{"id":2522,"date":"2012-08-11T04:00:35","date_gmt":"2012-08-11T08:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=2522"},"modified":"2013-09-20T04:57:08","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T08:57:08","slug":"difference-between-ostrich-and-lizard-boots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=2522","title":{"rendered":"Difference Between Ostrich and Lizard Boots"},"content":{"rendered":"

A search on the web directed a visitor to my Choosing Boots page<\/a> on my website, seeking information — “Difference between ostrich and lizard boots”.
\n\"\"<\/a>At first, I was amused, but then I got to thinking about it, and thought that I would write a serious response. There are several differences that people who are considering exotic-skin boots should know.
\n
\nOstrich boots are made from the skin of a bird. Bird skins have bumps where the feathers went in (called quill bumps). Lizard boots are made from the skin of a reptile. Reptile skin is covered with scales. How the quills and scales are displayed on a skin used for boots are very different.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ostrich is a small-area skin compared with cow and horse hides, and is ranked by the follicles per area since they thin out further away from the neck. The more dense and pronounced the follicles, the more valued the hide. Ostrich skin is tanned much like cowhide is tanned to make “leather” — in this case, a skin that has been prepared through a chemical treatment to enhance its durability and wear for use on a pair of boots.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lizard is even a smaller-area skin. It is ranked by the density and evenness of the scales. Since a lizard is a reptile, it does not have a skin, but has scales. The scales perform much of the same function as skin does to protect the animal. <\/p>\n

However, one of the major differences is that ostrich skin leather is porous while lizard skin scales are not. Even though you can’t see the pores, they are there. That adds “breathability” to the skin and can make boots made with ostrich leather feel less hot, since they will allow heat and sweat from the foot to escape. <\/p>\n

Further, ostrich skin leather is tanned which makes it more naturally water-resistant. You can get ostrich boots wet and while you may be left with water stains, you will not have other problems with damage to the quill bumps or skin (that is provided you dry the boots off and do not purposefully soak the boots in water, mud, or other liquids.)<\/p>\n

Lizard skin scales do not like heat very much nor do they absorb water. In fact, exposure to heat (such as being too close to a fire, radiator, or heat vent) or exposure to water tends to cause scales to retract, fold, or curl. The curling happens because scales on a lizard when it is alive curl to help the lizard cope with heat. Scales also curl to deflect water. Further, scales curl when they lose their natural internal oils and dry out. Unfortunately, when lizard scales on boots curl, they will not “uncurl” after getting heated or wet. (The natural process on a reptile when it is alive is to slough-off old or damaged scales and grow new ones to replace the damaged scales.) Thus, if lizard skin boots get wet and are not immediately dried with a towel, or if they are exposed to heat, the boots may incur permanent damage. In my opinion, lizard skin boots are more vulnerable to damage and the vamp (foot) is not as durable as the vamp on ostrich boots.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, are there other differences?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Not really. Both ostrich and lizard skins are dyed during the bootmaking process. You can get boots with either skin in almost any color you want. The most prevalent color for ostrich boots is “cognac” (a medium orange) while common colors of lizard skin boots are black, brown, and tan. But take it from me, ostrich boots come in a wide array of colors, and in my opinion, all look nice.<\/p>\n

There is not much of a difference in price between new commercially-made ostrich or lizard boots, either. Both animals are farmed to produce the skins used for boots, garments, handbags, and other accessories. The price for new ostrich or lizard boots are definitely higher than the cost of boots made of cow leather, but that’s because there are more cows farmed than birds or reptiles. Also, a bootmaker gets a much larger hide from a cow than from an ostrich or lizard.<\/p>\n

Is one type of boot better than another? Not really… it purely is a matter of personal taste and preference.<\/p>\n

So now you know. There are differences between ostrich and lizard skins for boots besides one being from a bird and the other being from a reptile.<\/p>\n

Life is short: know your boots!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A search on the web directed a visitor to my Choosing Boots page on my website, seeking information — “Difference between ostrich and lizard boots”. At first, I was amused, but then I got to thinking about it, and thought … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cowboy-boots"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}