figure this is as good a place to ask as any.

What is this?



Like team ropers at a calcutta?

boots, my man. ropers!

Ropers are so.... 20 years ago.

You going dancing or working, or riding?

I enjoyed a pair of Nocona brand ropers, they were bison with 3 0r 4 resole jobs before the inside eventually wore out.

have a pair of justin ostridige skin that are over 20 yrs old.

Ariats from a boot store in Cody around 1990.

Hell, I thought he was talkin' about 40 years ago...




FC

Ariats.

Never knew they were called "ropers".


Always just called them boots. Who knew?

When I saw the first pair, I though they were made for a lumberjack that rode a horse.

Elkudun Kickers!!

Bought a pair at WalMart was about as good of a boot as I've had. 12: suade round toe, low heel. One of the brands Walmart always has, from Texas I think. Wore them for about 4 years, mostly in horse crap or stirrups.

Kicks: 10 years ago

I've had some, they are lace boots, ankle support, good, slip less, If I can keep them on all day, fine. I don't like on. and off many times a day.

What is the difference between ropers and packers?

Whites, but they call theirs Packers, and they can be custom fit.
Expensive, but damned well worth it. They can be factory rebuilt. Down to 4 pair at the moment.

Classic ropers have a steep cut on the heel. More of a wedge that should dig into the soil as opposed to surfing on top.

White's Boots link

Damn, I remember my first pair of Whites lineman boots were $145. And I thought that was a lot of money. Climbed a lot of polls in those boots.

Ariat - Saturday night dances and Sunday go-to-meeting.

They were a particular model made by the Justin Boot Company that were real popular in the 1980’s Big Jim.

George Strait endorsed them which made them real popular with all the wanna be Cowboys at the Clubs and Dancehalls.

I don’t dress up with boots much.

Have a couple nice pair of Anderson Beans.

This is what I have, I like the ankle support after breaking ankle 3 1/2 years ago. I wear them dancing, you got to have leather bottoms for that.

I don’t like the new square toe boots, don’t like slip on boots either.

Lucchese classics

I love my Nocona ropers. And I've visited the Nocona outlet in Nocona, TX.

Also want to try Tecovias FQ Ostrich. Heard good things.

Ropers have a flat heel.

Saw some human skin ropers for sale in Rwanda. Didn't buy them.

At first glance I thought that was a cow pie. Never heard them called ropers but have heard them called bleep kickers.

Yep. The Noconas are good. Have several pair. The original Justin’s were OK. The thin calf & goat skin versions didn’t last long.

Gotta have low heels for my old bad Back nowadays. Plus I don’t ride any more either.

Bought a pair of these in 2000 for $105. Wore nearly daily for close to 10 years before they finally wore through. 2 sets of heels. But the sole was still good. Super comfortable.

My son "borrowed" my Laredo ropers and polished them up VERY nice. He wears them regularly to school. I don't believe I'll ever get them back.

I had a pair of Justin Ropers (the original ones) when I was in HS 40 years ago. Loved the way they looked...but they never fit me very well.

Shows you how much I know. I thought Ropers were lace up cowboy boots.

A shoe thread.

Cute.

My Roper’s are cherry goat skin Nocona’s. I’ve never been without at least one pair of Nocona’s since 1978.

Yep. They always hurt my feet. We must be about the same age. Graduated 41 years ago.
You still have my old USPFA 45 LC / 45acp. ?

I'm 55. Too old to do the math. LOL.

its a football and beer thread

Ropers are so not boots. They are built on shoe lasts therefore they are shoes.

I'm so confused!

He said ropers last longer than shoes.

Dingo boots for motorcycles.

You probably have a set of camo crocs or something......

oh yeah!!! double H are my favorite, wearing a pair right now as I type. I have 2 pairs of them, they will not wear out!! They do take longer to break in than most boots. I have replaced the heals on both of mine. They use buffalo hide in quite a few models of their ice boots. The buffalo hide seems to stay looking better longer. I just throw some danner boot dressing on the scratches and they go away.

they have the comfort of a work boot but they don't lose their style with a foam padded sole,like the ariat work hogs etc. The bottoms some how are quite grippy for what they are, yet the main sole is lasting forever. I may get 3 heels on mine before the main sole is done. ariats are kinda a mass produced boot. double h has a noticeable uptick in quality.

I do want to try some dan post boots, I also want some of the square toe tacovas, I have more boots than my wife has shoes, LOL if tacovas comes out with a square toe in ostrich, I will not be able to help myself.

Hush yo mouf....

Cushy going to town shoes are Sanuks.

Like a vacation for your feet. Go with long pants or short britches.

i have em, the mexican boots. not as stable as ariats but a step above. have ordered a pair of the RTIC tecovas knockoffs to see wtf ...

Justin ropers are the standard by which all roper-style boots are judged.

holy crap, I thought you were joking about the tecova knockoffs. those cueros which I have heard of really are Rtic, LOL. They are supposed to be great boots. They don't offer many styles, their boots look kinda plain looking to me and I don't really like the toe shape. let us know how you like em.

They’re made in Leon, Mexico. “Leather capital of the world”. I worked there for the year of 2017. Bought lots of purses and several pairs of boots for my family for cheap. American makers go down there. Order their 10,000 pairs or whatever, then the Mexican manufacturers have all the patterns and copy and sale locally. Boots. Costs. Purses. Everything. Across from our hotel was the “leather district. Probably 5 blocks square with nothing but these barrow stores selling leather goods. Was fun to walk around and see how far they’d come down in price. I picked up some cocodrillo (crocodile) skin for $125. They look awesome, but are tight across the instep. Gotta get them stretched.

will do. im actually ok w the round toes, kinda burned out on square toe boots. i expect these to be almost exactly like tecovas, with some cut corners here and there. i love the tecovas but ive never had a problem w boots that have a smaller/more narrow fit.

that sounds about right. then again it aint tough to make boots better than china does.

It took me a long time. The turning point for me was when someone pointed out that square toes weren't so new. In fact most boots worn by real working cowboys and the cavalry back in the 1800's had square toes. The more pointed toes became a thing as a fashion statement starting in the 1960's according to the research I've done. Going back and looking at photos of the older Western movies and working cowboys from the 1800's shows almost all wore square toe boots.

After figuring that out I've decided to accept them. And the Ariat's I have with square toes are more comfortable to me than the more modern round toes.

The difference between riding boots and ropers is in the heel and shaft height. Doesn't matter if they are lace up or pull on. Most riding boots have a taller shaft to protect the legs and a tall heel to keep the boots from sliding too far into the stirrup. Ropers were a specially designed boot for rodeo calf roping events. Since they must dismount and run a lighter boot with a shorter shaft is better. A lower heel isn't as good in the saddle, but easier to run in to tie off the calf. People have found that if they are on their feet for long periods of time instead of in the saddle ropers are more comfortable.

Check out the square toe boots from this classic western movie.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/14465963#Post14465963

I also like Double H boots. Their nicer boots are made in the USA, too. Not sure if Ariat still makes any in the US as every pair of seen of theirs in the past 5 years all say China.

https://truewestmagazine.com/the-functional-side-of-cowboy-boots/

. I saw a guy review the cueros and he said in many ways they were better than tecovas

My Ariat schitkickers have kicked a lot of schitt.
I like 'em.

I bought a pair many years ago that were made of bullhide. I didn't really care that they were made of bullhide when I bought them. I just liked the boots. I had them around forever,...put them through hell,..and they wouldn't even scuff.

I eventually got old enough that I started to prefer Clark's loafers over boots, so I hauled them to the Goodwill. I bet somebody's still wearing them.

Yep.

That's what my working boots are.

Saw them at Cavender's and they said waterproof, so I took a chance, and damned if they aren't!

I hate wet feet, and I have to go walk around in mud and muck much too often. They work and last!

good article.

im sure its possible but i have to think theyre more alike than different. tecovas is excellent at communication, i can say that

Oh, you mean cowboy boots. Except they have a walking heel. Okay.

I don't know that I have ever known anyone who actually bought cowboy boots with a flat walking heel. Though we do see a lot of pull on work boots in the factory. But that is a different issue.

I will not wear a dogger heel. They roll over and break down too quickly. But a two inch slightly underslung riding heel with a semi round toe is where it's at. I have a new pair of 'Lamas on order in bull hide right now.

I used to be able to walk into the local boot places and pick a pair of anacondas, or boas, or shark, or pythons, or sea turtle, or lizard, or gator, or ostrich, or elephant, or African antelope, or water buffalo, or bison all in the same store in Tony Lama, or Justin, or Nacona.

My favorite boot in history was a Nacona in elk hide. They wore like iron in the absolute worst conditions and were comfortable for twenty hour days on concrete. But the last time I saw a pair was in 1981.

I used to live in Tony Lama African antelopes. They had a nice textured surface, and the grain goes all the way through the leather, making them very scuff resistant.

But today, the best I can find locally is a selection of a dozen pair. Most with a square toe, and half with a 5/8 inch welt. The dealer only had two which I would even recognize as a cowboy boot. Both were in bullhide. Neither was in stock in my size. Both were discontinued styles. He finally found a pair of 10EE somewhere and is having them shipped in.

I am very reticent to purchase boots online. Though I know there is a good selection of leathers and styles from online vendors, there is no way to know the fit.

a walking heel usually describes a higher than roper heel that is back cut, or under cut at the rear so it allows your foot to rock down and have that extra heel there. for me the higher heel, if i wear boots like that all the time it would make it harder for me to wear my tenny runners when I excercise in the mornings, switch to hunting boots while hunting, wading boots while fly fishing etc. The nice thing about ropers is they allow you to wear other shoes easier, IMO I do think ropers might aught consider the back cut on the rear heels too. tecovas does this with their new square toe boots, they have what they call a hybrid heel. a little taller than a roper but its got the back cut to make it have the features of a walking heel.

some ropers have a very short heel, almost dress show like. others like the double h ice boots, that is actually plenty of heel for horse riding, although I still prefer a traditional leather sole for use in stirrups.

I've got a set that I bought from Herrett's that I move between my Model 18 Smith and my model 19 Smith. I like them a lot.

You should sell those and buy 10 or 12 pairs of boots.

But I couldn't afford a hat.

Tempted to buy these for $150 on clearance. Lucchese elk skin. Size 10, 11, and 12 only.

https://www.sierra.com/lucchese-bond-cowboy-boots-elk-square-toe-12-for-men~p~700ha/?filterString=s~luchesse-elk%2F

I like Justin ropers for my feet and Keith Brown ropers for my Smith & Wesson

I've got a pair of Justin Ropers in grey, an out-of-production color for a long time now, that still look like new. Bought them in 1989.

That's a good deal. I haven't tried the US Lucchese boots ina while, but the Mexican-made pair I had 6 or 7 years back ran a little small.

that is a good deal right there

Anderson Bean

Rio of Mercedes.

I still have my first pair of Justin roper boots bought new in 87.
they have been resoled 3 times. still in good shape. all that aside, I dont wear them often these days. Still wear work boots with actual tread on them now

Had a pair of Anderson Beans that were great, now I've got a pair of Tecovas that are pretty dang solid. Tecovas you order online though, but their sizing is true and they come with a return label in case they don't fit so you can exchange or return them.

Just ordered a pair at $150 'last one' said the item for my size. Then went back to the website, price is now $199 and the same size is available plus other sizes. Looks like they play games on inventory, but I'll take it at that price. These are Made In USA, we'll see how they fit.

I liked all lace boots better when my belly was smaller.

That’s funny right there.

i still have my FQ ostrich justin ropers. still my favorite boots and brand. ive had rio of mercades and anderson bean. like them all but perfer the justins for work and riding. i only wear my anderson's for riding now (they hold my spurs better)

Never did really like ropers. I never found them comfortable and do not like the low heels. The main reason being that I was always afraid of them in the stirrup.
From young horses to older finished horses, whether riding out or working cattle or buffalo, I'll take a boot with a taller heel on it thank you very much!

they were made with low heals for rodeo guys who team rope they are much easier to run in.

I'm surprised that so many people who possibly wear boots have apparently never heard of ropers.

Yes sir, I knew that. I'm sure they work OK for that, but I will just never trust them for my riding.

Justin calf skin for me. I have two pair of lace-up ropers and one pair of pull-on (boots), mine are all leather lined inside,
I am seeing a lot of new low-cost boots (Ariats, etc) that are being made in China and that seem to be a sort of "bucket" boot, it appears that they are all one width and if you need a narrow width you add insoles until there is semblance of fit. Boots are like most other things - good quality costs.


drover

ditto to that,

Ariats