Wellie Web Home Your one-stop shop for Wellington Boots since 2004

WELLINGTON BOOT FAQ.

  • Q. Why don't you sell those nice patterned wellies for £20?
  • A. We used to! We used to sell a very fashionable make but we found we had so many problems in terms of quality that we decided to no longer stock them. In fact we eventually sent the wellingtons back to the manufacturer. We then looked at many other makes and talked to many consumers. Sadly at the end of the day virtually all the patterned wellingtons seem to come from the Far-East and all exhibit the same characteristics of poor quality. In our experience you get what you pay for when it comes to wellington boots.

    At the cheaper end of the market you can buy a pair of wellies for under £10 but you cannot compare them to a pair of wellingtons sold on this site which we consider to be firmly at the quality end. When you buy a cheap pair of wellington boots you are buying a product that is probably manufactured from Polyvinyl acetate, a PVC compound or synthetic rubber. These boots have been injection molded by machine and are not made from natural rubber like quality wellingtons. These are fine if you just want to occasionally walk from one end of the garden to the other but beyond that you will find them uncomfortable, and at worse, they could damage your feet, leading to blisters or "hammer-toes". The problems with PVC and synthetic rubber wellingtons is that they don't tend to be shaped very well to fit the foot, this is due to the manufacturing process and the materials used. You are essentially buying a waterproof bucket to put your feet in. The other problem can be rapid deterioration of the wellington as it becomes brittle due to Ultra-violet light and cold temperatures.

  • Q. So what is so good about natural rubber?
  • A. Natural rubber is an extraordinary product. It is extremely elastic, supple, 100% waterproof and robust and crucially retains these properties over a very wide range of temperatures. It is used in quality wellington boots because of this. Its properties enable skilled craftsmen to construct carefully shaped boots over "lasts" (moldings of leg shapes). As the wellington is hand manufactured multiple layers of rubber are used to add greater support at crucial places such as the ankle and shin areas. The finished product is a wellington boot that will fit closely to the leg giving support and strength, a boot that is supple and comfortable, and a boot that will maintain its shape and comfort even at low temperatures.

    Some cheaper wellingtons are made from synthetic rubber which is a type of artificially made polymer material which acts as an elastomer. Whilst synthetic rubber is great in many industries it is still second best when it comes to wellington boot manufacture. Although better than PVC it still does not have the same outstanding properties as natural rubber and as a consequence wellingtons made from it do not tend to last the same way as those made from natural rubber. Again many cheaper wellingtons use synthetic rubber to cut costs.

  • Q. What are all these wellington linings then?
  • A. Your choice of wellington boot lining is very important, ultimately it will determine the comfort of your foot. There are three traditional linings for wellingtons, Cotton/Nylon, Neoprene, leather plus a new fabric called Outlast®. Taking each lining in turn:
    • Cotton/Nylon --- This is the most common lining and often referred to as a "Jersey" lined wellington boot. Jersey lining provides a barrier between the foot and the natural rubber of the boot. It is light, comfortable to wear and will stretch and flex as the wellington moves. The lining tends to be latex covered and then vulcanised to the rubber wellington making it an integral part of the boot. It is hygienic and helps to wick-away perspiration from the foot reducing the chances of blisters. However one of its disadvantages is that it adds very little to the insulation properties of a wellington boot. So depending on the final use of the boot wearers may need to wear thicker wellington socks to gain that insulation.
    • Neoprene --- Neoprene is the trade name for a family of synthetic rubbers that are widely used in many industries because of their insulation properties and their cushioning ability. Perhaps the most widely know use is in wetsuit production where the ability to insulate the body from cold waters is vital. Neoprene has now been adapted to form the lining of wellington boots and all the top wellington manufacturers offer a number of neoprene boots in their range, Hunter Le Chameau Aigle. The MuckBoot Company have taken this one step further and have produced a family of wellington boots that is almost entirely made of Neoprene. Typically the thickness of the Neoprene is between 4mm and 6mm and as well as adding vital insulation during cold weather the Neoprene cushions the boot making it extremely comfortable.
    • Leather --- True full-grain leather is the ultimate in luxury. No man made fibre has yet to match the properties of leather for comfort and the shear feeling of quality that it gives a wellington boot. If you are privileged enough to have a pair of leather lined wellingtons already you will appreciate the skill and craftsmanship that goes into making them. Leather lined boots are as close as you can get to a totally bespoke wellington. The leather lining fully envelopes the wearers foot giving a sense of silky comfort and luxury you will not feel on lesser wellingtons. The leather itself is treated during the tanning process to enable it to resist perspiration and damp ensuring it remains hygienic and comfortable for years.
    • Outlast® --- Outlast® is part of the "next-generation" of fabrics developed for NASA to protect astronauts against temperature fluctuations in space. As with many great inventions it has found it way into more mundane usage. Outlast® linings have the ability to interact with your body to help balance temperature by absorbing, storing and releasing the heat that your feet produce and maintaining a comfort zone. This buffering of temperature helps to maintain heat during cold weather and release heat during warmer times. Read more about Outlast®. At the moment we offer just one wellington with this revolutionary lining the Le Chameau Veganord Evolution, a cutting edge wellington in several different aspects. No doubt in the near future more manufactures will be producing wellington boots lined with Outlast®
  • Q. What is the best sole for a wellington boot?
  • A. This is a tricky question which ultimately comes down the the main use of the boot. If you are going to be using the boot for long walks on tarmac road or for working on concrete then you need a rubber-compound sole for resistance to wear but the tread is not likely to be as important. MuckBoots tend to have hard-wearing soles and the are deliberately designed with work in mind. The more expensive boots also tend to have harder wearing soles for example the Hunter Sovereign uses a classic "commando" sole that is a tried and tested wellington boot and walking boot sole. At the more basic end of the range you have the full rubber sole as used on the Hunter Originals and the incredibly popular Coloured Hunters. This sole is a thick rubber sole that is crudely cut, it is however very effective as millions of users world-wide will vouch.

    At the premium end of the market you have the Aigle and Le Chameau soles. As an indication of the importance of a good sole Le Chameau teamed up with a cutting-edge manufacturer of soles for professional walking boots called Vibram®. Le Chameau approached Vibram® with the remit to design the most effective all-terrain sole that would combine with the characteristics of a wellington boot. The result was a revolutionary sole that showed excellent grip, traction and self cleaning characteristics but also mirrored the suppleness of the Le Chameau natural-rubber wellington. A picture of the sole can be seen here. Many attempts have been made before to put walking boot soles onto wellingtons but the unique ankle and upper-leg characteristics of a wellington boot often resulted in a miss-match between the two. The Vibram® sole on the Vega Evolution and the Veganord Evolution is the perfect marriage.

  • Q. Do you ship your wellingtons outside of the UK ?
  • A. At the moment we only ship within mainland Britain including N. Ireland. There are many reasons for this. The shipping costs tend to be prohibitively expensive for what is a fairly bulky and heavy product. The ability for us to provide the proper pre-sale and after-sale service is limited and any subsequent problems or returns procedures tend to be very expensive for both parties. Although we have not been a victim of fraud yet the chances of fraudulent sales increases vastly with sales outside of the UK.
  • Q. I have a larger than average calf size what do you have to offer?
  • A. This is an extremely common problem. With more expensive wellington boots such as those found on this site the leg of the boot tends to be formed to follow the contours of the "average leg". This gives the wellington boot its excellent fit and makes the boot more comfortable. Of course the "average leg" does not exist so many people find that they cannot fit their calf into the wellington despite the foot size being correct. All our manufacturers provide ranges to accommodate this. The wellington is either deliberately made for wider fitting individuals or has a method of adjusting the calf size to fit the leg. Below are the main options you have to accommodate wider calf sizes:
  • Q. I have heard you should choose a size larger for wellingtons than your normal foot size, is this true ?
  • A. Our basic recommendation is normally to stick with your shoe size. Because the wellington boots we sell are a soft natural rubber they will tend to mold to you foot and allow a far greater degree of flexibility than you would get with a leather shoe or walking boot. Manufacturers' shoe sizing differs slightly because some like Le Chameau and Aigle produce their boots to European sizes whilst others such as Hunter produce theirs to a UK specification. As a result there is a certain degree of translation inaccuracies that happen between the two. That said most people are not exactly a size 6 or exactly a size 10 so if you know you are a "large" size 6 and normally take either a 6 or a 7 then choose the larger size for your wellington. The reason for this is that the majority of people will have a fairly stout pair of socks on when wearing their wellingtons so any excess is taken up by the thicker socks worn.
  • Q. What is the best make of wellington boot then?
  • A. There is no clear cut answer to this. What we do say is that all of the manufacturers' wellingtons we stock are of good quality, we have deliberately positioned ourselves at the premium end of the wellington boot market. Whilst from time to time we do find manufacturing faults with a wellington boot these are individual cases and not a wholesale design or manufacturing issue. The manufacturers of our wellington boots have successfully built-up unique knowledge of the design and manufacturing process that enables them to avoid these issues. It is no coincidence that between them Hunter, Le Chameau and Aigle have been successfully making wellington boots for several generations. Remember these are premium quality, and largely hand-made wellingtons.
  • Q. What is your returns policy, can I send them back if I simply don't like them?
  • A. We operate what we call a common sense policy. Provided the wellingtons are in a re-saleable, "as new", condition then you can return the boots to us within a reasonable timeframe and receive a full refund or different wellington boots if that is what you prefer. Our full policy can be read here: Returns.
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