Are Justin Boots Good? It Depends on the Model

Ropers by the corral.

Yes, on the right model. A Justin is good on the build its page states: the seven models that print a full or 3/4 welt start at $204.95, and the seven that print cement (one, the Daymoney, adds "Double Stitched Welt") list $189.95 or less. Owners praise comfort, but 12 of the 14 negative fit lines say narrow, tight or small, so wide feet should try a pair on first.

We checked 16 Justin models in our catalog and read 93 lines from owners, commenters and reviewers. Prices checked October 11, 2026. For the wider field, see the best cowboy boots and brands.

Are Justin boots good? The short answer by model

Yes, on the right model: comfort lines run 9 positive of 14, durability lines 18 of 31, and fit lines 14 negative of 20.

• Full or 3/4 welt printed, seven models from $204.95 to $1,009.95: Jackson, Austin, Caddo, Shay, Poston, Trainor and Bryant. Six carry El Paso, Texas wording; the Jackson page leaves the place blank.
• Cement printed, seven models from $154.95 to $189.95: Driller, Bowline, Canter, Rendon, Daymoney, Rein and Jeb. Twelve lines from eleven Zappos reviews, 2014 to 2019, name the Jeb: six positive, one mixed and five negative.
• Two more: the Conductor work boot lists a sewn seat at $249.95, and the Buster III leaves construction blank at $174.95.

Justin boots compared

Seven Justin models that print a full or 3/4 welt

Prices checked October 11, 2026.

Nine Justin models with cement, a sewn seat or a blank construction field

Prices checked October 11, 2026.

Not stated marks a field the pages we saved leave blank. We count the Daymoney, which prints "Cement with Double Stitched Welt", with cement. The Final Sale wording in the Rendon cell is Justin's own, from its listing on October 11, 2026.

Justin boot prices by build

Of the 16 models, eight list under $200 and six list $200 to $299.99. The eight lowest list prices, $154.95 to $189.95, belong to the seven models that print cement and the Buster III, whose page leaves construction blank. Prices checked October 11, 2026.

What Justin owners, commenters and reviewers praise

Comfort leads: 9 of 14 comfort lines are positive, 2 mixed and 3 negative, and both break-in lines are positive.

An owner on Reddit's r/cowboyboots wrote, "my Justin's are the most comfortable for sure". A reviewer on Zappos in 2019 wrote of the Jackson, "I haven’t taken them off. Super comfortable." An owner on Reddit's r/cowboyboots wrote of the Canter, "good quality and comfortable".

On lifespan, 18 of 31 durability lines are positive, and 4 of those 18 describe older pairs. An owner has "worn them almost every day for nearly 10 years" and had the leather-soled pair resoled once.

Justin lines by theme

Justin lines by who wrote them

These are lines in our file, a sample rather than a poll: 75 are Reddit lines from 16 threads, and 18 are lines from 17 Zappos reviews dated 2014 to 2020.

What Justin owners, commenters and reviewers complain about

Fit and quality control lead: 14 of 20 fit lines and 16 of 21 quality-control lines are negative.

Of the 16 negative quality-control lines, 7 say Justin has slipped, 3 are Reddit claims about where or of what Justin boots are made, and 6 describe one pair, a store try-on or the brand's price tier.

Durability is split: 9 of 31 lines are negative and 4 mixed. An owner who bought one pair wrote that it "didn't even make it 6 months before seems were blowing out" and called it a lower-end pair.

Lines about older pairs and claims that Justin has slipped number 18: 11 negative, 3 mixed and 4 positive. The other 75 lines are 34 negative, 9 mixed and 32 positive. A reviewer on Zappos in 2017 wrote, "Not made as well as Justin Boots were in the past."

The eight older-pair lines describe a pair from before today's; where a line gives its age, the pair runs from about 15 years old to the 1990s or earlier. The ten decline lines claim that Justin boots are made worse than they were, and the pages we saved can neither confirm nor refute that.

One commenter ties the decline to Berkshire Hathaway's purchase of Justin Industries, which Justin's about page dates to 2000; the pages we saved are silent on any link to quality.

How are Justin boots built?

Of the 16 models, seven print a full or 3/4 welt, seven print cement, one prints a sewn seat and one leaves construction blank on the pages we saved. Outsoles run four leather, ten rubber, one polyurethane and one crepe. Resoling goes unmentioned on every Justin page we saved.

The Canter and Bowline pages differ between spec and description. Each spec block reads "Upper: Full Grain Leather". The Canter description says "The water buffalo leather adds to its rugged western style", and the Bowline description says "all-water buffalo build".

One Reddit commenter says the Bent Rail line with the rubber sole is a Goodyear welt that can be resoled. The Austin, Caddo and Poston pages print "Full Welt with Double Row Stitch", and the word Goodyear appears on none of the Justin pages we saved.

Where are Justin boots made?

El Paso, Texas, for select styles. Justin's quality page says "select styles" are constructed at its El Paso, TX factory, and its pages call them "Made in the USA with Global Parts". Seven of the 16 pages we saved print that wording: Austin, Conductor, Caddo, Shay, Poston, Trainor and Bryant. The other nine leave the place blank.

Three of the lines we saved claim overseas manufacture: one says China, one says Vietnam, and one says a call to Justin confirmed it. These are claims on Reddit; the Justin pages we saved name El Paso, Texas and global parts as the sole place. For the other brands, see where cowboy boots are made and American-made cowboy boots.

Do Justin boots run big?

In the lines we read, Justin runs narrow or small more often than big: 12 of the 14 negative fit lines say narrow, tight or small, and one of the lines we saved, about a vintage roper, calls the pair baggy.

Reddit fit lines run 10 negative, 1 mixed and 2 positive. Zappos fit lines from 2016 to 2020 run 4 negative and 3 positive. An owner on Reddit's r/cowboyboots wrote, "I’m typically a D width in boots, but a EE in Justin’s." Another owner wrote, "Justin boots were the only boots to fit me".

The 16 Justin pages we saved leave the fit gauge blank. Ariat's pages show "Consumers say this fits: True to size." on 17 of the 18 Ariat pages we saved.

Four models list size 15: Austin, Caddo, Conductor and Jackson. Both women's models list one width, B. See how cowboy boots should fit, the shoe width chart and sizes 14 and 15.

Justin warranty, returns and resoling

Justin's terms page prints "Last Updated: April 26, 2021".

Justin vs Ariat: two matched pairs

We paired a 10-inch roper with a 10-inch roper, and an 11-inch rubber-soled boot with its match.

Prices checked October 11, 2026.

Both Ariat pages leave construction blank; the Jackson prints a full welt and a hand-nailed leather outsole, and the Canter prints cement.

Ariat's pages show free returns within 90 days for unworn, non-final-sale items; Justin's terms say 30 days. Both list one year of warranty. We leave the pick to you. For Ariat alone, see are Ariat boots good.

Who should buy Justin boots, and who should skip them

Pick Justin if

• You want a printed welt and a leather outsole: the Jackson at $204.95 in five widths, the Austin at $249.95 or the Poston at $279.95.
• You want El Paso, Texas wording with a rubber or crepe sole: the Caddo at $259.95, the women's Shay at $274.95 or the Trainor at $314.95.
• You want a lower price and will try the boot on first: the seven cement-built models list $154.95 to $189.95.

Skip it if

• You have a wide foot and are ordering without a try-on: 12 of the 14 negative fit lines say narrow, tight or small.
• Resoling is a priority and you want the maker to say so: no Justin page we saved mentions it, though four owners on Reddit report resoling or half-soling their pairs. Our Goodyear welt guide explains what a welt changes.
• You want a stated place of make on the page: nine of the 16 leave it blank.

How Justin compares with what we make

We paired the Justin Austin with Alvies The Shoal Creek: both are men's boots with a welt and a leather outsole.

Justin prices checked October 11, 2026; our price checked October 16, 2026.

The Shoal Creek is $390 (price checked October 16, 2026), and the Austin lists for $249.95 in sizes 6 to 15, against 8 to 15.

The same Alvies FAQ answer that says 100% leather adds "A cork filler molds to your foot over time, and a layer of EVA helps make them the most comfortable boot you can wear", and its product page lists a "hard EVA middle lining, non-slip rubber bottom" in the heel.

Alvies lists a Limited Lifetime Warranty "covered to the original owner" against manufacturing defects; its warranty page says it does not cover sole or heel wear ("we do not resole or reheel boots") or fit issues. Justin lists one year, first purchaser only, and says "We do not warrant soles against wear".

Justin's terms give 30 days after delivery for a refund, credit or exchange.

How we counted

To me, construction is the value of a boot, so the tables list what each page prints. Justin's facts come from its 16 product pages and its quality, made-in, terms and about pages, saved October 11, 2026, and the counts cover those 16 models, a sample of Justin's range.

A line is one statement saved from a Reddit comment or a Zappos review. The 93 lines come from 17 sources and 83 comments and reviews, and 10 of those yield two lines each. An owner says they own, owned or wore the pair, a commenter gives advice or an opinion, and a reviewer wrote on Zappos.

The saved Zappos page holds 102 reviews: 75 dated 2007 to 2013 and 27 dated 2014 or later. Our file holds 17 of the 27 newer ones and none of the older ones, and the 10 newer reviews we left out include fit complaints that read both ways. We did not match Zappos reviews to a Justin product page.

Bespoke Western makes and sells Alvies, Hevias and Olsen-Stelzer boots, and the comparison above uses one of ours. The Cowboy Boot Index 2026 has the wider catalog.

Quick answers

Are Justin boots real leather?

Every page we saved names a hide for the upper or vamp: 11 full grain leather, 2 a water buffalo vamp, 2 cowhide and the Bryant's crocodile. One owner on Reddit wrote that Justin makes "a lot of my models with synthetic shafts"; the pages we saved list a leather upper or vamp and say nothing about shaft material.

How long do Justin boots last?

Lines split: of 31 durability lines, 18 are positive, 4 mixed and 9 negative. Nine of the 31 describe an older pair or say Justin has slipped.

Are Justin boots good for work?

The Driller lists cement at $154.95 and the Conductor a sewn seat at $249.95; both pages list an ASTM F2892 rating and electric hazard protection. Four lines are about Justin work boots, and all four are negative; one is contested in its own thread.

Who owns Justin, and is Tony Lama the same company?

Justin's about page says Berkshire Hathaway purchased Justin Industries in 2000, and Justin's site lists Tony Lama, Nocona and Chippewa in its family of brands.

Bottom line

Fit comes first in any boot: I think a boot can be built to fit comfortably out of the box, and a good pair settles in like a good baseball glove. That is the test for every boot on this page.

Justin is a split. Choose a printed welt and a leather outsole for the stated build, and try the cement-built models on first for width.

Where to go next

• The Shoal Creek, the Alvies boot in this comparison
• Shop all boots and the Alvies collection
• The best cowboy boots and brands
• Are Ariat boots good?
• Best square toe cowboy boots and best boots for line dancing
• American-made cowboy boots