Servus Unisex Adult Comfort Technology Knee-High Waterproof Rubber Rain Boots, 9,Black

Farming for 30 (plus) years, I've been thorugh a lot of boots. I wear mostly boots, not shoes. As a rule, I go through them fast, because the place is rocky, and rough terrain. Been through Tingley, OnGuard, Bata and so many others it'd take too long to recall. Typically a pair of inexpensive pull-on PVC boots lasts about 2 to 4 months before they crack from flexure about 3.5 inches back from the boot's toe-tip, on the big toe side of the boot, over the edge of the instep. Some boots take a little longer than others to crack like this. Bata was the worst, cracking on me in about 5 weeks; Onguard was close, cracking within about 2 months. Tingley boots will generally crack on one or the other boot within 6 months. The crack starts small, about 0.5 inch long, just enough to let water in if you're crossing a creek, or urine if you're mucking out hog gutters or dairy cow waste. Imagine my shock when my first pair of Servus chore boots lasted not 1 month, not 6 months, but until the tread finally wore down so much that they were almost too slippery to walk! It must have taken close to 2 years---and no cracking! I bought more. Always the same story; Servus lasted and lasted, with never a crack. Then Servus shortened the height of the boot. The current style, shorter in the back than in the front is still o.k. for mucking around the barn, or in a garden, or modestly tall wet grass, or snow not much deeper than a foot or so. The previous style was about one inch taller, and was the same height in the front as in back. Much better for wading a creek after an errant calf. Maybe Servus changed the formula of the PVC too, because the last set I bought didn't last more than a few months before they started to crack---tread not much worn at all. Shortening the height and using a PVC formula that cracks (or perhaps it is now thinner at the instep area?) were bad ideas. We fans of Servus would have gladly paid extra to not scoop up a crack-full of snow (or gloppy manure) onto our sock as we first exclaimed "hey, a Servus boot actually cracked!" Long before the treads wore down on my last pair of Servus boots I had cracks in both, at the instep, just like other brands of chore boots. Even other (upscale) brands of costlier boots crack at this same spot, and do so much sooner than the Servus used to. It's a shame when companies "go cheap," sacrificing quality. Servus boots are still as good as Tingley, maybe even slightly better, so I gave 'em a "4" rating. And the search for the "perfect" chore boot sadly must resume! BTW, order 2 pairs at a time, so when one pair cracks with use, you won't be stuck in the muck! And get one-half size to one size larger than your walking shoes, so they last a bit longer before cracking.

They will crack after at least three months on the heel that you kick off second. Lol. Sounds weird but I have swapped sides and the second kick off every time that boot will split first. Just below the "toe knob" that you use to remove it.