I know these boots were designed for the leather to be folded and only zipped halfway....but they cannot be zipped all the way up even if wanted.  The zippers extend to the top of the boot but there is something in the zipper that stops them from zipping beyond the folding point.  These boots are great and very comfortable.  The leather seems like very good quality leather.  They ran true to size for me.  The only real surprise I encountered with these boots were the design of the zippers.