Best wellies, Hunters, Aigle etc??

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hugotheboss

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Im purchasing some wellies and require them to be comfortable, warm and good grip. I am stuck between the Aigle parcours and the hunter balmoral neoprene. I know hunters have a bad rep of late but is this also true for the balmorals? They look much sturdier than the traditional hunters? I have also considered Muck boots, but not sure if I like the look of them? Im selling my Le Chameau boots due to being too big for me and unfortunately cannot afford a new smaller pair!
 
I got some Hunter Balmoral neoprene as a bargain, and compared to my Muck Boot Tynes (now called Colt Ryder) they are nowhere near as good. They are not as comfortable, supportive and my feet are cold in them now it is winter.

With the Muck boots I can wear thin socks and my feet were toasty even in those -10C winters we had a couple of years ago. The Hunters are cold and it's not even below zero! Only had them since springtime, and no holes/splits, but I just don't rate them.

Can't compare to any others - my OH is trialling Grubs Frostline: fine so far, but it's not been really cold yet here.
What a shame about the Le Chameau: they are supposed to be wonderful.

Edited to add: Tynes do not have good grip as they are a riding welly. Other models have better grip, but not all Muck Boot models are for really cold weather. My mum has one she likes for walking up and down muddy fells which is a shooting one - old name was Avon, don't know what the name is after the relaunch and all the names changed.
 
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Agree don't go near Hunters now they're made abroad. I've got lined Aigle wellies which are a dent in the purse but soooo comfy and keep my feet warm in just one normal pair of socks!
 
I got a pair of aigle parcours 2 for Xmas,and they are absolutely brilliant. Warm, comfy, excellent grip in the recent ice, I even wore them for a long walk with my dog. They look nice too! Don't get the basic parcours tho, they aren't neoprene lined, you need to spend a bit more and get the parcours 2. I'm converted, I love mine.

By the bye they size up quite big. I have a size 7 and they are very roomy, you could add in a thick sock but you don't need to!
 
My last pair of hunters did 6 years of almost daily use between dog walking and horses. They were neoprene ones, which were replaced this Christmas. The old ones hadn't split or worn badly, was just time for a new pair!
 
I've got some just togs neoprene wellies, like muck boots but they only cost me £29!!! They're fab. I wasn't sure when I got them but they're even thick mud proof, as in they don't pull off, and as they sort if grip round the top if my calf they don't fill with hay and shavings either. And they're toasty warm.

Great purchase I love them.
 
I have just bought ariat mud buster wellies for 63.99 from Ayr equestrian.com. Not arrived yet but reviews have been good and customer service from ariat is great if you have problems-send replacements immediately no quibble.
 
Going against the flow here but my Balmorals are on their fourth winter and I've had no problems with them at all - I've got the ones lined with bamboo carbon fibre.
 
I bought my Balmorals Just before Christmas 2014 with present money, they lasted until February 2014 before both split and leaked. They had been used every day at the yard, but had been cleaned off and stored at home, which is one of the excuses Hunter use as to why their wellies are so shoddy, I mean who knew wellies were supposed to get wet and muddy eh! I now have muckboots as my sister is on her 4th year with hers.
 
You can get the Aigles quite cheap on Amazon i think I paid about £40, I would say better than hunter and muck boots and seem to be lasting well.
 
If you only want them to last a couple of months id highly recommend the Caldene westfield wellies. I loved mine! Warm, flexible and so so comfey. And then after 6 months the neoprene split. Bought a second pair to give the benefit of the doubt, only lasted 2 months, not into the wet of winter. Such a shame but for £65 I won't again. I did get refund on first pair and am trying to get one on the second.

Then I bought hunters, wrong size so mega uncomfey, my fault. But also not very cosy feeling. If anyone wants a size 4 pair give me a shout!

So I relented and spent out on the Le Chameau ones. They are lovely so I hope they last a bit longer!

My sister likes her Ariats, but this is their first winter so we will see how they hold up. She did say they aren't all that warm though.
 
My grub boots are doing well-warm & good grip - had them nearly a year now. Prior to that had muck boots that lasted a good 5 years which was quite impressive by modern wellie standards!!!
 
I have Frostline which I love - my feet have never been so warm. Only six months so far but going well. Friend at yard bought some too and she loves them too. I had Aigles before which were good but only cost £20 in the sale. I should have bought more pairs. I couldn't find any with a wide enough calf when I bought the frostlines. They have a stretchy calf and are very comfy.
 
Ariat mud buster wellies.

I'm really hard on wellies but these are standing up to my abuse really well.

I didn't get on with Muck Boots at all. I wore through the soles, didn't find them particularly warm and I think they are hideous! The ugliness was worth it if they'd been toasty but mine really weren't...

I considered the Hunter Balmoral as I didn't want to splash out on Le Chameau in case I wore them out quickly too. I was worried about the Hunters simply because of the poor quality (since they moved production) of their normal wellies.

The ariat mud buster is their "normal" welly and then they have the storm buster with more features. I chanced it on the mud buster even though it didn't have neoprene lining and I've found them really warm. There are no signs of wear and they hose off to look new. I'm seriously, seriously impressed with them!

ETA I bought aigles but found they came up really small and weren't very comfortable so I sold them on.
 
I've just replaced my Seelands. They were warm and comfortable but split after a year (although this seems to be the natural lifespan of any welly)
I now have some Goodyear muck boot style ones. Nice and warm but not quite as comfortable. I'd happily buy Seeland again.
 
Have had 2 pairs of Seeland and loved them, toasty warm and very comfy BUT both pairs leaked within 6 months. Have had some Aigle Parcours for Christmas this year. They are also warm and comfy and much more supporting around the ankle. Am hoping they last a bit longer too.
 
I have the Hunter Balmoral neoprene boots and whilst I love them they cracked up badly after a few months round my ankles. Countrywide willingly replaced them but the replacements are starting to show signs of cracking already (about 7 weeks!) I work with horses so am wearing them probably more than your average wearer I suppose.
My old wellies, a pair of Le chemeau's on the other hand are 4 years old and still going strong although they have lost the buckles on the side.
 
I've got the aigle parcours, love them. A friend went through her ariats In less than 6 months, countrywide changed them for a pair of aigles!
 
Save a bit of money. You can't go wrong with Dunlops - they last forever (and I am VERY rough on wellies - we have pigs!). I just bought a couple of pairs for the girls from ebay for under £10 /pair.
 
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