Am after a pair of decent ‘traditional’ hiking boots, similar to Meindl Burma etc. Other than Scarpa, Meindl, etc, who makes a good traditional style hiking boot?

Check out some Anatom boots. Look really good and some really clever/good initiative from the company themselves.

Mammut – which used to be Raichle boots

Lowa, La Sportiva, AltBerg

There’s a company called Altberg in Richmond N.Yorks who hand make them.

edit; too slow

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/mt-cliff-gtx-p153657

I’ve got these and they are super duper trooper whooper looper souper boots.

Although they seem like a rip-off – the superfeet insole can be worth it, unless you have proper footbeds.

+ 1 for Anatom, but then I would say that…

Designed in the UK. Made in Europe.

http://www.anatomfootwear.co.uk

If you buy your Anatom Footwear from Tiso they come with a Superfeet Energizer 🙂

Asolo, Garmont, technica….

Whichever ones fit your feet, really (probably obvious). Try on a load and pick the ones that fit the best. In my case, it was Asolos with volume reducers. I’d not heard of them before, so I slept on it, looked them up on the net to make sure they weren’t a bunch of shoe numpties, and bought them the next day.

Well worth finding a decent bootfitters. It’s a slug of money, and you’ll suffer if you take the wrong boots on a long walk.

Great replies chaps, many thanks. I’ll check ’em all out in a bit.

Please note, I am in no way associated with Anatom. But if Fraser wants to send me a free pair for my independent recommendation….. 😉

I don’t suppose you’ll be tempted by the Millets sale then…

I have tried a lot of hiking boots, but always come back to Asolo’s
Made in Italy. They fit my feet well and are well made.
Of course, as noted above, whatever fits and feels best for youl feet is the best choice.

Check out Brasher GTX superlight. Not the cheapest but very good b

Captain – if we meet up for a ride I’ll buy you a beer!

Despite my plug the best advice is nedrapier’s: Get your to a good bootfitter, see what they recommend for your feet and above all try loads on….

If you let me know where in the country you are I can point you towards someone who knows what they are talking about!

Yeah, second the Brashers, I’ve got some I bought years ago but have been using a lot more in the last couple of years. They’re a very traditional looking leather boot with a Vibram sole and gore-tex lining. I also stuck in some superfeet and they definitely made the boots feel better (maybe just because they took up a little of the extra volume).

Chris Brasher also donates a percentage of the profit to the Knoydart Foundation, which is nice. 8)

+1 for trying many pairs on.
The Meindl fit me, as do Lowa; but Asolos and others are just painfully narrow. So try, try try.

I’ve not heard of Anotom before, I’ll have a look. Ta.

Another fan of Altberg..

Bought several pairs of them during my time in the Mob..

Cracking boots, highly reccomend them.

another altberg fan here tho i like scarpa too

i still like my leather zamberlans after walking my salomons to bits.

+1 Brasher

Fraser Hughes – Member
Captain – if we meet up for a ride I’ll buy you a beer!

Fair enough! Next time I’m in the grim wastelands….. 😉

Its all about fit. I am fortunate I have feet that Hitech boots fit well so cheap comfy bootness for me. 🙂

+1 for Altberg, big plus for them is that they come in 5 different widths.

don’t buy a boot based on other people’s opinions as they don’t have your feet. go to a shop that will firstly measure your feet with a brannock device and suggest a boot based upon your measurements and not what colour looks best with your walking trousers!

Asolo, Meindl, scarpa, Anatom, Salomon all make good boots and I would make sure you take the ones you liked most in store home and wear them around the house for as long as you need to so that if there is anything wrong the shop can either manipulate the boot or give you some other one to try out.

Another Altberg fan! I went to Richmond and had them fitted where they make them, definitely worth the trip, plus some great walking round there.

Describe the type of walking you do and they work out which of their boots would work best, 5 different fits, or if none of them work I think they can do made to measure boots too. The army use altberg.

Another benefit of the shop is that it also stocks Paramo, another of my fave brands!

Mammut / Raichle are superb – myself and the chaps at work all seem to wear Salomon (light, fast, comfy) or Raichle (trad, comfy, hardwearing)

salomon quest, great boot, altberg tethera classy high rand boot ,raichle/mammut are fantastic but what I will say is all boots are made on different lasts , ie Berghaus normally fits massive feet so perfect for british feet , SCARPA made for little europeans with small heel area and tiny toe box area

Best just trying a few ,IMHO fit overrides price and longevity !!

I would say if you find a make with a last that fits your feet, stick with them.

Another vote for the Brashers, but it depends on the shape of your feet. I seem to remember an interview with Chris Brasher when he said he ‘took a last suited to the average British foot…

Another vote for the Brashers, but it depends on the shape of your feet. I seem to remember an interview with Chris Brasher when he said he ‘took a last suited to the average British foot…

Cynically speaking, this means its been made wide enough to accomodate a large variety of feet shapes to maximise your market share. Brasher boots are not as good as they used to be for the following reasons

[*]They use a much thinner leather than similar boots from its competitors[/*]
[*]They use cheaper leathers[/*]
[*]Their last is too generic to produce a decent fit in many people[/*]
[*]They ‘fit’ in the shop but rarely fit for the purpose they are designed for[/*]

brasher seem to be living off the name ,supalite too soft a compound and hillmaster gtx still good value for money but a very basic boot although it has goretex membrane and leather lining

Zamberlan here. Proper fitting narrowed my choice right down. Had this pair for years, I look after them and only use them for long days out.

la sportiva are very good too

The advantage of Altberg is that they are easy to get to (not in Italy) so you can take the boots back for refurb as required. They reduced a pair half a size for me as I had bought to take thick socks but they were so warm I didn’t need the thick socks.

HanWags. Fookin’ amazing kit!

The advantage of Altberg is that they are easy to get to (not in Italy) so you can take the boots back for refurb as required.

you don’t need to do that with any boot – just send them to Lancashire Shoe Repairs as they do all the repairs for a number of boot manufacturers such as Mammut, Meindl, Scarpa and Asolo

second for HanWags. German boots tend to be the best for British feet unless you’ve feet like a girl.