Hypes and Gripes: Winter Boots

I'm not one to do product reviews, but there's been a few things I've loved and hated this winter and I'm lacking for content, so here you go.

Gripe: Dublin River Wide Calf Boot

I got these over a year ago, I think from RW, and initially I really liked them. But after a few wearings, things started to go south.  They are pull on boots, but have no boot pull loops to aid in pulling them on. And, somehow, I still have a pair of boot pulls in my trailer that I could use.  I usually wear a 9.5 but these only come in full sizes so I sized up to the 10 and it was very hard to fit my high arched feet into the boots. Once they broke in that became easier, but then the heel in the left boot started collapsing and pulling them on, especially over jeans, became damn near impossible. They also came up mid calf which I thought was fairly short, especially since I'm only 5'3".

Hype: Ariat Coniston Pro Boot

So I went looking for an easier winter boot to get on and off, and something that came up higher on my leg. I really liked the look of the Ariat Coniston, and with a zipper up the back and laces up the front, I hoped it would fit my wide calf even though it only came in one calf size. I didn't like the $399 price tag, but found a nearly new pair on ebay in my size for half off. I LOVE these boots.  The leather is nicer than the normal Ariat tall boot leather (at least the leather on my old Ariat tall boots from 10yrs ago) and they felt broken in immediately (which to be fair they had been worn less than 10 times before I got the, but still). I've been able to fit them over thin breeches, thick breeches, and jeans easily. They also come up as high as normal tall boots which I really like. They're insulated, but even on warm days I find myself using these over my paddock boots and half chaps.