Our top tips on how to measure yourself for a long riding boot
1. Get a friend to help. Ask a friend to measure you rather than trying to be a contortionist doing it yourself, you'll get a better measurement.
2. Never guess. Have you said, "Yeah, my legs are pretty normal, I must be a regular fit", or "Oh, my calves are so fat, I'm definitely a wide fit". Every brand is different, so get measured.
3. Every brand differs. Check out the fitting guide that is bespoke to the brand you want to try from. If you are buying online, make sure you get the measurement guides and sizes correctly. There's a detailed size guide for each of our long boots.
4. When measuring and trying on, wear your riding attire. Wearing jeans and thick socks or bare legs won’t be the right fit. Make sure you wear breeches and riding socks or whatever you normally wear to ride in.
5. Remember the boots will drop. Allow an extra two centimeters of height for the boots to drop and break in, depending on the stiffness of the leather. Once they have dropped you ideally want the top of the boot to sit in the fold behind your knee, not below it.
6. Measuring yourself. To measure the calf, use a tape measure and take three measurements around the calf area and use the biggest one to find the widest point. Make sure the tape stays level (ie parallel to the ground) and does not ‘droop’ or twist. To find the height if you are sitting down, measure from the back of the knee straight down to the floor. If you are standing and someone else is measuring for you, turn away from them and bend your knee forwards slightly. Get your helper to measure from the crease in the back of your knee, down the back of your leg, to the floor. The tape should follow the line of your leg to the floor, not drop straight down vertically. Write down these measurements and select the most likely fitting from the manufacturer’s chart. If you fall between two height fittings on the chart, opt for the longer boot.
