Am I screwed? (Ariat Boot Zipper)

[Eddy's Mom]

So I purchased a pair of Ariat Challenge Field Boots with a zipper last week off ebay. They were brand-new but no box. I had a pair a while back that I loved, so I thought I would get a new pair. Well I got them today and put tried them on. The left boot was tight but zipped up fine, the right one didn't want to zip all the way. I zipped it up and was easily able to pull it on over my tall sock. My thinking was that if it pulled up that easily than it wasn't tight enough to damage the zipper, right? Wrong?

Anyway, I went to take them off after a couple hours and I noticed the zipper had separated at the calf, and hubby was finally able to get the boot off but the zipper is broken.

Soooooooo, the seller is going to refund me $30 which is great but now I'm stuck with boots with a broken zipper, that seem like will just break again. Do I contact Ariat or is that pointless since I am not the original buyer? Do they need to know that? I have heard Ariat will replace the boots or zipper, but now I don't know if I want boots with a zipper! Anyone have any thoughts on what to do?

Sheesh, all this over a cheap pair of boots! Thanks in advance! Amanda

[winfieldfarm]

I own a pair of Ariat zips, my first pair of zips. I have giant calves and fell for the convinience of zippers. had one blow out at a horse show squatting down to put on a polo!

long story short, the boots fit me great, had lots of life in them but the zipper fabric that holds that teeth had worn thru where the zipper wrinkles behind your ankle. On close inspection, the other boot was on its way to doing the same thing.

I really liked the boots so went to my tack shop where I bought them. Turns out there is a company called Nushoe on line that will repair all kinds of shoes and boots with parts from the original manufacturer. The bummer was that the Ariat zipper costs $80 for one zipper, an additional $40 for the second boot's zipper. But brand new the boots would have cost me about $240 new. So off they went. The boots came back 3 weeks later fixed to perfection as well as shined like a military boot and a free set of laces were thrown in too. Now I were paddocks and half chaps and save the fixed boots for horseshows only.

Look up Nushoe.com on line.

[Eddy's Mom]

I own a pair of Ariat zips, my first pair of zips. I have giant calves and fell for the convinience of zippers. had one blow out at a horse show squatting down to put on a polo!

long story short, the boots fit me great, had lots of life in them but the zipper fabric that holds that teeth had worn thru where the zipper wrinkles behind your ankle. On close inspection, the other boot was on its way to doing the same thing.

I really liked the boots so went to my tack shop where I bought them. Turns out there is a company called Nushoe on line that will repair all kinds of shoes and boots with parts from the original manufacturer. The bummer was that the Ariat zipper costs $80 for one zipper, an additional $40 for the second boot's zipper. But brand new the boots would have cost me about $240 new. So off they went. The boots came back 3 weeks later fixed to perfection as well as shined like a military boot and a free set of laces were thrown in too. Now I were paddocks and half chaps and save the fixed boots for horseshows only.

Look up Nushoe.com on line.

That's interesting it blew out there. Mine blew out at the widest part of the calf, which made me wonder if they were too small? I'll look up that site, but I think I am also going to contact Ariat, considering the boots are brand-new. I wonder if they would replace them with non-zip boots?

[JRG]

You can easily have them repaired from a shoe repair person. when you find one that does nice work he could manage to find you a little more room the one calf and they could (if needed) add an elastic panel. Sometimes they can do wonders.

[caradino]

the same thing happened to me with the same boots. the zipper blew out at the widest part of the calf (at a horse show!), so i took them to the local shoe/boot repair guy who replaced the zippers in both boots, and added a touch more fabric to the zipper so they fit JUST a bit looser and wouldn't pop again. i haven't had any problems with them since! he also stressed that it's important to keep them clean (i use a wet toothbrush and a drop of dish soap to scrub off the gunk) so that dirt/sweat/hair won't get in between the teeth and force the zipper apart.

luckily broken zippers are a pretty easy fix!

[anita m]

Agree with the above posts--Any decent cobbler/shoe repair guy should be able to repair or replace those zippers for about $10.

Also, to maintain your zippers, you should was them periodically just by running some candle wax up and down them to keep them lubricated. This will help eliminate a lot of problems with the teeth and the slide.

[NCdressage]

Let me just add, that it is important to get them replaced with high quality zippers. I've got some Ariat boots that the zipper did the same thing (but mine happened after a lot of wear). The local guy here who puts in zippers and mends field and dress boots all the time put in heavy duty metal zippers. It is more expensive but you'll only have to do it once (hopefully). My zippers also have a really wide big pully thingy which helps when you have gloves on.

Don't cheap out too much and end up in the same situation.

[WNT]

I've never understood why Ariat doesn't just cough up a bit more to put heavier zippers in in the first place. It would probably eliminate 90% of the problems people have with the zip-back boots (both tall and paddock).

Also, at least Ariat is really good about repairing or replacing in that situation. I had a pair of Performer III zip-back paddock boots that a zipper crapped out on inside six months. I sent them back to Ariat through the tack shop and Ariat sent me a brand-new pair.

[Eddy's Mom]

Thanks so much guys! So I decided not to even bother with Ariat. I looked very hard at the boots and think those zippers are crap. I cannot figure out why (like someone else said) they would not put heavy-duty zips in something that is made for hard-use and will naturally place a lot of stress on the zippers. It's great that Ariat is so good about replacing them, but can you imagine how many problems it would solve for them to invest a few more bucks into good zips? Anyway, I am calling our tack store right now and going to get real zips put in. The seller refunded me $30 so that should cover it.

Thanks!!

[Aerial]

hm so i had this same problem with my crowns and i contacted ariat and they said they would NOT replace the boot or repair them. They told me to contact the tack shop i bought them from.