Good, durable rainboots?
August 19, 2011 10:44 AM   Subscribe

The rainy season is upon us where I live. What rainboots will I not regret purchasing three months in?

I need women's boots that can withstand downpours and not split after three months of wear. The last boots I purchased were $25 things from Target which were an instant regret. Reviews online are pretty useless, because most reviews are written right after receiving the boots, and comment on style and received durability rather than actual durability.

I'd like them to be in the neighborhood of $100 or less. They don't necessarily need to be snowboots, I have boots I feel pretty confident about for that need. Being cute is a plus, but really I just want suckers that are gonna last a couple years.
posted by piratebowling to Shopping (11 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Hunters are standard, and come in a variety of colors. Most are over your $100 limit, though.
posted by supercres at 10:47 AM on August 19, 2011 [4 favorites]


Sorel.
posted by jon1270 at 10:48 AM on August 19, 2011


Specifically, it looks like the Tivoli fits the bill.
posted by jon1270 at 10:51 AM on August 19, 2011


Buy some wellies (or wellington-like boots) from a place that has a no-hassle satisfaction guarantee. That basically requires that they're not making crap or they'd lose their shirt on returns. Many of my friends use various L.L. Bean boots, either waterproof hikers (which can be had for just under $100 for decent ones) or their "storm chaser" slip-ons (which I think are super-cute). The downside is that you can't try them on; the upside is that there's free shipping and they'll not charge you return shipping if you're doing an exchange (like ordering a size down, etc.).
posted by introp at 10:52 AM on August 19, 2011


My wife is a big fan of LL Bean Duck boots.
posted by COD at 10:52 AM on August 19, 2011


Bogs are another good solid performer, and you can often find last year's models at a good discount.
posted by drlith at 11:15 AM on August 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Seconding the Bogs. I have their winter boots and they're indispensable and virtually indestructible. Not the most attractive things in the world, but the rain boots are considerably nicer looking than the snow boots FWIW.

I'd suggest Hank's for good sales and good customer service.
http://www.hanksclothing.com/bogs_boots_and_bogs_shoes.html
posted by brackish.line at 1:36 PM on August 19, 2011


Huh. This is a thing? I live in the thunderstorm capital of the world and I've never owned rain boots or galoshes, just stayed away from puddles. I love learning new stuff on Mefi. These are cool!

Okay, so these Kamiks are on sale for $40 in red, or $45 in black and other colors, and get great reviews at Zappos and at Nordstrom's.

Bogs has some *gorgeous* rain shoes (I'm thinking of buying these now thanks to this thread), and these boots not only come in different colors at reasonable prices, but each color comes with an additional bow in a different pattern. Reviews look good again, but not as many, and I'm seeing that some run a bit small, so size carefully.

The only brands I'd recommend against, really, are the Chookas, based on bad reviews saying they are too stiff and unforgiving, making them hard to put on, and also that they tend to crack too easily.
posted by misha at 1:45 PM on August 19, 2011


I cannot recommend the ll bean "Bean Boots" hard enough. I have the 6" unlined version and am actually disappointed that I don't get to wear them more often. The sizes run small, so my 9.5 converse all stars translated into a size 7 pair of boots. The online chat customer support is awesome. As for durability, we have a pair of my grandpa's bean boots in the garage that are older than I am and are still in excellent shape.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 1:54 PM on August 19, 2011


Thirding Bogs. I have a mid-height version like these (different print), which I bought on sale. Absolutely waterproof and, with a good pair of socks, they're warm enough for winter without being too heavy. I've had them for three years now and they show hardly any wear, despite the fact I stomp around in them through rain and snow, all year round.

(I am sad to discover that Bogs apparently doesn't offer the wide-width option anymore, which is a major reason I love mine so much. But unless you too have paddle-shaped, buniony feet, the regular width should be just fine.)
posted by dogrose at 5:22 PM on August 19, 2011


Certainly not cute, but they'll bury you in your XTRATUF's.

Actually, I think my gal looks pretty cute in them.
posted by humboldt32 at 5:32 PM on August 19, 2011


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