I need some boots

[Realmwatcher]

I need a good, long-lasting, pair of boots for a reasonable price.

Something that'll work for an adventurer, warrior, and even my Jedi Robes.

[beeboy]

Sons of Sandlar, SCA boots, or Catskill Mountains

those are basically the 3 best companies

[Realmwatcher]

Fantasticly fast response.
What are their websites?

[beeboy]

Sons of Sandlar - www.sandlarboots.com - pricey but will literally last you YEARS.   I know multiple people who have had theirs for upwards of 7 years with only resoling.  Sons of Sandlar has never had a single customer ask for their money back

SCA Boots - www.scaboots.com

Catskill Mountain - http://www.catskill-moc.com



a few other places are... www.renaissancemoccasins.com

there's also Ren Boots, but I definetly wouldn't recommend them

[Realmwatcher]

Ah, thank you very much.

[beeboy]

your welcome.  I would give you testimonies about SCA Boots and Catskill, but I don't know any off-hand and they don't do my home faire.  Sons of Sandlar does my home faire, hence my putting forth the testimonies

[skrid the brown]

I need a good, long-lasting, pair of boots for a reasonable price.

Something that'll work for an adventurer, warrior, and even my Jedi Robes.

Ahhh yes, good luck with that.....actually my custom Will turners from Caboots are great...they look good but have only worn them once.  The calves do run a little small and I had to go with the Custom ones.

[CaraGreenleaf]

what is sandlar's myspace link?

[NoBill Lurker]

One Sandler myspace link for CaraGreenleaf...

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=68258057

[Cobaltblu]

Depending on how much you might want to spent I would recommend Sodhoppers at www.sodhoppers.com

I bought a pair of sodhoppers and am very pleased with them.  If you want to check my pair out look on my photobucket album.

Regards,

CB

[Toki Bloodaxe]

You might want to try House of Andar shoes. They are less expensive and are made basically the same way as a lot of fair boots. They come in Brown and Black, as far as I know

[Abigail Fairbottom]

Hubby has been wearing House of Andar boots for going on his 5th straight season.  He says they're still very comfortable, and I can attest that they still look like new.

[JeannieMac]

I was thinking of getting new boots - and someone suggested http://www.medievalmoccasins.com/ to me ... anyone know anything about them - good or bad?

They are appealing to me b/c I have larger calves from sports so traditional boots are super (sometimes too) tight.

Thanks

[CatAshtrophy]

I have their shoes, not boots. They are comfortable, but I also add a shoe insert into it to make it a little more comfy. I have extremely sensitive feet and most kinds of shoes leave me blistered or bleeding. I get a little bit of blisters with these shoes, but I've yet to come across any shoes that don't have that happen to me at faire. They do leave me fewer blisters than many other shoes though. My mother has their shoes too (not boots), and does not have a blister problem at all. The one problem is that rocks can get inside the shoes through the slots, so occassionally I have to take off the shoe to dump out the rocks. But I still love them.

[LadyStitch]

My whole guild uses renboots. www.renboots.com  They are fairly reasonable  150-300 bucks, but can do custom if you need it.

If you want tall Celtic boots I'd say go medieval moccasins, or Renaissance moccasins.  They are the same shoe pattern (company split)  One does them in suede  the other leather.  I have a pair of shoes from one and sandels from another.  I love them! When I have a choice of wearing store bought sandals or these. I wear these.  Yes you do get tiny stones into your shoes occasionally but I love them.  When I first got them I wanted insoles, but the more I wore them the more I liked them without.  They make me feel like I am barefoot.  I wear them as my "sewing shoes".  I wear them while I sew so I don't' get pins in my feet. (been there done that DON'T want to do it again)

My 2 pence are Ren boots and the moccasins. 

[beeboy]

when it comes to Renboots, I've heard very few praises about it.  The majority of people I've talked to complain about Renboots

there was a whole thread on it once but I don't remember where it is (it might have been on the old forums)

[LadyStitch]

That is odd.  We have used them for 3-4 years.  Nearly all our guild has boots from them.  The ONLY problem I have run into was because an owner's family member died, and he didn't answer his phone for a week or so.  Our order of boots for my husband took 2 more weeks than expected, but we got them by our deadline.  They are affordable boots, but if you buy the 150-200 bargin ones you get what you pay for over the long run.  They will last 3-4 faire's of medium use, for some of our guild that means 3-5 years of wearing them to 1-2 faire's a year, other's it isn't worth the investment. 
My hubby has worn his in shows all over the world, and has had them for 3+ years and loves them.  Granted he wears them at least once a month for a day or two at a time.  He isn't a performer at faire.  If you are wearing them day in day out....get the Catskills or Bald Mountain. Your feet will thank you.

[Doberman]

FWIW, my cheap, no-idea-of-a-brandname calf-height mocassin boots that I mighta paid $40 for have lasted me a decade of 9 weekends a year at Bristol plus a coupla other wearings throughout the year.  And that's typically 2 10-hour days per weekend where I spend basically all of my time striding around the grounds.

My cheap brown Jedi boots from here have sustained a coupla dozen wearings with no issue at all.  Including swing dancing in them a few times. 

I've got a cheap pair of black boots that fold down over my calf which are basically the same as the brown ones, just taller.  They've also been worn plenty of times with no adverse experiences.  I can't remember where I got 'em, but they were inexpensive.   ----  Now that I've looked at the scaboots site, I'm pretty positive that what I have are the "Big John knee & Thigh boots" that SCA sells.  (Same tread pattern, 7" zipper, etc.  They sure feel like pleather to me, despite sca's claim that they're actual leather.)   I'm pretty positive that I didn't get them there and that they cost quite a bit less than the $100 they want for them.  Regardless, they've held up fine.

The most important thing about footwear is that they fit.  You get a crappy fitting pair from anyone and you're gonna have issues.  (Now, before everyone jumps in and says that, "Well Sandlar will work with you until they're perfect." sure they will.  That's not really the point here.     ) 

[Nimue]

I got boots last season from Native Earth and love them, and know lots of other folks who also swear by them.

http://www.nativearth.net/

[Valiss]

I have some inexpensive Pirate boots I got at http://www.dresslikeapirate.com - pretty comfortable actually!

[Valiss]

Oh and I'd like to also give anther thumbs up to Native Earth.  Many guild members have them and love them and some have had thier boots for 8+ years (and have resoled them).

[Randal]

Ditto the thumbs up for Native Earth. My two button shoes have 7+ seasons of hard wear on them, and IMHO look better than the day I bought them. One word of advice; get them nice and wet, and then wear them as they dry. They'll be much more comfy afterwards.

For good, cheap boots, I highly recommend a pair of plain black or brown Justin Ropers. They have a low, walking heel, and a wide rounded toe. They aren't the fanciest boots out there, but they are fairly well made, and can often be found for about $60.00 a pair.

Randal