The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Marketplace => Topic started by: Dan on August 05, 2011, 02:37:37 pm

Title: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Dan on August 05, 2011, 02:37:37 pm
Found out during the week that my old Hunter wellies have developed a leak.  :(

Just ordered a new pair of Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies, bargain at £69.99 - http://amzn.to/oMaGvS (http://amzn.to/oMaGvS)

Can recommend the neoprene ones if anyone's looking for wellies - very snug in the colder months.  ;D
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Sylvia on August 05, 2011, 04:04:48 pm
Seventy quid for a pair of wellies :o :o :o I'm a Mole Valley Farmer five quid a pair person! I did actually try a pair of Hunter wellies (given to me ::)) and didn't find them at all comfortable, made the arches of my feet ache.
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Dan on August 05, 2011, 05:08:16 pm
Well, my current (now leaky) pair of Hunters are about 5 years old, and have been worn most days, sometimes for hours on end.

Over the piece I reckon they're pretty good value, and I find them really comfy, and this seventy quid pair are usually 110 quid.  :)

Each to their own I guess, but I've always worked on the principle that I've only got one pair of feet, they're all that's between me and the ground (most of the time) so it pays to look after them.  ;)
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: lachlanandmarcus on August 05, 2011, 05:15:07 pm
I hope (and suspect they are) that the neoprene hunters are better quality rubber than the standard hunters.... as they have gone downhill in quality/durability big time in the last couple of years, they were lasting me 4 months before splitting. After the 4th pair I defected and ordered neoprene Le chameau for (eeek look away now!) £95 and they have been fantastic to date (nearly a year), they are like new.

Apparently Hunters switched to the far east for manufacturing about the same time as quality went through the floor.

Hopefully your new ones will be fine ( I dont like being Typhoid Mary!) but if not dont take any C%^& from them, as they wont be able to argue everyone else is happy - can point to the posts eg on Horse and Hound forum on this subject if you need any ammo!

Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Sandy on August 05, 2011, 05:22:28 pm
I see it like this, £70 is good value for the rough wear, I want some too but I do like the neoprene  ones like I have already...some people pay a lot more for a pair of Jimmy chu shoes that are only worn to impress!!! 
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Dan on August 05, 2011, 05:59:15 pm
After the 4th pair I defected and ordered neoprene Le chameau for (eeek look away now!) £95 and they have been fantastic to date (nearly a year), they are like new.

Hopefully your new ones will be fine ( I dont like being Typhoid Mary!) but if not dont take any C%^& from them, as they wont be able to argue everyone else is happy - can point to the posts eg on Horse and Hound forum on this subject if you need any ammo!

Brilliant, thanks for the tip, if they don't live up to expectations I'll definitely be returning them and looking for an alternative. Le Chameau look great, are they an Aigle brand?
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: fifixx on August 05, 2011, 06:35:48 pm
I had Hunters once, but found them really slippery - not good in a field full of ice and mud.....

Buck boots are my current ones - brilliant as they have a tab on each side to pull them on with!
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: JulieS on August 05, 2011, 06:37:50 pm
I've got the Aigle Vario Neoprene wellies....Can highly recommend them.  I used to go through wellies every 4 months til I got these......I've had them 6 months now and still going strong.

I was reluctant to start with to spend such a lot on wellies, but they are proving to be good value.

Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: lachlanandmarcus on August 05, 2011, 07:47:14 pm
After the 4th pair I defected and ordered neoprene Le chameau for (eeek look away now!) £95 and they have been fantastic to date (nearly a year), they are like new.

Hopefully your new ones will be fine ( I dont like being Typhoid Mary!) but if not dont take any C%^& from them, as they wont be able to argue everyone else is happy - can point to the posts eg on Horse and Hound forum on this subject if you need any ammo!

Brilliant, thanks for the tip, if they don't live up to expectations I'll definitely be returning them and looking for an alternative. Le Chameau look great, are they an Aigle brand?

I dont think so, at least it doesnt appear so from the websites etc. Le Chameau are French and have been going since 1927 apparently. I do have some Aigle clothes but havent tried their boots to date....Aigle is the name of a place in Switzerland so maybe they are Swiss not French
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: SallyintNorth on August 05, 2011, 08:32:26 pm
Just a note to those who may be new to keeping cattle...  cattle wee cuts through any rubber (and I think neoprene counts for this purpose) like nothing else on the holding...

I now accept that my £40 pair of <current favourite> (at the moment that's Dunlop Purfort Professional; light as a feather, great grip) will leak within 12 months. If I get 18 months I'm delighted.

Prior to being exposed to cattle wee I loved my Le Chameau's - grip like no other, and the tread outlasted any wellie I've ever had (and every Brasher boot.)  Like Dan, the £10/year or £80 in 2001 for a pair still going strong argument is finely balanced, and the Le C's are very very comfortable.  I still have the Le C's but dare not wear them near cattle wee...

My calves (the bits of my legs between the knee and ankle, not the baby cattle) are far too fat for Hunters, always have been, so can't comment on that make from personal experience at all.

Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Bionic on August 05, 2011, 08:56:03 pm
Sally,
You have just touched on the subject I was going to post on.  Which wellies are good for big calves?  My current ones (only cheapies) are pretty tight and there is no room to tuck my trousers in.
I will pay more for a good pair. Any suggestions?

Sally
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: robert waddell on August 05, 2011, 09:04:01 pm
Welles     the most important item on a farm/ smallholding        hunters are made in china  and yes they used to last and now they don't
cattle urine cuts through rubber    it causes the rubber to perish  especially where the rubber creases at the ankle  hunter have no grip in ice and Snow then it is your arse that requires the attention(when you fall on it)    bat fastard legs can be accommodated with Le c   and aglie  also the hunters that Dan has ordered     the best for grip and surviving urine are Nora's but they are cold in winter and only suit shona spirkle legs
what suits one does not suit everybody
as an aside i think pig urine is more corrosive than cattle urine     also the agri version of hunters (argyll)are just as crap and only grip on tarmac
as you get older your bones take longer to mend   its an easy choice stay on your feet or slide on your arse :farmer:
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Bionic on August 05, 2011, 09:07:34 pm
Robert are you calling me a bat fastard?  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: robert waddell on August 05, 2011, 09:12:35 pm
i have the same legs now :'( :farmer:
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: chickenfeed on August 05, 2011, 09:22:52 pm
i gave up on wellies after trying most brands inc the cheap ones, the last pair of hunters lasted a couple of months when i contacted them i was told no wellies would stand the test of urine especially pigs  ::) i now wear rigger boots around the yard so far i have got 2 years out of them, they still have pleanty of wear left in them too.
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: lill on August 05, 2011, 09:24:49 pm
me, I go for cheap and cheerful  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: robert waddell on August 05, 2011, 09:35:56 pm
chickenfeed      does the urine not rot the stitching it did on mine and that was just cattle  the PVC riggers your feet sweat with them in summer especially the fur lined ones  :farmer:
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: chickenfeed on August 05, 2011, 09:41:29 pm
hi robert the riggers we use have no stitching rubber soles with leather uppers i have even converted my parents after 45 years ish of wellies they now both have riggers.

and the plus side of riggers is steel toe caps for when your loading beasts that decide feet are a good place to trample on  ;)
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: SallyintNorth on August 05, 2011, 10:39:34 pm
To answer Bionic Sally's question about what robert sensitively calls 'fat bastard calves' - the make famed for being roomy for calves is Argyll, particularly their shorter leg version.  I didn't know Argyll was another brand from the Hunter company till today, but it makes sense as Hunters are for people with string for legs!  (Sorry you lucky skinny people - but you can take it and anyway robert started it!   :P <- rudely  ;))

My Dunlop Purfort Professionals are fairly roomy, ditto the Le Chameaus.  One tip, Sally, is to get a man's wellie (and then wear extra socks to take up the extra space in the foot) - men's wellies generally have more width for both feet and calves.

But if you're Bionic how come you didn't get strong calves that aren't too wide for your wellies?   :D ;)  ::)
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Bionic on August 05, 2011, 10:50:46 pm
Bionic comes from having metal plates put in my legs after a car accident so no strong calves here.  However that was a long time ago and I am fit and well now. NO, thats a lie, I'm not fit but I am well.
When I do get the smallholding (which I hope won't be long away now) I am expecting that striding around my land like lady of the manor will result in strong but slimed down calves. I can live in hope can't I?
Sally
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: hughesy on August 05, 2011, 10:51:29 pm
I've got a pair of wellies that I bought about 10 years ago for 8 quid. Don't wear them all the time but they're still going strong. I second the rigger boot thing they're brilliant until the insides start to fall apart usually after about a year in my case. I've also just got a pair of dunlop purofort with steel toecaps only paid a fiver for em as they were old stock. If they last me a year it'll have been money well spent ;D
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: SallyintNorth on August 05, 2011, 10:54:57 pm
Bionic comes from having metal plates put in my legs after a car accident so no strong calves here.  However that was a long time ago and I am fit and well now. NO, thats a lie, I'm not fit but I am well.

Oh lor' - I do hope I didn't cause any offence, Sally, with my unthinking quip.   :-[  I'm very sorry to hear about your accident and the long-term legacy of it.   :bouquet:

As to the calves getting slimmed down as they get stronger from the striding around - mine never seem to get any less wide, however much muscle there is!
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Bionic on August 05, 2011, 10:55:43 pm
No offence taken  :bouquet:
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: darkbrowneggs on August 05, 2011, 11:38:51 pm
Reading this thread (I also had my second pair of Hunters - first were excellent and gave years of comfortable wear - second pair nothing like, uncomfortable and dangerous to walk in) I decided to check out Rigger boots, unfortunately these aren't my size, but they certainly look good value
Screwfix Fur-lined Rigger Boots £14.99  (http://www.screwfix.com/p/jobsite-fur-lined-rigger-boots-tan-size-11/22144?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Datafeed-_-Safety%20and%20Workwear-_-Jobsite%20Fur-Lined%20Rigger%20Boots%20Tan%20Size%2011)

All the best
Sue
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: JulieS on August 06, 2011, 06:07:19 am
Large calves?  - Aigle Varios.  They are even wide enough for my legs!   :) :) :)
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: robert waddell on August 06, 2011, 09:59:26 am
RIGGER BOOTS     try ARCO they do ladies sizes    but they are not the cheapest       the dunlop rigger boot which is really a wellie styled as a rigger boot are getting to expensive now
Wellies every manufacturer are under the impression that all welly wearers have a leg that measures less than 41 centimetres or16 inches if they could make them up to 50centimeters or 20 inches yes you can get adjustable calf wellies that go up near to the 50 inches BUT THEY ARE SPECIAL ORDER  not the run of the mill items that every shop has and hunter has jumped on the bandwagon with there adj wellies
Dan will probably give us a user report on his purchase and any problems encountered with quality and complaint procedure
bat fastard legs well mine are 50 inches i thing that gives me the right to comment :farmer:                                                                             sorry typo error should be 20 inches lillian had detracted me at that point :farmer:
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: SallyintNorth on August 06, 2011, 11:16:20 am
bat fastard legs well mine are 50 inches i thing that gives me the right to comment :farmer:

I think that would give you the right to call yourself Henry VIII (watch out lill!)   :o :D ;) ;D

You mean 50cm I am sure!   (Damned new money.  >:()

 ;D
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: robert waddell on August 06, 2011, 11:22:11 am
aye your right 20 inches  new money just cant get the hang of it      a well if the finances goes tits up the measurements might go as well  :farmer:
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: Fronhaul on August 07, 2011, 04:41:58 pm
Some of the less upmarket boots designed for fishing are nice.  I bought a great pair of neoprene ones with a really wide calf for under £25 last autumn and they are still going.  So comfortable and they grip well.
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: NLL on August 07, 2011, 09:25:24 pm
i have these wellies and they are great. I got talked into some aigle ones and they were awful, they hurt my ankles and i couldnt walk in them.
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: princesspiggy on August 07, 2011, 09:49:52 pm
'fat bastard calves'

lol  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: benkt on August 08, 2011, 12:15:17 am
I invested last winter in a pair of Humber muck boots - very comfortable wellies with steel toe caps to dissuade piggies from nibbling my toes. Bit sweaty in summer though, so I tend to be in a pair of old hiking boots most of the time at the moment.
Title: Re: Hunter Balmoral Neoprene wellies - £69.99 delivered
Post by: bigchicken on August 08, 2011, 10:02:47 pm
Asda specials a pair lasts me about a year. one kind of obvious tip always try on what ever kind of wellies you choose & get them a size bigger to accommodate winter socks.