Horse Riding Chaps
Leather Chaps Buying Guide
Horse riding chaps are excellent when you need to practice riding but do not necessarily want to risk destroying your expensive boots or breeches. Before you buy a new set of leather chaps though, you are going to need to consider a few things.
This buyers guide will help ensure that you choose the perfect pair, and learn how to care for them properly at the same time. The first step in buying a new pair of chaps is determining which style you want to wear.
Full chaps cover your entire legs and help give you substantially more protection. However, half chaps fit like a pair of tall boots and help give you more flexibility while you are riding. Next, you need to figure out how much money you have to spend on a new set.
If you want custom leather chaps, you are going to need to expect to spend up to $1,500 or more. However, general duty use chaps that most riders can get away with wearing range in the prices of $100 to $200.
Once you have determined your budget, you need to think about whether you are going to purchase them from the internet, or from a local retailer. Purchasing from the internet offers quite a few benefits over a local retail store, such as inventory selection, competitive pricing, solid return policies and excellent shipping options.
Even for custom styled chaps, purchasing from the internet is usually your best bet. When you receive the chaps, you want to try them on and make sure that they fit properly. This is especially true if you have purchased from the internet, because you are typically given a short time frame to return the products if you are going to.
Much like a pair of horse riding gloves, you want them to give you decent flexibility, even being brand new, but also to fit snugly around your legs. Loose chaps can cause chafing on your skin if you are not careful about keeping them snug. If the chaps fit properly, the only thing left to do is break them in. While you are breaking them in, you want to make sure that you apply leather conditioner to raw materials to help them keep their durability, while also being more pliable.
A broken in pair of leather chaps will be incredibly comfortable, but can often take quite a long time to achieve. Take care of your chaps, and use them often, and they will become well worn in time.
