The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Not Happy with Muck Boots

March 10th, 2015 · 7 Comments · Posted in farming

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In two years on the farm, I’ve already gone through two pairs of Muck boots. By “gone through,” I mean the boots have worn out much like the latest casualty you see in the photo above, where the boots have simply cracked open and started leaking.

I don’t know, but when I spend $140 on a pair of boots that are supposed to be “top of the line,” I really expect them to last more than a year. Definitely more than 10 months. And the truth is, it’s not like I’m wearing them all the time. On our livestock farm, my duties outside consist mostly of chores that don’t take much more than an hour at any given time. Most of the wear on these boots comes from pulling them on and off several times a day.

Or maybe they just weren’t built to be pulled on and off several times daily.

In big, bold letters, the manufacturer boasts that this all-weather footwear is made by “The Original Muck Boot Company.” Officially, this model is called the “Muckmaster.” In other words, no muck shall stand in the way of these boots. You’d think they’d be built to live up to the name.

I’ve checked out the company’s warranty, and it lasts one year. If the boots fall apart, you have to take them back to the original point of purchase for a determination whether the damage is from a defect in manufacturing, or from ordinary wear. As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Having given the Muckmaster two chances, I think it’s time to start looking for another pair of boots.

One of the reasons these boots cost what they do is because they are insulated, making them more comfortable in winter, a bit hot in summer. One strategy might be to use a cheaper pair of uninsulated boots during the summer, then switch to an insulated boot in winter. That would spread the wear over two sets of boots. Hopefully they would last longer that way.

I wonder if readers have any thoughts about that. Do you wear a favorite brand of boot that holds up over time? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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  • Rob

    i have been very Impressed with my Blundstones. Closer to a decade of use and easy on/off. I keep a real set of winter boots for insulation Jan-Feb and a set of mid calf steel toes for logging, and these aren’t 100% waterproof so March is iffy, but for 90% of my chore work April-December I’ve loved them.

  • Ian Reilly

    i too wore through my muckmasters. Full time farmer who wears them everyday, every season. I went with a pair of Bogs and the quality seems to be better, they are lighter and have better traction and cheaper to boot!

  • Ed Bruske

    Thanks for the tip, Ian. You’re the second reader to suggest Bogs.

  • Frank

    Just bought my first pair of muck boots, so I can not really comment there. My thought though is I used to have a pair of waders that last for years than the year I moved to OR I did not have a proper place indoors to hang them so I hung them in porch. The sun destroyed them in drying process in no time. Looked something like the damage you saw. I also know from the fishing community UV breaksdown fishing line a different plastic polymer. So my big thought is we should protect our very necessary and functional gear from the elements when not in use, whatever the brand.

  • Mary W

    We’ve been happy with our Bogs, but we’re just doing chores around a suburban yard. We’ve been walking the dog several miles at a time in them and they’re very comfortable and I didn’t really need extra insulation in the snow and cold weather.

  • Brad White

    I’m on my second pair of Muck boots. The first pair a heel came off. The second pair leak, the toe of the left and the heel on the right. Only wear them to the barn to feed, maybe an hour a day. Definitely looking for another brand.

  • Ed Bruske

    I stopped buying Muck Boots and just go for the cheap rubber boots at Tractor Supply