Boots for walking / beating

kaman

Active Member
I've had 2 pairs of Meindl Dovre Extreme over the last 4 years.
I have found them great boots and extremely comfortable on my very broad feet.
I'm in need of a new pair of boots as winter looms.
Looking for suggestions on alternative boots for general hill plodding over wet ground with my cocker and for beating.
I'm leaning away from Meindl as both pairs have failed at the flex point on the inside of the boot with stiching coming undone. I have re-stiched both pairs and applied aqau sure over the stiching but both getting low on tread and I don't see it being a worthy spend re-soleing them.
Any suggestions welcome.
 
Either the Altbergs or Dedito's should see you good. I've got Altberg Mallerstangs and Tethras, the latter are on their second set of soles due to daily use dog walking beating etc. I'm delighted with both models and will be replacing the Tethras like for like at some point. When it comes to replacing the Mallerstangs I was thinking of either the Altberg Gamekeeper boots, which are built like the Mallerstangs but come hight up the calf, or the Deditos. The latter are really popular amongst the guys and gals I shoot and beat with, hills, woods and moors.

Both of my pairs of Altberg now have cracks in the leather where they flex in the toe joint area but none of the boots leak, due to the lining membrane, and they've seen a lot of wet weather. My wife and two daughters also have Tethras and they love them. Youngest daughter spent five weeks in Peru in them last year and they came back desiccated due to altitude etc, treated them with Leder Gris Extreme and then the normal stuff and she's done a load more hill walking in them, including the Three Peaks earlier this year.

I don't have any affiliation with Altberg other than buying from their factory shop and popping in for a look see when I go up to Northumberland each year.

Cheers,

Mick
 
Cheers guys for the replies.
Never heard of Deditos but I'll have a look online at them.
My problem is I have really broad feet. Went for Meindl last twice as I knew they are a wide fit.
Heard a lot of good stuff about Altbergs in the past. I'll have a look and see if any of the models are wide fit variant.
 
Only hear good things about this brand.

They seem to be very hit or miss when it comes to being waterproof, I know a lot of keepers who have had them and wouldn't have them again, I was speaking to a Headkeeper mate of mine who got 3 pairs for him and 2 underkeeper, 2 pairs leaked badly the first time they were worn, another Headkeeper I know sent 6 pairs back!!!
I'd get the Altberg Stark Extreme/Gunnerside boot or Hanwag Trapper Top.
 
They seem to be very hit or miss when it comes to being waterproof, I know a lot of keepers who have had them and wouldn't have them again, I was speaking to a Headkeeper mate of mine who got 3 pairs for him and 2 underkeeper, 2 pairs leaked badly the first time they were worn, another Headkeeper I know sent 6 pairs back!!!
I'd get the Altberg Stark Extreme/Gunnerside boot or Hanwag Trapper Top.
Good to know! Have to say I have not heard similar.
 
Cheers guys for the replies.
Never heard of Deditos but I'll have a look online at them.
My problem is I have really broad feet. Went for Meindl last twice as I knew they are a wide fit.
Heard a lot of good stuff about Altbergs in the past. I'll have a look and see if any of the models are wide fit variant.
If you look on eBay you will find plenty of Altberg defender boots. They come in medium and wide fittings with insoles that further customise fit.
I have wide feet and they are by far the most comfortable boots I have had. I use their Peacekeeper P3’s for work which is the police public order version of the military boot.
Treated with leder Gris they last well.
I could buy quite a few pairs for the cost of some premium boots. Even new I think they are good value. I literally spend 60 plus hours a week in the P3’s and my defenders are usually first choice of footwear for the rest of the week
 
Good to know! Have to say I have not heard similar.
Same experience here, don't directly know anyone with a problem with the Deditos at the moment (want to keep calling them Doritos).

I've got some Harkila boots that are keeper height and I've heard concerns about those in conversations to the extent that in some places they are referring to them as Harleakas.

Must say that I would be very tempted by any of the Altberg "country boots".
 
If you look on eBay you will find plenty of Altberg defender boots. They come in medium and wide fittings with insoles that further customise fit.
I have wide feet and they are by far the most comfortable boots I have had. I use their Peacekeeper P3’s for work which is the police public order version of the military boot.
Treated with leder Gris they last well.
I could buy quite a few pairs for the cost of some premium boots. Even new I think they are good value. I literally spend 60 plus hours a week in the P3’s and my defenders are usually first choice of footwear for the rest of the week
Excellent. Boots in wide fitting sizes
 
I guess your main problem is having very wide feet might limit your options.

The army surplus Haix boots seem pretty wide and reasonable quality, not stiff enough for me, for about £50. You could have an awful lot of them for the price of the Meindls. I have a pair and use them for some stalking (very quiet) plus working around the garden etc.

I have a pair of the Meindls and while they are wide I didn't find them an especially good quality boot and the support was somewhat lacking in them compared to other options. I wouldn't buy them again. I have a pair of meindl mountaineering boots and they are very good quality but very, very stiff. Quite good on soft moor though.

I have a pair of Altberg Mallerstangs which are OK but not built to the same quality as the Scarpas I've had plus they wear pretty badly compared to the Scarpas. My Altbergs are pretty much done and they are only 4 years old (I have about 7 pairs of boots currently so haven't been wearing them constantly for 4 years) whereas I have Scarpa SLs here on my feet as a type and they must be at least 10 years old and have probably had 100 times the actual days of use of the Altbergs. Also the Altberg have a really bad design feature in the sense that the cross section of the little loops you lace through is rectangular and so they chew laces, when on the moor they can get through a pair of laces a day and that gets old real fast. They are comfortable enough and I certainly wouldn't rule them out but they have sufficient problems that I couldn't recommend them to someone else.

I have 2 pairs of Scarpa SLs that are still going, it is probably 10 years since Scarpa sold them, and they are the best general purpose boot I've had as they go stalking, fishing, walking etc. and I'm still wearing a pair as my "everyday" pair. However they've long since been discontinued and I really can't comment on their replacements though in all probability they are what I will try when I retire the Altbergs. My concern is that a lot of companies are adding "features" that cost nothing to implement and sell boots in magazine adverts but they are removing quality and it is possible Scarpa have done this as their new boots seem to have a lot of focus on "features" in the marketing.

So, it is very difficult to recommend something as in the end boots are quite a personal thing. As has already been suggested in this thread some of the less expensive or even surplus boots may well be worth considering as they seem to, basically, lack features but retain the same basic quality as big money boots and if you are only spending £50 you can afford to replace them every year even if they don't wear so well. In the end until you actually try something it is impossible to say how it will fit or suit you and that is always the problem with boots as you have to be doing a lot of walking to have made a reasonable comparison between different boots in a lifetime and, of course, by the time you get something good they've stopped making it anyhow.
 
If you don’t want to spend much, try some surplus Matterhorn/Danner boots on eBay. They can be had for £40 and upwards. If you have wide feet make sure you get a size with either an ‘EE’ or ‘W’ which denotes a wide fit. Also remember that US sizes are about .5 of a UK size bigger. I am a UK 10.5/US 11.
 
They seem to be very hit or miss when it comes to being waterproof, I know a lot of keepers who have had them and wouldn't have them again, I was speaking to a Headkeeper mate of mine who got 3 pairs for him and 2 underkeeper, 2 pairs leaked badly the first time they were worn, another Headkeeper I know sent 6 pairs back!!!
I'd get the Altberg Stark Extreme/Gunnerside boot or Hanwag Trapper Top.

I know 3 people with them and two of them have leaked.
One is a professional gundog trainer and had to finish a training day early to buy another pair of boots as his feet was so wet.

But the one mate who’s boot do not leak loves them.
 
Don’t want to hijack this thread but I’m in the boot market myself. Read up on quite a few of aforementioned boots. However any views on le chameau lcx boots whether with or without Kevlar? Looks nice, seem to get good reviews. Or just expensive branded stuff that does live up in real world use?
 
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