I’m a novice for sure. I bought a decent pair is Ariats a d they work for what I need them for.

My rotation all made in USA Anderson Bean, Tony Lama, Double H.

The Tony Lama boots are like wearing slippers, the Double H have been the hardest to break in but are real comfortable all day. The AB are great too and have the roomier toe box of them all, all are 2X-wide. The AB feel like 4X which a ain't bad thing.

Ordered the sizing kit.

Thanks.

Made in Mexico.

Made in China?

Pointy toed boots are also for people who actually ride horses. It's so that you can pick up your Stirrup easier.

Yep, you want leather sole so that you're foot slips into the sturups  easy, pointy toes so that you can pick up the sturup easy, and a good size heel so that your foot doesn't slip all the way through the stirrup. But when the horse falls with you in the saddle you want boots that you can get out of the stirrup and if that fails that you can get your foot out of the boot

I was a dedicated Nocona guy for many years - I went through 3 pair and 9 soles.  Uppers were still fine, but they get a bit tighter each time they are resoled - 3 was my limit.

There are many different designs of boots - I wanted to stick with cowboy dress boots at that point.  I had to special order the 4th pair.  9 months and they fucked up the order, 9 more months and they resoled the original pair and they were about 1 size smaller than I ordered - never got my foot in them.  At that point I was out $350 and 18 months and had no fix (they said the problem was my foot - which fit perfectly in the 3 previous pair).  Good way to piss off someone who was a dedicated owner (my older brothers and sister had all worked for Nocona once upon a time).

I currently have 4 pair of boots.  The Dan Post (I think) almost got me hospitalized (long story, but cheep stitching tore up my leg and gave me blood poising). I did manage to fix the stitching and can wear them easily now.  The Lucchese have an odd upper tube that is a pain in the ass to get my foot into (but feels great once I get them on).  They are skinny pant boots.  One pair of Ariat work boots has never broke in - after 3 years they still are 50/50 to give me blisters if I walk in them (got a blister again yesterday), the other pair is a pair of Ariat riding boots (now those are harder to find than hen's teeth anymore - nobody carries western riding boots anymore).  They have stitching worse than the Dan Post.  That said, if I wear boot socks to protect my legs (never did that with the Nocona), they fit and feel great.  Just wish they knew how to sew.  For what its worth, that pair was specifically purchased for horse riding.  They have a heel ridge and reinforcement over the top for spurs and a good riding heel. (The heel is the kicker, I knew a kid who was dragged to death because he did not wear a riding heel one day on their horse).

The problem with the stiching they have thread ends that are inside the tube.  They either melt or glue the stitch to keep it from coming out - making something akin to a thorn that scratches your calf as you walk.  It is so bad in the Ariats that it destroys my socks after a few days - but better than the bloody welts it leaves if I use standard crew socks.  

I've worn cowboy boots for a very long time and have tried all different kinds.
My favorite and all I've bought for the past 20 years is Lucchese.

DO NOT order your first boot off’n the interwebs.  you must try it on to fit.  
Start here:

1982 Dan Post lizard

danced through too many women to count and two wives

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My favorites are my luccheses especially my classics I bought before they went stupid high in price, but for the price my tecovas are great too.

I've always been partial to ropers. Shorter shaft, and they dont have the ladies high heel look to them, more versatile.

Just my opinion.

I don't own any boots yet but have been looking.  Aside from square vs. pointed and all the different brand names, which material works best for ya?  I see calfskin, bovine, ostrich, lizard, caiman, alligator and crocodile.  I even see shark and elephant.  

I like the look of ostrich but it would seem you could not polish or take care of them like a regular leather.  Same for lizard and caiman etc.

Nocona

I had a pair of  Frye boots back in '83 that did that. Drove me freaking nuts. I ended up putting a piece of mole skin over it. Holy shit was it unnerving prior too that though.

Anderson bean

Boots suck for anything other than actually riding a horse.

Leather soles are great for slipping into and out of stirrups. If you don't ride horses, they're great for slipping on your ass on carpet, stairs, wet grass, gravel, and many other common surfaces. My balance and coordination are good enough that I never slip or fall, except when wearing leather soled boots. I finally just accepted the fact that if I'm going to buy a pair of leather soled boots, I budget in the cost of new rubber soles and I take them to my shoe guy before I ever wear them. They've make thin Vibram lug soles that give me great traction, which I want from anything on my feet. Leather soles wear out really quickly too.

As you've read, there are a lot of brands which are all good quality, so the distinction between them is largely personal taste and comfort. As for leathers, gator, croc, caiman, and ostrich leg are my favorite looks, but there's nothing wrong with plain leather, especially when you see the price of exotics. Lizard and snake look great but don't hold up as well if you're rough on boots.

I wear boots everyday. I have all my life.

Boot fit is a personal thing. Don’t purchase until you try them on.  Not every style will fit the same even in the same brand.

For work I’m a Ariat roper fan. They are comfortable (to me) and their composite toe/shank is light and feels comfortable (to me).  I have both water proof and regular. I go through a pair about every 18 months and I keep 4 pair in the rotation. Twisted X, Dan Post and Wolverine are also popular and I see them worn in the field.

For everything else I’m a Lucchess fan.  I get them made to order. They are comfortable (to me).  I own 4 pair of dress and casual boots.

Goat skin is very comfortable and breaks in easy. It is not as durable as cow. All Lizard skin boots do not hold up well.  African skins hold up incredibly well.  Hippo is very tough.  More than Elephant and Buffalo. The toughest skin is sting ray.  Ostrich skin is a nice blend of comfort and daily durability.  Quill out looks good but does not hold up well to real work.

don't be a dumbass and drink so much you GIVE AWAY your best pair of handmade, piteado stitched custom boots

even if it IS JoJo of Los Lonely Boys

he probably left them under a couch on the bus

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I have a pair of caiman tecovas boots for almost three years now.  I use bickmore bick 4 conditioner and Saphir polish and they look as good as the day I got them.  For python I only use conditioner.

Just retired a12 year old pair of daily wear Tony Lama’s to weekend duty due to a cut in the foot area . Been resoled multiple times. Bought new Tony Lama .

This is awesome and hilarious!  This picture needs its own thread and story!

When I started wearing boots, I wore calfskin ropers.  So damn soft they broke in almost instantly.  Only problem was they wore poorly.  Within a month they were looking fairly used.  In 3 months they looked ratty, in 6 the soles were shot and there was not enough left of the upper to warrant new soles.   Now in all fairness - they were Justin Ropers.  Perhaps the issue was more with the design than the leather.

Then went to bullhide.  Would take about a week of regular wearing before they even started to fit.  I would gradually increase the hours per day I wore them, the first couple days I was lucky if I could tolerate 4hrs.  That said, after a year they still looked great, so I would resole them.  After 3 soles they were still looking better than a 3 month old calfskin, but the uppers would have gotten to small for my feet.  I wore them daily.  If I had alternated pairs and used shoe trees to maintain shape - they would have looked almost new till they went through 3 soles.  Only real issue I had was caused by not drying them on trees - the toes would curl up a bit.  I think I have 3 sets of trees at the moment - 2 are in my remaining 2 pair of dress boots (not sure were those boots are though) and the third are in my riding boots.

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I am shocked at how many people here love Luchasse.  Last time I checked, American made Luchasse were over $800 a pair.

As has been mentioned already, US-made Lucchese Carsons are within the stated range at $395:

Carsons

I believe the Classics line does start in the $800 range, though. FWIW, I own and approve of Tecovas.

My two cents; this may be dated because I have not bought a new pair in a couple of decades:
Brand:         Nocona (Dress or work), Tony Llama (Dress or work), Lucchese (Dress only, not for work)
Toe Shape:  "J", not flat, not pointed, not round
Heel:           3/4 riding heel, not straight, not a full riding heel
Soles:          Leather, mayyybeee a non-slip heel pad.
Leather:       Whatever you like and can afford.  Ostrich is good.