Thursday 15 January 2015

Take Two

My second pair of Tredstep Ireland Raphael Long Leather Boots arrived today. I ordered them a size down from the pair I got last week (LINK). I am annoyingly between shoe sizes and needed to try both to see which fit better. I will be keeping the smaller size methinks.

New size 39 pair
Vs
First pair size 40
The smaller pair fit so much better around my calf. I have also tried to capture comparison shots where the larger pair had quite a bit of excess under my knees. However boot selfies aren't easy to take, so apologies if the weird bunching doesn't really come across in the side-by-sides.

39 on left / 40 on right
39s are much tighter around my calf and
don't have the empty excess beside the tags
39 on left / 40 on right
Massive unnecessary excess bulge behind the calf
and a smaller bulge beside the leather strap at the top of the boot
Again 39 on left / 40 on right
Large bulge still evident behind the calf of size 40
 & bulge by the TS leather label.
 I'm a bit saddened to see the leather TS strap
 also bulging on the 39s. Hopefully this won't cause problems later

I am hoping they will drop a bit behind the knee as sitting on a horse will be interesting till they do ;-)

Close ups of some of the details.
The size 39 right boot is a little floppy @ the ankle when empty
 & the top is a little bent over on itself (bottom left image)
but I am hopeful with proper care and inflatable inserts
when not in use the leather will straighten back out
I remember the bruises I had from my ProG2 gaiters when I got them a few years back and cannot wait for these boots to be like the second skin my gaiters were. Fingers crossed I can ride in these at the weekend!

I can't think of a more inspirational way to "break in"
New boots than watching Puissance jumping from Olympia
These are my first pair of tall boots, can you wonderfully knowledgeable blog readers please give me tips and advice as to how to treat them and keep them in good nick? ☺

Right boot getting tucked in with its inflatable
i'm hoping it will support the floppy top;
there is little difference when on...although
maybe that's why the leather strap bulges
on that boot & not the other one.
Or it could just be that my right calf is chunkier;
it sure seems that way when the boots are on in any case
*blush*
Also I may have tried them on over the skinny jeans I wore to work - so will have to see how I like the fit when I wear them with breeches. Fingers crossed they fit even better!

14 comments:

  1. The 39s definitely look like a much better fit. Hope the breaking-in goes well :)

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    1. Me too, thanks girl! Here's hoping we can get some saddle time this weekend to road test them!

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  2. They are lovely!! I don't have any super useful tips, other than keep boot trees/inflatable inserts in them all the time and condition them regularly! I abuse my poor tall boots, but they've held up for a good while with that minimal treatment. :)

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    1. I seriously abused my gaiters, I'm hoping to be better with these boots this time though - fingers crossed!

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  3. Those are lovely! Hopefully they are broken in soon :)

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    1. The gaiters didn't take long so I am hoping these will be quick too!
      Fingers crossed ☺

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  4. I condition my tall boots regularly (every other ride or so) with effax. I know some riders who don't condition at all. This is my first pair for schooling and not showing so I'm curious to see how my conditioning works. So far so good!

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    1. Great, thanks for the advice. Hopefully I can be good about doing this too! Maybe even do my tack at the same time...although it'll probably be a weekend jobee as weeknights just don't give me enough time after work, sorting the field and if I'm very lucky actually riding the beasties ☺

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  5. I am a very minimal tall boot conditioner person. I will use a little Stubben hamanol on any party that seems to need some love and other than that just wipe clean after each ride and polish regularly. That said I've never used them on an everyday basis so who knows! :-)

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    1. Thanks for the tips, I rarely get to ride every day but I do hope to use them the days I do ride...except for winter woods wandering when I retain my warmer windmeres!

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  6. ooh nice! the 39s definitely look better and probably will drop a little bit to get ride of the extra bulge up top :) re: conditioning, i'm a little negligent of my boots, but really need to step it up! i want them to last!!

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    1. Thanks i loffs them & have been wearing them around the house again this evening (nope they haven't made it to the barn yet *blush*) Sitting and going up/down stairs is interesting, so horse riding will be fun! Please let them drop a little bit asap!

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  7. Replies
    1. Me too ☺ I'd have been so sad if neither fit

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