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Today has been "boot day" in my house which is my bi-monthly day of cleaning, conditioning and polishing the collection. It sure does take a while, but as a labor of love I don't mind all that much. I have let over 30 pairs go over the last couple of months (space) but I am content with having just over 50 pairs on the shelf all of which are at my beck and call to compliment any occasion and satisfy any foot related whimsical craving. Variety is the spice, and I only have a couple of the more unusual exotics to hunt down now. Do we have any other boot fiends here? Silly question right!?

You have my wife beat hands down.

Yowza! Them there are some boots!

I'm actually looking at picking up my first pair of boots (I'm not a native Texan ) and only know one name. Roper. Are these the 'industry leaders' in boots? These would be for everyday wear as well as field use.

i see a space on the top shelf empty
unless your wearing those while snapping the picture .

longtooth wrote:You have my wife beat hands down.

Er thanks LT, I shall take that as a compliment (I think!)

pbwalker wrote:Yowza! Them there are some boots!

I'm actually looking at picking up my first pair of boots (I'm not a native Texan ) and only know one name. Roper. Are these the 'industry leaders' in boots? These would be for everyday wear as well as field use.

I'm not a native either but I did have 20 pairs before I got here, and so I think that I must have a little local in me. I have never heard of a brand called "Roper", to me "Roper" are a style of boot that have shorter shafts and rounder toes when compared to regular cowboy boots. I don't know it all though (yet anyway :) )

Russell wrote:Wow... that's just .... wow.

...and I thought I was bad for collecting 5 old desktop computers

Thank you, my wife has been known to roll her eyes on occasions but the good thing with these is that unlike other collections of things they all get used!

usa1 wrote:i see a space on the top shelf empty
unless your wearing those while snapping the picture .

Yep, guilty as charged. Oh what I would do for a little more room....

one question...do you really wear all of them .

i have a collection of my own which consists of watches ,
and there's a couple that i keep in pristine condition .
the rest , i rotate daily .

Yes I do wear them all , although of course I do have "kick around" pairs, "formal wear" pairs, and "special occasion" pairs. Because of the quantity that I have (and bear in mind that I did have a whole lot more up until very recently) I can wear a different pair each day for almost 2 months. When you combine Infrequent wear with wearing the right pair for the right occasion, and then give them all a good amount of care they all remain lightly worn and in great shape. It also helps to buy the best quality that the budget allows for. I would think that it would easier to keep a watch pristine with wear though, unless you are sticking your arm up drainpipes or into holes?! I say wear 'em if you got 'em

pbwalker wrote:Yowza! Them there are some boots!

I'm actually looking at picking up my first pair of boots (I'm not a native Texan ) and only know one name. Roper. Are these the 'industry leaders' in boots? These would be for everyday wear as well as field use.

Try Justin or Tony Lama. My favorites are Tony Lama.

I never thought I'd see a guy with that many shoes.... but then I realized they aren't shoes they are boots so its cool. lol.


Here's mine: (bearing in mind all the toys at the top were gifts with the exception of a few from my childhood lol)



I used to collect superman comic books. I stopped when they became insanely expensive.


... I've really got to buy a new camera, the ole iphone just aint cutting it.

pedalman wrote:

pbwalker wrote:Yowza! Them there are some boots!

I'm actually looking at picking up my first pair of boots (I'm not a native Texan ) and only know one name. Roper. Are these the 'industry leaders' in boots? These would be for everyday wear as well as field use.

Try Justin or Tony Lama. My favorites are Tony Lama.

Thank you (and Carrots too!)

I realize, after further digging, that Ropers are indeed a style. I always assumed "Justin Ropers" were a brand of boots. Justin is the brand and Roper is the style...ya learn something new each day!

pbwalker wrote: Justin is the brand and Roper is the style...ya learn something new each day!

me too

usa1 wrote:

pbwalker wrote: Justin is the brand and Roper is the style...ya learn something new each day!

me too

Well I'll be. Something I can talk half way intelligently about. Wow, this takes me back about 40 years, but.....

The term 'roper' actually began as a designator as to the type of heel a boot had. There were ropers(for those that calf roped and had to dismount rather quickly as it's a timed event), cutters(for those that rode atop a cutting horse), dogging heels(for those that bulldogged..so they could dig their heels into the dirt), and breakers(for those that broke horses...had a tapered heel). Ropers became so common place, as they were the easiest to walk in that the name stuck, and applies nowdays to the actual cut of the boot.

(I'm a storehouse for useless information).

Good info, thank you Joe. These days (from what I have seen and what I know) the heel styles are pretty interchangeable across the "roper" "cowboy" & "buckaroo" styles. I prefer the look of the high under slung riding heels, but if my day is to involve a lot of walking then I do myself (and my feet) a favour and pick something else.

Modern Justin, Tony Lama & Nocona boots are just about OK. Not things that I would buy, but I appreciate that we all have our budgets. All of these makers put out a good product 20-30 years ago and a reasonable one as recently as 10yrs ago, but like so many things quality has gone down with the search for increasing revenue. Holding a new pair of Tony Lama in one hand and an old vintage pair in the other will tell you all that you need to know. The old Nocona boot factory is still up in Nocona (I stopped by when I was in the area) and now they make jeans and baseball gloves there. Who knows where they make Nocona boots now? Got to be either Mexico or the Far East. Foam insoles, sloppy stitching, low grade mismatched skins and made to last as long as your average pair of Nike trainers. No thanks! If you want a good pair of off the shelf modern boots look at Black Jack. They are not cheap, but they are not that expensive either when you consider the cost of these Vs the top tier of true handmade custom boots. Of course they are not going to be the same as made to measure customs, but they are well made and properly built, and they make for a very good comfortable boot that will wear well and provide a lot of service. Black Jack make their boots here in Tx, and if you can live without fancy exotic skins (I have trouble here) then they won't break the bank to much. Lucchese "Classics" (not the "1883" or "2000" or mad dog" or "resistol" lines that Lucchese make) are also about as good as you will get when it comes to off the shelf. Same kind of money as Black Jack, but whilst Lucchese is A "bigger" name in the boot world, the Black Jacks have the edge IMO. Actually the folks who started Black Jack worked for Lucchese but left when the big L "diversified" and started putting its name on sub-par product. Everyone needs at least one pair

Do steel toed Red Wing boots count?

OK... I do have Justin ropers and a pair of semi-custom Nocona boots from back when I went two-steppin' at least one night a week in the late 90s.