Best wellington boots [UK]:Top wellies for men, women, and dog walking

The first thing you’ll notice about the Dunlop Compass Flick Bell is how well sized they are. Let’s assume you’re a middle of the range size 7, 8, or 9. With a reasonably thick pair of socks on you’ll have a nice comfy fit. They are not oversized a long way and certainly not ‘tight’. The opening is nice and wide so if you do have wider feet these are a good buy and it’s certainly not one of those horrible fights to get the boots on I’ve been unfortunate enough to suffer in the past. In terms of height, they are about 40cm from top to bottom so for most people fall well short of the knee. The heel is just short of an inch which is pretty much middle of the road in terms of raising the back of the foot. Here’s a closer look at them:

The grip underneath the sole is as expected from a quality rubber, nice wide grooves that give you plenty of stability too and ensure good footing. The added benefit of a rubber sole is the shock is taken out of any deep or heavy step. In short, these feel great on the foot and nice to walk in. In terms of taking them off, they have that lovely little rubber lip at the back which lets you push the first one off with the other boot. The second one comes off nice and easy too with a pull or the bare foot.

With so many tens of thousand sold there’s a few common problems that occur once in a while. The first being a dud pair new. A few report they are holed from new and letting in water. My advice is get these straight on and deep in water so if there is a problem you can return them for a new pair. This is Dunlop quality, these aren’t some cheap nasty boot but the odd failure is inevitable. You can protect yourself by being quick about finding out so you can get a replacement pair free 🙂 Another rare issue is the sizing, as I mentioned. These are big for the size so you don’t really need to compensate much. You can normally get a thick pair of socks on your normal foot size and still be comfortable in these. It stands to reason they would be designed this way and as long as you know it’s fine.

Overall these are the best wellington in the UK right now for price, comfort, and longevity. Dunlop is a trustable brand that’s made boots for decades. You can expect nice warm, dry, and comfy feet even when used for a good while.

Pros:

• Nice wide boot – great for wider feet
• Well priced for a quality boot
• Well known to last – sometimes Dunlop will give you 20 or thirty years !
• Dunlop quality for sure – you’d feel hard done by if you didn’t get a decade out of these.

Cons:

• The odd pair are faulty and holed so don’t stop water – check them in water fast so you don’t get caught out on warranty
• Not lined – some may prefer that though

I really really didn’t want this review to turn into a Dunlop fan club but the problem is they’ve been making wellies so well, for so long that they just seem to be well ahead. For what it’s worth these are the best mens wellies overall, no question on that. Pick a box, these tick it. Great on grip, sensible price, nice lining, easy to remove. In terms of buying, I’d probably pick half a size bigger than you are as they seem to be pretty much to size, or at least, that’s my experience anyway. Talking of experience, you’ll get years out of these, even used daily it’s reasonable to expect 5 years and up! If you’re a dog walker or like spending time in the garden or woods then these are a great choice.

First thing to note on these, as you put them on they’ll feel slightly shorter than your good old fashioned wellies, I’d say about 3-4 inches shorter actually and they fall well short of the knee roll. The next is the lovely lining in these. It’s a fake fur and feels really comfy. Noted, some may not want a lining and might be an issue, but for general walking/work no problem at all. Some have complained about the stitching so unless a manufacture error they see great to me. Here’s a look at that:

They’ve got really good grip too. If you look at the soles below you can see why:

The only thing I really really disprove of, and it’s literally the only flaw is the pricing. Small boots are cheaper fine. Size 13’s are often cheaper than 12 or 11. That is pricing based on popularity, not material use. Shame, apart from that, these have the usual issue of a few pairs (just like all wellies sold in high volume) letting in water from new so make sure you spend the time to test them well so you can return straight away if any issues.

They really look good too:

Pros:

• Super comfortable – lovely lining makes that happen
• Very well priced considering manufacture quality
• Will last for many many years – I’ve seen some saying 10 but I’ll go with a realistic 5 years
• Look good for men’s boots

Cons:

• As always a few duds from new
• Some complain the lining stitching breaks down
• Shorter than standard wellies – may be an issue for some and worth a mention.

The Joules Women’s Molly Welly Boot is probably one of the nicest looking boots with all round quality. The strap and buckle design is pretty popular too. Aside from the fact they look nice, they actually do their job. With a nice thick pair of socks you’ll be warm and dry. The lining is synthetic and feels nice too.

They are not too high so are the ideal boot for dog walking, or perhaps even walking the kids to school. Joules have really worked on this design and the effort clear to see:

The fit is pretty good for a standard size, they won’t rub or slip. Let’s assume you’re a 6 and a half for example, you won’t have any problem with size 7 and a thick pair of socks. The width of foot is definitely good, the ankle a little narrow so going up half a size never a problem with these.

On the downside with as great as they look a few people have been unfortunate enough to have breaks or tears. It seems they’ll take them back if within the warranty periods so not great problem. Now, given the huge number sold I think it’s pretty reasonable to expect a few people to get unlucky and certainly not enough to put me off naming these best women’s wellington boots this time round!

Pros:

• Look beautiful for wellies! Nice strap and buckle design
• Well fitting on the width and length
• Good for dog walking – very comfortable

Cons:

• Could spend a lot less on wellies if you wanted!
• Some get an unlucky break – for the most part though solid

The Joules Women’s Print Wellington Boots combine the practicality of wellies but steer further toward design and looking great, which they most certainly do! They are taller than the Joules Molly range and have a larger heel and offset the difficulty of putting on these taller boots with an adjustable strap at the back.

Before we go through these in detail though, let’s have a quick spin around them:

Here’s a look at those straps:

This is a nice touch for sure, the taller the boot the harder it is to fit after all. And talking of fit, Amazon did a survey of over 1200 buyers, most reporting these were true to fit so no need to buy oversize.

They have the same inner as the Molly range – a synthetic one that feels nice. The sole and outer is all quality rubber and leads to very few failures when considering how many of these boots are sold. Unsurprisingly then, these are comfortable, wear very well, last ages, and very waterproof.

It’s not all plain sailing though and the reason these are my alternative pick rather than top pick is the reliability. There is a notably higher number of failures with these than the Molly range. I guess the aesthetics trade off with practicality caught up in the end. Still though, they really look the part.

Pros:

• Easily the best looking women’s boots in the UK so my pick for alternative women’s boots
• Very fashionable – could be worn as standard boots
• Come in many different styles and colours – the prints look great too

Cons:

• A bit pricey
• A few QC issues

The Mountain Warehouse Splash Men’s Wellies is known for its quality and the comfort it provides. The soft fabric lining makes for better comfort and a very snug fit that you can wear for an extended period of time without fuss. They are very good as wilderness rambler or dog walker boots. They do really well in muddy fields. What you’re getting at sensible money is a quality pair of boots and a decent alternative to the top men’s wellington boots of the Dunlops.

Being the more old fashioned one size fits all welly you’ll see a few more complaints around the internet of incorrect fit. Generally speaking, if the old school rubber wellies fit you off the shelf, these won’t be an issue. Most buyers tend to go one size larger and pack with a thick sock if necessary – it’s pretty much old school boot rules.

For the money they are fairly well made but they are not the 30 year Dunlops by any means. You’ll have the sole inner fall out soon enough but to be fair thats totally normal for a cheaper boot.

Pros:

• Cheap and reasonable quality boot – they hold up reasonably well
• Waterproof – nice rubber build like the best brands
• Deep treat to stop slipping – work great in a muddy field
• Comfortable on the foot for longer periods of time

Cons:

• Inner soles fall out
• The occasional pair fail
• Need to order one size larger than you are normally – would be great if they work on this

If you don’t have to worry about budget then the Muckmaster High Wellington Boots are almost certainly what you’ll want. These boots as they suggest by the name are ideal for heavy farm use or professional and commercial work. Your feet will stay dry and comfortable wearing for hours at a time is standard.

Like all wellies you can get unlucky with leaks. These have a few complaints over the thousands and ten of thousands of purchases. Test them out quickly so you can return them if necessary.

The one complaint I have is they will have a tendency to develop a tear over time from walking in the creases. The trouble is they last so long they will almost certainly be out of warranty by the time this happens! So I would say its fair to assume a middle of the road amount of time like 3-5 years from these with reasonably frequent use factored in. Most people expect to get years of waterproof use from them.

Pros:

• A high quality boot – last very well
• Super comfortable – nice inner and design to fit foot
• Great for dog walkers – walking is very comfy in these

Cons:

• Expensive – some other quality alternatives out there for the money
• Some boots prone to failure – particularly in the creases where splits develop