole and leaking again. Equestrian clearance are this time taking them back for repair.
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Oh lordy

I got a pair of these in the sale at EC and haven't worn them yet - wondered why they are no longer made as they are a lovely looking boot.

My Windermere's are 5/6 years old, no longer look their best but polish up ok, no other problems.

My Conistons are approx. 2 years old again no problems and still looking like new - but these have been well looked after and regularly polished and waterproofed with Ariat products.

No cracking with of leather with either boot

Neither boots have been used to muck out or anything like that.

Windermeres have been used for walking round shows and Conistons used for walking round town.

What use were you giving to your Windrush?

ETA its obvious I have some sort of boot buying problem!
 
My bromonts are still going strong, in to year 4, i wear them daily for yard work and riding then polish them up for comps, i will be getting another pair when these ones eventually die:)
 
My windemeres are rubbish, went back under a year as sole was coming away around near the toeson the outside, so for a pair of £200 boots ariat glued them back together and returned them to me, after being worm for the summer they are doing the same thing.

You can email them and they send you a free post slip to return the boots but state they can no be held liable for customer damage or something along those lines. I fail to see why for yard boots they need to be cleaned and conditioned on a weekly basis. These are expensive boots !!! Won't be buying another pair that's for sure.
 
My Grasmere's last with constant neglect, for years. First pair lasted 5/6 years and were only replaced because I wanted a shiny new pair. Latest ones have been going strong for over 3 years.
I have some short Ariat boots which are about 10 years old and are still absolutely fine. Still a favourite and very comfortable.
 
wallykissmas said:
I fail to see why for yard boots they need to be cleaned and conditioned on a weekly basis. These are expensive boots !!! Won't be buying another pair that's for sure.
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This is absolutely the reason I am already getting miffed at the state of my Grasmeres after 3 months. I have oiled them regularly and used a protective spray. Ariats used to last for years with no care whatsoever but these days seem to fall apart at the first whiff of hard work. AFAIK they are now made in China which I presume is the reason quality seems to have dropped. Shame when the prices continue to go up!
 
soloequestrian said:
I have a pair of Ariat Glaciers which I LOVE. I gave them a good clean today and was disappointed to see that the leather is starting to crack slightly and come away from the sole at the point where they bend with my toes. I've had them two years, and although I haven't been obsessive about cleaning and treating them, I've been pretty good. The only time they've really had prolonged exposure to mud is the past three weeks when it has barely stopped raining! I don't do yard work in them - only walk through mud to get the horses in and then sometimes on the way home from a hack. All the other parts of the boots, including the original laces, are fine.
Is this normal, or could I expect them to last a little better?
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i bought my glaciers in feb last year so ive had them just under a year , i love them and have hardly had them off my feet
mine have split across the right foot and come away from the base
i sent them back to ariat and they have re sealed them and sent a free leather conditioner back to me within a week

to be fair there is a lot of wear in the soles of mine so they have done rather a lot of miles for only having them a year so i excepted that i had my moneys worth out of mine
 
angelish said:
i bought my glaciers in feb last year so ive had them just under a year , i love them and have hardly had them off my feet
mine have split across the right foot and come away from the base
i sent them back to ariat and they have re sealed them and sent a free leather conditioner back to me within a week

to be fair there is a lot of wear in the soles of mine so they have done rather a lot of miles for only having them a year so i excepted that i had my moneys worth out of mine
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That's interesting - how did they repair the split? Did you have to send them abroad (it doesn't sound like it if it only took a week!)?
 
they resealed it with some sort of glue
there not leaking or anything so it has worked although you can tell they have been fixed
i emailed them and they sent me a free post address that i just printed out and sent off , it was the week before xmas too so i thought it was good service
 
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The only Ariat boots I had a problem with (touches wood) were the Brossards.
Best warm boots I ever had, tho shoddy leather uppers after a year.
Used daily in winter, cleaned once a week etc, not in use all day as work in office then full time - they cracked badly on the leather by the ball of the foot where it joins the sole.
Didn't even ride in them often, lasted 16 months :(

Bromonts, Heritage Zip, Grasmere and TellUrides (laced) are all doing fine tho :)
All have outlasted those Brossards & the Grasmeres get 'everything' thrown at them!
 
My conistons are over 5 yrs old now, they are starting to look a little tired and no longer 100 percent waterproof if I go through deep puddles but they polish up ok

Not sure what I'm going to get next as these have been so good
 
I have the insulated H2O Bromonts. Amazingly comfortable boots. Bought them because they would be waterproof for hunting... that lasted about 9 months max because they stopped being waterproof or warm. Then that vertical piece of leather that goes up the calf started to split. They split all around the ankle and over the toe, right down to the material underneath. They were cleaned regularly (I sponge them off after most rides and always if they are muddy), don't dry them by the radiator or anything like that, keep them inside. They were conditioned with their waxed leather conditioner regularly and I used the Ariat polish on them too.

In the end, after about 18 months, I sent them back to Ariat who replaced them within the week. New ones are rubbish though - leather is v saggy, within a week it had started to split on that stretchy leather strip again... the quality seems to be getting worse and worse which is a shame. I've had them for a couple of months and already my feet get wet through when it rains, and they are supposed to be the H20 insulated waterproof version...

I adore them to ride in, so comfy and they look lovely, but not sure I'll be bothering with Ariat again :(

ETS - if I was wearing them all day every day, mucking out in them, going up the field in them, I could understand. But I don't. I live in my wellies at the yard, boots go on the second before I get on the horse and come off as soon as I have untacked horse.
 
I have glaciers and love them, I couldn't wear them last week as I broke a lace and had to wait for new ones and I missed them so much! They are lasting well and they are pretty abused. I need to start leather conditioning them really.
 
My mudbusters lasted less than a year .. Could have cried when they split as they are so comfy!
But i emailed ariat some photos and they are sending me out a new pair :D
Their customer service is amazing, cant fault them in any way!
So shall see what happens with the new boots :)
 
i have 2 pairs of short boots and a pair of the glaciers. One pair of short boots is 5 years old, one is 4. The 4 year old ones are only used for shows so still looks brand new. The 5 year old ones are starting to split but I wore them everyday for about 2 years and didnt clean them once. Used t muck out and ride in them plus walk dogs etc. Although, they are still okay, and I wear them to ride in the summer when its dry. My Glaciers are just over a year old, again I walk the dog in them, ride, muck out and do all sorts. I don't think I've treated them, although I probably should but they are showing no signs of breaking
 
Can I ask a question too, I bought some ariats a week or so ago, and when trying them on they felt like they were a little high, i was told they would drop down. I haven't worn them out yet, because i'm worried if I do and they dont drop I wont be able to take them back, so I thought maybe I should wear them around the house :-s , can I ask did others find they dropped after a while? Hope I've explained my self okay....
 
Fionalex said:
Can I ask a question too, I bought some ariats a week or so ago, and when trying them on they felt like they were a little high, i was told they would drop down. I haven't worn them out yet, because i'm worried if I do and they dont drop I wont be able to take them back, so I thought maybe I should wear them around the house :-s , can I ask did others find they dropped after a while? Hope I've explained my self okay....
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I can only advise regarding the Windemere and Coniston - both these have dropped, all leather/suede boots I have had do so I wouldn't worry too much
 
Yes light yard work! I expect them to have more rough work than they are designed for but the first only did 11 days before they leaked and I had only walked across dewy fields and been looking after them!
 
Ella19 said:
Yes light yard work! I expect them to have more rough work than they are designed for but the first only did 11 days before they leaked and I had only walked across dewy fields and been looking after them!
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Will use the sale Windrush for trotting about town then! Thanks
 
My first pair of Grasmeres lasted 3 years - they were terribly abused, oiled once a year but regularly hosed off to rid them of mud, pee etc. This last pair to "die" the inner came away and they started to leak - they were 16 months old... I have bought another pair - and if they go the same way it will be the last pair I buy. Prior to that I had 3 pairs of terrains that were lucky to last 18 months...
 
Not the same type of boot but my Ariat Bromonts are still going strong. Ive had them since they first came out (maybe 5 years?) and use them most weekends at events (well not lately as no competing horse right now). Brilliant boots and still totally waterproof which so many competition boots are not. I use Durbarrys as my yard boots and they're brilliant, still doing well after 3 years of abuse now!
 
I've had my Grasmeres a good 5/6 years. The most care they get is a hose off. I use them for riding, general yard boots, walking the dogs and out shooting. They're still going strong.
 
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