damned wellies

[matt green]

anyone know of a way to stop wellingtons from splitting/perishing.i recently bought a pair rom the local garden market,they were quite comfortable and i even managed to trek seven miles over cross country in them.
i thought they would last a long while due to the rubber being very supple but just after a month they split down the fold line on the outside edge.

i'm very temted to never bother with wellies again but can't bring myself to splodge through a foot deep in slushy cow excrement in my treasured trezettas :eek!:any ideas

matt

[s.g.]

Try a good make like Hunter, from john norris penrith, start at £50 but had mine years.[tel. 01768 864211]

S.G.

[Jos Stratford]

You seem to be a little unlucky - had my two pairs of cheap wellies for a good few years now, they don't get treated well - one pair lives in the car boot, be in in the hot summer or mega sub-zero of winter, typically buried under all the other junk, wood and etc. Other pair serves more often as a play thing for a stupid one-year labrador who finds it totally amuzing to see if he can propel it towards the ceiling at the greatest velocity possible. However, both going well, never sprung a leak and certainly haven't split ...yet.

[tom24]

My Hunters are over 10 yrs old and still going strong.Used extensively for first 6 yrs, more sparingly now.I use fleece insoles in them too.
If i buy another pair, i think i'll splash out on the type with vibram soles.
Much prefer boots for ankle support, so if i think it'll be overly wet i use older boots with w/proof socks and ankle or leg gaiters.

[Frogbad]

I also wear Hunter wellies not sure which model but they have the Vibram walking sole on and they are lined with neoprene. I have had these for three years so far and they are still going strong.

I think I paid £40 for them. A good investment it seems.

[willowa]

I was going to recommend Hunter also. I had a horse about two years ago, I used to live in mine. They are still going stong now. They even come in pretty pink if you like.

[Keith Dickinson]

Matt, I've a pair of boots that I got from an Army surplus store in 95/6 which are still going strong, cost less than £20.00 no makers name so can't help there. You say they split on the fold line, I don't understand that there are no folds on my wellies?

[matt green]

Matt, I've a pair of boots that I got from an Army surplus store in 95/6 which are still going strong, cost less than £20.00 no makers name so can't help there. You say they split on the fold line, I don't understand that there are no folds on my wellies?
i mean the crease line,i guess the rubber became fatigued with use where there is the most movement,rather like the crack you sometimes get over your toeline in leather walking boots.

looks like the piggy bank might get a bashing for a pair of those hunters :t:

matt

[Keith Dickinson]

I know what you mean now Matt, that's where my wellies tend to split as well although this last pair have been very good and still look okay at that point. This pair have lasted the longest, normally don't last much over 3 years as I tend to wear them only when the weather is at it's wettest. I use Brasher boots and as to the field frisbees if I step in one of them I make for the nearest pool and give the boots a dunking, I keep the boots well proofed, this usually gets rid of the worst of it. I also tend to use gaiters, I know this is supposed to be a bit naff, but it keeps the crud off my legs/trousers and the uppers of the boots.

[willowa]

i mean the crease line,i guess the rubber became fatigued with use where there is the most movement,rather like the crack you sometimes get over your toeline in leather walking boots.

looks like the piggy bank might get a bashing for a pair of those hunters :t:

matt

We have a Central Wool grower (CWG) near me. They sell hunters cheaper than high street shops. They have shops all over the country.

[s.g.]

Hi willowa,
Do they have a web site?

S. G.

[Forest Knights]

I am after a decent pair of wellies. i nearly died looking in the local agricultural shop. I didn't know people paid over £100 for wellies.

anyone know of a cheapish store near Sussex to buy a good pair without needing a mortage?

[matt green]

just found

http://hunter-boots.com

they have an online uk store with prices starting at around £40 going up to
a [deep breath] £299 pair of all leather handmade windproof wellies.

matt

[saluki]

Hi willowa,
Do they have a web site?

S. G.

Hi SG,

http://www.cwg.co.uk/

You can enter as a guest and have a look around.

I often wear Hunters or the cheaper immitations. I find them fine for walking in. In such soddon places as Argyll boots are useless it's often so wet. Boots take ages to dry and are high-maintenance compared to wellingtons. If you're going out two or three times a day wellies are far more useful.

saluki

[s.g.]

Thanks for that Saluki.

S. G.

[Corvus Corax]

I have found standard Dunlop wellies to be fine for even really heavy duty use - my current pair are around 4 years old, are worn in all conditions & live in a boot bag as soon as I take them off.

During a ringing season I virtually live in my wellies and tramp through meadow, forestry, rivers & pasture plus mountain scrambling without any visible damage.

Have found them great for tree climbing when ringing raptors and during abseiling for Peregrines.

Cost of this exotic all purpose footwear - £12


Why would anyone pay £230 for hand made wellies ? ? ? that's valuable beer tokens !

[peterginsburg]

Just to inject a North American view, you could try LaCrosse Grange boots which are available through such outfitters as Cabelas (www.cabelas.com) for about $45 plus shipping (20% of order for overseas??). Another highly respected boot is the Xtra Tuff which is worn religiously in Alaska and is extremely popular with fishermen. The latter is more expensive and not quite as high but the rubber is excellent. In any case if the "bed" of the boot is uncomfortable or non-conforming to your foot just take an insole from an athletic shoe and stick it in the boot.

[Wes Hobarth]

Also check out www.wellieboots.com. I bought fairly pricey neoprene lined Aigles from them a few years back. They are as comfortable as walking shoes and still shine up like new.

Wes

[matt green]

just purchased a pair of green unbranded wellies from the local garden market
for £5.99.

we'll see how many miles i can get out of these :t:

matt

[bob hastie]

Interesting thread this. I'm a shepherd and contract fencer and therefore wear wellies most of the year and have been doing so for over 20 years. over the years I've tried all sorts of wellies ranging from £4 to £50.
The best advice I can give you is don't buy the cheapest, they split as you've found out and NEVER pay more than £20 for a pair, the extra money only pays for a name ( as for £299, thats just stupidity but well done to the sales assistant who managed to find a sucker to buy them).
These days I usually aim for a pair at around £10 from my local agricultural merchants and find I normally have to throw them out due to lack of tread rather than splits. one pair every 4-5 months in the winter used 6 days a week (I go birding on Sundays)

[Jack Snipe]

Well well well(y) - what gives here...?.....I didn't notice this earlier thread as I'd previously posted in the similar one about what boots / footwear to recommend that somebody else started. Anyway, as it's an interesting discussion nevertheless, allow me to take each point in turn....

I am after a decent pair of wellies. i nearly died looking in the local agricultural shop. I didn't know people paid over £100 for wellies.....anyone know of a cheapish store near Sussex to buy a good pair without needing a mortage?

I have found standard Dunlop wellies to be fine for even really heavy duty use - my current pair are around 4 years old, are worn in all conditions & live in a boot bag as soon as I take them off.During a ringing season I virtually live in my wellies and tramp through meadow, forestry, rivers & pasture plus mountain scrambling without any visible damage. Have found them great for tree climbing when ringing raptors and during abseiling for Peregrines. Cost of this exotic all purpose footwear - £12.
Why would anyone pay £230 for hand made wellies ? ? ? that's valuable beer tokens !


By "decent" I would advise anyone who really needs a pair to last the course to avoid all that cheap foreign PVC rubbish - as they DO split after a very short time. For me it's always a case of choosing wellies wisely - if you can that is. For years I have always sworn by the old (now no longer called) Uniroyal make....I think they are now owned by Hunters outright but the company are now called Gates. However, being a purist (sad, I know) I don't like green wellies for aesthetic reasons, so the trusty old Argyll wellington has been the boot of choice for well over 25 years now (had my first pair way back when I was still in school in the early 80s). However, they don't make them like they used to - if they're still being made that is, which I think they are, but they ARE now very expensive - unlike when I fortuitously acquired mine when they were still relatively cheap (under £15) - which takes me to the next point....


I also wear Hunter wellies not sure which model but they have the Vibram walking sole on and they are lined with neoprene. I have had these for three years so far and they are still going strong.
I think I paid £40 for them. A good investment it seems.

Hunter wellies are now ridiculously expensive - over £40 for all sorts of mad colour varieties! And I think the Argyll sells for around the same now....I dare say they now sell well cos of the gimmicky/fashionable aspect, rather than the old practical aspect of days gone by when they were still known as Uniroyal - I do know that even now the old heavy duty boots they used to make for farmers and industrial needs have also been redesigned such that they look ugly and - most importantly of all - less durable than they used to be before. The best soles are the old cleated ones, these new commando ones some of the newer types are manufactured with are useless as the treads chip and break easily - I should know, two of my friends who work in the clay yard in Buxton have bemoaned how their newer more expensive Century 3000s have nothing like the durability of the old-style cleated-tread Argyll Safeties from the Uniroyal era, sadly. I actually took some photos of the broken treads of one of the newer pairs - (which actually, shockingly, resulted in a puncture making the boot unusable!! - and this for £45 a pair!) to send back to Gates/Hunter Boots Ltd. to protest at how they are no longer made to last like the old style. I could post them up if you wish to see them just to illustrate the point I'm making.



Interesting thread this. I'm a shepherd and contract fencer and therefore wear wellies most of the year and have been doing so for over 20 years. over the years I've tried all sorts of wellies ranging from £4 to £50. The best advice I can give you is don't buy the cheapest, they split as you've found out and NEVER pay more than £20 for a pair, the extra money only pays for a name ( as for £299, thats just stupidity but well done to the sales assistant who managed to find a sucker to buy them).
These days I usually aim for a pair at around £10 from my local agricultural merchants and find I normally have to throw them out due to lack of tread rather than splits. one pair every 4-5 months in the winter used 6 days a week (I go birding on Sundays)

As Forest Knights said above, these agricultural shops which sell the specialist types of black wellies as well as the ubiquitous Hunter/green varieties tend to be rather pricey - and indeed these days it's almost normal to see a pair of decent black wellies retailing for over £40 and as much as £60-£80 a pair, which is just ridiculous. There was until recently a very durable make of welly called the BTR Bullseye which was the definitive old-style [agricultural] handmade boot - natural rubber with cushioned insoles and tough reinforced cleated soles. Much like the Uniroyal Argyll varieties but even stronger and designed for very tough terrain, they are somewhat heavier and bulkier-looking, especially round the toes and heels. As a result of this, they're not to everyone's tastes, especially if you want a narrower/ more snug fit round the heel. These have now - apparently - also been bought over by Gates/Hunter and are made in their usual flimsy style and sold at a huge mark up, but back in the day they were the best ones to have. They have always been a tad expensive but I was lucky enough to have found TWO pairs of these boots - brand new - at Oldham Tommyfield Outdoor Market (the army surplus clothing/footwear stand owned by a nice lady called Pat - she's still there now actually, usually pitched near the toilet/cafe block end of the site - give her a visit if you can) back in 1997, selling for an incredible £8 a pair - I bought both pairs - the other as a spare for any friends/guests on muddy walks etc...

The pair of Argylls I have - which are much lighter on the feet but extremely comfy due to ther cushioned insole supports - I have had for over 16 years now and they're still going strong - with treads intact - despite the battering I have given them over the years. Again, I was lucky enough to find a second pair going really dirt cheap (£5.00) at a car boot sale near Knutsford a couple of years ago - amazingly, these were as new and will come in handy as a replacement pair when my older pair finally bite the dust....

Of course, all these types are so pricey I certainly wouldn't think of spending that amount of money on them now - it's just pure good fortune that I found them when they were dirt cheap - usually at the best places to find them (i.e. NOT from the direct retailers or sellers!!)

I have included a few attachments showing these Argyll and Bullseye wellies - mostly taken on recent country walks/strolls/dog-walking sessions in the nearby vicinity, natch - for the benefit of those who don't know or remember what they look like. For years, both varieties were very common amongst labourers, farmers, jobsworths, contractors, etc... but of course now, only the more discerning amongst us will even possess them any more!

[Richard Scott]

Lidl strikes again....green wellies for £2.49 from 6th March

[Jack Snipe]

Lidl strikes again....green wellies for £2.49 from 6th March


I bet they will be built to last! Best thing is to buy them up in multiples like you do socks - so once they split or the treads come unglued you at least have two or three reserve pairs on standby! ;)

[oldgiteggy]

Surely you get what you pay for. Most farming friends of mine buy Le Cameau Vega (£75) and Aigle wellies (£80), wear them everyday for year and buy new every year. Knee high waterproof walking boots for less than the price of a pair of walking boots. Mind you, the neoprene lined Le Chameau All Tracks (£49) are cosy in winter and Prologic make 100% waterproof feildboots for £39. Flyfishing in winter makes you appreciate good wellies.