How long should +£75 wellies last

petalpc

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I have a pair of Hunter Balmoral neoprene wellies which I've had just 2 years. They've been great, kept my feet warm and still look like new even though I've been wearing them for walking my dogs every day. Trouble is the rubber has split above the ankle on one boot even though I've been looking after them with the Hunter care products. Of course they're out of guarantee so Hunter don't want to know. It seems to me reasonable to expect wellies which are this expensive to last at least 5 years. Has anyone else had this problem? Suggestions for a course of action gratefully received.
 
Oh dear. apparently they have had lots of problems. there is a place down here that does not sell them anymore because of the amount of returns. My cheapo tenner wellies are on their third year :D personally i would rather not spend that much on wellies.
 
I paid £80 for the rok neoprene riding welly they lasted about two months and now have about ten splits in the two boots complete rubbish, this is the second pair I have had too the first one did the same, I buy cheap twenty quid ones now.
 
I feel that they should last at least three years however the reality seems to be about two months. I bought a pair of muck boots this time last year they split after about two months so I returned them and the shop replaced them with some rok boots, they also split so the shop replaced them with some ariat mud busters which after three months leak. I only wear my boots in the yard never for walking long distances etc, I am so disappointed that I think I am going to return to a pair of £10 00 dunlops which seem indestructible!!! :mad:
 
I brought some wellies for around that , and they only lasted a couple of months :( used them for everyday use, not yard boots, and they still didn't last long! the material at the heel has worn down on the right boot, and now they are very painful to wear!
 
I was boasting on here a few weeks ago about how great my Hunters were lasting and literally the next day they ceased to be waterproof :o

Only had 5 months with them :( I sent a reallllly snotty and annoyed but still somehow polite email to Hunter and they replied saying without knowing an individuals usage etc they really couldn't predict how long they were to last!!!! THEY ARE WELLIES!!!!!
 
Hunters seem to be aimed at festival goers who wear them about five times a year, I have decided!

I had a pair of muckboots that split after 6 months, I returned them, and the next ones lasted three years..

I bought some HKM neoprene ones at Bramham that were £20 and have been wonderful so far! I'm wondering about buying some muckboots for hubby for Xmas, but dithering a bit!

His hunters from 7 years ago lasted 5 years, more recent ones have holes in after a fwe months, and don't look as though they are even the same material.
 
my Hunters are a year old and still going strong, touch wood! to be honest I expect them to give up sooner rather than later, Hunters are now made for fashion/festivals!
 
I'd expect 3-4 years, and I'd expect decent wellies to reach the end of their life because the sole had worn down and they were getting too slippy, not for any other reason like splits or leaks.

I've also got a pair of two year old Balmorals, which seem okay so far - I thought it was the Hunter Classic that had all the problems?
 
My £11 pair of Asda wellies are still going strong and this is their second winter. I gave up on Hunter wellies a few years ago.

YO has a pair of Hunters that are similar to Dubarry boots. The sole came off within 3 months.
 
I bought a pair of Hunters in the late 70's which died three years ago, only because I spiked the foot with a fork while mucking out. So I bought another pair, which lasted less than a year. They are certainly not made like they used to be and I wouldn't bother again. I now wear cheapo wellies for yard work and have my Muckboot Tyne boots for riding when it is too wet and mucky for my decent leather boots.
Sadly I think Hunters are now just a disposable fashion item, albeit an expensive one!
 
Thank you everyone. :) This has been a real eye opener. My last wellies were made by Loveson and I'd had them for more than 20 years until the soles wore out. I expected much better from Hunter wellies especially with the royal warrant. It doesn't seem to count for much does it?
 
I paid similar for some ariat Wellies (cos I loooove ariat) and they died within 4 months :(. Ariat replaced them 3 times (good lovely ariat) but after that pair split, gave up and got some at less than half the price that have so far lasted twice as long as the ariats. :(. Sad times. The ariat Wellies were so comfy, and were designed to ride in, which I loved, but unfortunately were not designed to be used everyday :(
 
Hunters moved their production overseas, at which point the quality went out of the window!! Talking to someone at our local agricultural store, they stopped sellingthem because they had so many complaints, and now don't sell barbour ones for much the same reason. They do now sell Toggi ones, and apparently so far so good!
 
My dad found a pair of hunters in a skip and they were in my size these lasted about 18 months but as they were 2nd hand I don't know how much use they had before.

So far this year I have had two pairs of wellies a pair of clarkes ones that lasted about a month, a cheap pair that were £10 from wilkinson and lasted about 2 months they seemed to leak but could not find where they were leaking as could not find any holes. Prior to that I had a pair of Dublins I got for £5 and they lasted one winter before spliting.

I know have a pair of muckers from shoezone for £25 only had them a few weeks and they are not leaking yet but someone else at the yard said they have a pair and they leak.

I had a pair of woofwear muckers and again they lasted about 6 months, however they were very comfy and I wore them every day and rode in them too.

I think horse wee tends to rot the rubber on lots of these wellies.
 
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