Finally, after so many years of searching I now have a pair of boots that enable me to walk in comfort.

Have tried the widest of Zamberlan, Scarpa, Asolo, Meindl, Brasher/Berghaus and Hanwag.
All of them were fine for short walks, but torture for anything over 6 or 7 miles. I’ve ended walks in bare feet before because of the pain.
Keen are wide enough, but I have dodgy ankle ligaments and they’re not supportive enough for proper hills and scree.

Finally caved in and bought some XW Altberg Tetheras from Whalley Warm & Dry.
Had a fitting, bloke looked at my feet and said ‘Yeah, we get all the freaks in here’ which I took as a good sign. 🙂
Nearly 2 hours later he let me leave after trying on pretty much everything in the shop.
The Altbergs arrived a week or so later and tbh they’ve been a complete revelation.

Light for a 3 season leather boot and soooo comfortable, quality build as well.

Not cheap, but they’ve genuinely opened up new horizons for me.

Cannot recommend Altberg and Whalley Warm and Dry highly enough.

Hope this helps someone else.

I bought my xtra wide altbergs from whalley warm and dry. Thankfully it didn’t take 2 hours but they were very helpful with the fitting.

The factory shop is also excellent, I got sneekers with a wide fit and a raised toe rand as I’m forever misjudging rocky steps on mountains

My only regret about buying Tetheras is after two years I realised I should really have bought a size up! 😭

Awesome boots though, I barely got a year out of fabric/stitched boots before at the very least the waterproofing failed, but the Tetheras are bombproof.

Altberg are very good (on my second pair of Tetheras)..Size 12W…the XW are bonkers wide

WWD are also excellent

To be fair, I didn’t book, just turned up on spec and they fitted me in.

Mrs Spanner popped in for some footbeds before her Himalayan trip and they were just as attentive.
Even a quick trip to pick up some socks ended up with the full treatment, they really do seem to go the extra mile to make sure you get what you need.

I’m so impressed I’m ordering a pair of Fremingtons for local stuff, tbh.
Being pain free is priceless.

Recently got a pair of altberg tethera to replace some scarpa SL.

Not got freaky feet so can’t comment on width, but very well made and comfy boots (after a few weeks of wearing them around the house).

Same weight as some low level ‘lightweight’ leather boots I own too, so quite impressive.

Think the membrane is overkill as can’t see water getting past the leather, but apart from that very impressed.

Think the membrane is overkill as can’t see water getting past the leather, but apart from that very impressed.

Yeah, I asked them about that as I didn’t see the point. Got the impression it’s there for marketing more than anything so people aren’t put off by lack of a membrane.

Shame they couldn’t do a limited run without the membrane, would be the excuse I needed to buy a new pair!

So glad to hear. I’m going to head over to see them this summer. Quite fancy a pair of Tetheras and no other manufacturer fits my hobbit feet.

I got some Altberg desert boots in ’96 or ’97. I wore them constantly for seven years, excellent quality. They eventually gave up and I replaced them with the same model but I did some fieldwork in a karstic limestone area and it ripped them to pieces in weeks :(. Not blaming the build quality though, most of the team’s footwear was done for in days. I’ve been meaning to get a new pair for a while, maybe when visiting England in August.

I tried the Kidsons first, on the G wide/high volume last.
Not quite wide enough for me, but for someone with big, not just wide feet they’d be great.

I also have some Hanwags from Lancashire Sports Repairs which are absolutely bombproof, but still hurt after a while.

As to the lining, yeah, I’d much prefer a non Sypmatex version.
Properly lagged it down today. Shorts, so wet but warm feet.
As above, don’t see the need for a lining with good quality leather.

I know Mr “Altberg” he is a very nice guy and cares deeply about his product.

I enjoyed watching his videos on YouTube. Some good stories.

If he’s ever anywhere near Burnley, I’ll buy him a drink. 🙂

And if you could ask him to make some cycling shoes in XW, that’d be great.

@oldmanmtb2 so do I, was actually in a band with him many years ago just as he was starting the company. He was really passionate about making the best boots! Not seen him for years now though.

He is in fine fettle, think he is opening a chukka boot shop in Richmond?

I know Mr “Altberg” he is a very nice guy and cares deeply about his product

Can you ask him to make some Tetheras without the superfluous membrane please? 😉

I have wide hobbit feet with relatively narrow but lumpy heels and went through plenty of boots from various brands in order to find some that were comfy and supportive for rough mountain walks e.g. Snowdonia. without being ridiculously stiff and heavy.

Having spent lots of money on boots that have been fitted in store but have resulted in blisters after 3-4 hours on the hill even after a prolonged break in period, I just order 4 or 5 pairs and try them on with different socks at different times of the day to find a suitable pair.

I was going to suggest Keens, I have had their Explore lightweight boots which were good out of the box but the soles wore out fairly quickly (I do tend to put mileage on boots quite quickly as I wear them for dog walks too) and latterly their Targhee Mids.

The Targhees had a an issue with the midsole ungluing but OutdoorGB sorted out a FOC replacement in under a week.

https://www.keenfootwear.com/en-gb/p/M-TARGHEE-III-MID-WP.html?dwvar_M-TARGHEE-III-MID-WP_color=1017786&cgid=merch_boots

If I felt i needed more ankle support I would try their Ridge boots.

https://www.keenfootwear.com/en-gb/p/M-RIDGE-FLEX-MID-WP.html?dwvar_M-RIDGE-FLEX-MID-WP_color=1025666&cgid=merch_boots

Altbergs look great though.