# ******



## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

I think I'm ready to buy a pair.....prices vary greatly....

Been looking at the Weaver Leather ******:
Weaver Leather, LLCChinks

I'm looking for something functional, not necessarily ornate, but not to heavy and used mostly for cool weather riding in the mountains of East Tennessee. Anyone have any ideas?

Are the Weavers decent or do I need to add some more money and get something else?


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

My personal preference are custom made ones just for the fact that I have never worn a pair that I bought off the rack that fit right. If you get custom ones they fit like they are supposed to. Here are a couple makers that I like...
Hoof and Hide LLC - Custom Handcrafted Chaps and ******
Andy Stevens Saddlery : Custom Chaps and ******
Dave Hack Chaps in Star, ID...don't think he has a website.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I can't speak for the Weaver, have not seen or touched them in person. But for the $200 they are suggesting retial for, You should have lots to choose from.

Do you have the opportunity to attend any of the larger horse/livestock shows? I've seen some great buys on ******/Chaps at shows like the Western National Livestock show in Denver in Jan or Cowboy Christmas at the NFR finals in Vegas in Dec. I suspect any of the bigger shows that have exhibitor booths will have some companies that do leather work exhibiting their products.

Look at the various leathers available. Some are stiff and some are much softer. Your choice will depend on what you want to protect yourself from. For added warmth and to just keep driping leaves from getting my pants wet, I prefer the softer leathers that drap vs the stiffer leathers that you might use if you were working cattle or riding in harsh country with lots of thorns. My favorite pair is made from Buffalo hide and I bought them off Ebay for about $150. Of course buying off Ebay with out touching and feeling can be a gamble.

Decide what features, designs you want. I much prefer the look of thinner fringe and even better if it has a twist vs the wider straight cut fringe. Consider what leather, what tooling, what overlays, pockets, what kind of fastners they use etc.

My buffalo ******










A cheap pair of steer hide ****** that I let visitor wear.











The rider on the far left has cheaper pair of plain ****** The rider in forefront has a more expensive pair with multiple layers, nice trim and fancier fringe


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Ok, question regarding ******:

What is their purpose? Do they give you added "stickum" to the saddle? Do you feel the buckles under your thigh? and i think that question should be answered by a woman, perhaps, becuase we have more "presense" to our thighs then men.
Should the leather wrap all th way around your thigh? Do you like them better than full chaps?


----------



## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

well haha tiny i cant really give an opinion on ****** but i have the full length batwing chaps










but theyre super comfy. dont really see a difference in gripth or "stick" but they are WONDERFUL protection against evil cows and evil trees.
teh one i have are very light as well so they arent ridiculously hot in summer.

but like i said...i dont wear ****** alot. i usually wear chaps.


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

tinyliny said:


> Ok, question regarding ******:
> 
> What is their purpose? Do they give you added "stickum" to the saddle? Do you feel the buckles under your thigh? and i think that question should be answered by a woman, perhaps, becuase we have more "presense" to our thighs then men.
> Should the leather wrap all th way around your thigh? Do you like them better than full chaps?


I haven't noticed them to help stick in my saddle. I wear them for a few different reasons.
Going through tall brush they are a life saver, I have sacars on my legs from in the summer when its hot not wearing them then have to chase a steer through thick brush and have a stob get me in the thigh. 

Handy for roping, when you have something necked and dragging it helps keep the rope from digging in my thigh and tearing up my jeans. Also when you pack a rope on your saddle it always rubs on your thigh, which doesn't bother me but it wears big holes in my pants.

In the winter, they do help a little to keep you warm, shotguns are warmer though. And when riding through brush after it snows it keeps your legs dry. Same with the fringe, when it rains, the rain runs down the fringe and drips off. Hail storms suck if your not wearing them either..lol!

Branding calves I like to wear them for notching ears to keep my pants from getting bloody.

The uses are endless!

If you get them custom made, I prefer the buckles to be on the topside, if that makes sense. That way they don't rub on you or your saddle. On my work ****** hubby built them that way and I prefer it. That and I only have two buckles on each leg for being easier/faster to undo them. 
My new pair that my husband had a friend custom build for an anniversary present. Unfortunately the friend had my measurements from 3 three years ago, since then I have gained weight, all in my butt and thighs...lol... so they are a little small and the part that comes around the thigh doesn't come around as far as I prefer...and I had to punch a couple more holes in them. But the buckles are on the bottomside compared to my work ****** and because I gained weight I sit on them now.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Well, I can see how they'd help you, but for me, they'd be just something I wore 'cause I liked the looks. And I do. I am a city gal, so never do any cow work, nor ride in thorny brush. But keeping legs warm and dry and looking "cool", I am all for that. I have not bought any just becuase it just seems too silly for a city person like me to try and look all "cowboy". I would be laughed off the range in your neck of the woods.


----------



## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

....they look kewl...but at least for me with my chaps....
me the clumsiest person in the world+ walking in boots and chaps=disaster. lol so i usually dont get off my horse lol


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

tinyliny said:


> Well, I can see how they'd help you, but for me, they'd be just something I wore 'cause I liked the looks. And I do. I am a city gal, so never do any cow work, nor ride in thorny brush. But keeping legs warm and dry and looking "cool", I am all for that. I have not bought any just becuase it just seems too silly for a city person like me to try and look all "cowboy". I would be laughed off the range in your neck of the woods.


The only way you get weird looks is if you wore them into town at the grocery store...lol!

I have seen plenty of trailriders wear them, I guess its whatever you feel like wearing!


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Roperchick said:


> ....they look kewl...but at least for me with my chaps....
> me the clumsiest person in the world+ walking in boots and chaps=disaster. lol so i usually dont get off my horse lol


If I wore batwings I wouldn't get off my horse either! Thems heavy!


----------



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

My main reason the added wind protection on colder days and the protection against gettin my legs wet during rain or when the brush is all wet.

Yes shotguns are warmer., But I don't always need a lot more warmth.

Try wearing ******, vest, bandana and cowboy hat around any of the national parks. I frequently tell my wife that there are more photos of me sitting on european coffee tables than she has at home. The tourist can't seem to take enough photos of western cowboy.

Just staying warm









Some guys just like to look the part









I've seen ****** that are slip on, Where there are no fastners. The leather is sewn to fit your thigh. I've seen them, with zipper and mine has 3 straps that buckle. And I agree, I want the buckle to be on the outside of my thigh where I don't sit on it.


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

@Painted Horse,
I agree that you don't always need the extra warmth of a shotgun, most everyone that I worked with has a set of shotguns for the winter and ****** for warmer weather.

Also I forgot about step ins! That's what my husband has and he loves them. I am thinking my next set will be step ins and finally he can laugh at me like I do to him when he gets a boot hung up in them trying to get them off or on in a hurry!


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I wear shotguns for schooling and batwings for warmth. ****** are okay to keep the rope from burning through your jeans if your dally roping, but my batwings do the same.

****** don't do much for protecting your lower leg from brush unless you wear tall boots. I don't like the look of jeans hanging out from under ******. Seems rather pointless.


----------



## qh trail rider (Sep 16, 2012)

I have a pair of ****** that I wear mainly when it is cold or rainy. They were a Christmas gift from my husband.


----------



## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Are ****** just like chaps but shorter?

I'd love a pair, we ride through scrub after cattle and we hve a thorny bush called mimosa, if you get a thorn near a joint it seizes your joint up like you have arthritis. However a) I think it would be far too hot for them here (the Pilbara in Australia) and b) I think I would get laughed off the station for trying to look like a cowboy, lol!

I will just drool from afar 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I love all the cowboy pictures!!


----------



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Yes ****** are shorter. Usually just covering the knee in length.
They are not as hot as wearing full length Shotgun chaps.

They don't protect your calf and lower leg.


----------



## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

I paid $250.00 for mine, attractive and they do keep me warmer in the early spring and late fall but I only wore them once this year. I find them even though they have been oiled, bulky.


----------



## TrailheadSupply (Sep 6, 2012)

Tiny, you don't feel the buckles. On another note hows Bellevue I grew up in Kirkland


----------



## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Like Painted Horses I also love the nostalgia of the cowboy look. 

I've worn chaps (nylon) both briar proof and snake proof when rabbit and bird hunting....saw a fellow attacked by a cottonmouth at a field trial near Memphis a few years back.....the snake came from 10 feet away to attack him......luckly he had his snake proofs on....

So, snakes aren't out when it's cold....

We rode Iron Mountain right after a rain....kind of a cold and grey day.....with a bit of a drip falling from the trees.....made me wish I had my nylon chaps on, but then I got to thinking about the ******.....

Hickman Saddlery - ******

I'm liking number 13.....still looking though...


----------



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

13 looks great. 

I'm not sure about the studs. If you wear ****** in bad weather you need to waterproof them, Meaning rubbing in some wax or conditioners. The smoother the leather the easier it is to rub in the waxes. The more ornate the ******, the more you have to work to clean up the excess waxes.

But they are pretty


----------



## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Painted Horse said:


> 13 looks great.
> 
> I'm not sure about the studs. If you wear ****** in bad weather you need to waterproof them, Meaning rubbing in some wax or conditioners. The smoother the leather the easier it is to rub in the waxes. The more ornate the ******, the more you have to work to clean up the excess waxes.
> 
> But they are pretty


What type wax are you using?


----------



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Chap Wax

Chap Wax from Ray Holes Leather Care-Outfitters Supply


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Your # 13 ****** do look really good.


----------



## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

I second the Ray Holes! Their saddle butter is good too.


----------



## Dead Rabbit (Jul 14, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> Well, I can see how they'd help you, but for me, they'd be just something I wore 'cause I liked the looks. And I do. I am a city gal, so never do any cow work, nor ride in thorny brush. But keeping legs warm and dry and looking "cool", I am all for that. I have not bought any just becuase it just seems too silly for a city person like me to try and look all "cowboy". I would be laughed off the range in your neck of the woods.



who cares. wear them anyway. chicks are hot in chaps.






start at 2:15 for the real show.


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I don't know about Tinyliny, but I'm not sure that the chaps would look quite that good on me................


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Painted Horse said:


> 13 looks great.
> I'm not sure about the studs.


I second this. They pop off pretty fast.
If you rope any, bypass the conchos on the guard, roping ruins them.


----------

