Rujo Boots entered the cowboy boot market in 2020 with a slogan of “Be Brave.” The word “rujo” means “roar” and certainly this company has a superb product line that unto itself roars with quality.

A lot of guys, especially in the Eastern U.S., are hesitant to wear cowboy boots. All I have to say about that is, “get over it.” No one, no one, will say anything, except perhaps “nice boots” when they see you wearing them.

I own and wear four pairs of Rujo Boots and soon will buy some more. My review and personal opinions follow…

… Rujo Boots are made in the Bootmaking Capital of the world — León, Mexico. Bootmakers in this town know their work. It is obvious to me that they take painstaking care when making boots. According to Rujo Boots, they take more than 200 steps to produce a boot.

Features that Rujo Boots have that, to me, make them better than their competitors (including Tecovas), include:

* superb sourcing of leathers and skins — the quality of the calfskin and exotic skins used is excellent. My Rujo Boots are unblemished, and unlike some others, there are no faults in stitching. In fact, key stress points in the boots are double-stitched.

* quality craftsmanship. While cowboy boot production uses machines to aid in the work, it is easy to tell that the workers to make Rujo Boots know what they are doing and the results show. Quality control is a major step on which Rujo Boots does not shortcut.

* the soles are nine-iron leather and are Goodyear Welted (meaning they can be resoled if you wear them out). The soles are durable as heck, and will hold up in all conditions. Note: the soles are very smooth, and until well-worn, they can be slick and cause a slip on wet pavement.

* speaking of soles — Rujo Boots have lemonwood pegs in the soles. That is another sign of high quality bootmaking. Lemonwood pegs are inserted by hand with a special hammer, driving each one into the sole. Lemonwood expands and contracts at the same rate as the leather sole when exposed to moisture, ensuring a good, long-lasting fit.

* exceptional comfort — Rujo Boots claims their boots have what they call a “cloud walk” insole. I can attest — my boots are very comfortable to wear all day, right out of the box. I wore a new pair of snip-toe caiman boots (Kirby model) with a suit for several meetings and presenting an award. Not only were my feet comfortable all day, I received many compliments on the “Boot – Suit” combination. Who says you have to wear brown shoes with a blue suit? Brown boots work well too!

* product line isn’t huge — Rujo Boots is slowly expanding their product line (different styles, skins, and toe styles) by being careful to maintain enough stock to meet demand. That’s what always bothered me about Tecovas — they would expand their product line so rapidly that they could not keep up with demand and had frequent stock-outs. (Tecovas has pretty much resolved that issue, but for a while, it was driving me nuts.)

* pricing — the pricing of their boots is good and often better than competitors, especially considering the quality. This is is a product that “you get more than you pay for.”

* customer service — I seldom have a need to contact the company, but when I do that, I expect answers relatively quickly. Rujo Boots does that well.

* the heel height is 1.7 inches, which is a bit higher than many other cowboy boots at 1.5 inches. Does that heel height make a difference? To me, it sure does. I feel a little taller and a bit more confident. The heels are not so high as to make me — the world’s #1 klutz — trip while climbing stairs.

Rujo Boots are available on-line only. Do not be afraid of buying their boots on-line. They include a return label with each pair, so if the fit isn’t right, you can return them easily for exchange or credit.

I have become a big fan of Rujo Boots. I just advise … continue to take it slowly and don’t expand beyond your means to maintain the high quality that I have come to admire.

Rating: five stars (out of five)

Life is short: wear boots — and be brave in Rujo Boots! Get ’em here.

Note: these are my personal opinions and I have not been asked to write or be compensated for this review.