Rhodes Roper Boots Review: I Tried This Entry-Level Roper

I love Huckberry. They always have the coolest shirts. I think I have a sickness—no matter how hot it gets, I always want to buy new overshirts. 

So when I heard that Huckberry’s house brand Rhodes was dipping into western style ropers, I was all-in. 

I picked up a pair of the Rhodes Roper boots in Mojave Suede, and here’s what I think.

Rhodes Boots Overview

Rhodes is a sub-brand of Huckberry. And if you’ve been into men’s fashion at all in the past 10 years, you no-doubt know about Huckberry. They’re awesome. 

If I laid out what I wear on a weekly basis, I’d wager that about 30% of it comes from Huckberry, which is a lot when you think about it. 

Anyway, Rhodes has some Ropers, some Chelsea boots, a few chukkas, and even loafers. 

Nothing the brand does is super flashy or unique, but they offer excellent prices on style-staples and deliver solid quality. 

In fact, I’ll give you my short review of the Roper here, because it’s similar to how I feel about Rhodes shoes and boots in general:

There’s nothing particularly special about the Rhodes Roper. It’s a solid boot with decent leather, good construction, and it’s comfortable. It gives you the style, and the price is very fair. It’s a good introduction to the world of western boots, and you’re getting excellent value-for-money on your buy, though I doubt they’ll blow you away. 

My Hands-On Review

First Impression

I picked up the Rhodes Roper in Mojave Suede. It’s a really simple roper boot, and the style is classic. 

I like what Rhodes is doing here—it’s almost like they’re acting as your liaison to the world of cowboy boots. 

Ropers have a lower heel, and there’s no toe-bug, so from the outside, a roper can look a lot like a Chelsea boot. It’s not such a big departure for a lot of guys to go from regular lace-up boots to Chelseas or ropers. 

That’s what I like about the Rhodes Roper style. It’s a basic boot that looks good with a pair of jeans or chinos, and can be matched with a wide variety of styles. 

As far as the boot goes, it’s got a nice narrow toe, a little western detailing where the vamp meets the shaft, and some darker piping up through the sides of the shaft. 

I like the dye color on the heel—a rich deep brown that matches well with the lighter tan Mojave leather color. 

Leather Quality and Care

I got the Mojave Suede leather, which almost looks like a natural roughout to me. This is an excellent color for spring, summer, and into the early stages of fall. 

If you want a more fall-winter oriented boot, then the Umber or Hickory might suit you better. Basically, you have a light brown smooth leather option, light suede, dark suede, and dark smooth leather option. It keeps things simple. I like that. 

The quality of the leather seems decent-enough. It’s supple, comfortable, and it didn’t stretch too much or deform when I wore the boots. 

There’s a leather lining throughout the entire boot, too, which is really nice for a boot at this price. That’ll help the longevity and comfort of the boot long term. 

As for care, with the suede, I’ll just use a suede brush every so often to keep the knap going. But otherwise, it really doesn’t need much care. 

Sole

The sole is a basic veg-tan insole and outsole combo, with a leather stacked heel and a rubber toplift (heel cap). 

Rhodes uses a Goodyear welt construction with a stitch channel on the bottom of the outsole.

After examining the construction, there wasn’t anything that was especially exciting, which is fine. Considering the price, I think the construction is fantastic. I definitely like the leather insole.

Most cowboy boots would have the leather insole nailed down, but this one is cemented down, which I don’t think will present any problems. The main benefit here is that the leather will break in and become more comfortable over time. 

Fit and Sizing

You should definitely size up a half-size from your normal sneaker size. And if your sneakers range between two sizes (say 11 and 11.5), then choose a half step above the top one (so in this example, a size 12). 

The biggest issue with the Rhodes Roper is that it’s difficult to get on. But once you get them on, they’re very comfortable.

This has long been the biggest problem with cowboy boots in general—or really any pull on boot. 

The key is to drive into the boot with your heel. A lot of guys try to pull these on with their arms, using all their might. Drive with the heel. They’re still hard to put on, but at least you won’t throw out your back trying. 

It won’t be too bad if you size up a half-step. And once you get the boots on, they fit really well and are quite comfortable. 

Break-in Period

There’s some minor break in time with these boots as you’ve got to put some time in on the leather insole. Plus, the toe is narrow, so you’ll also likely stretch that out a bit as you wear them. But overall, I don’t think you need to take any special precautions when breaking the Rhodes Roper in. 

What Do Other Reviewers Say?

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Hard to put on. If you read through the reviews, you’ll see that pretty much every negative comment about the boot is related to that. 

And just about everything else is positive. A lot of guys go with the Rhodes Roper as their intro to western boots, and these have left many dudes seeing the cowboy boot light. 

My Thoughts Overall

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