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Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Mountain hiking boots recommendation


Postby Jasmine_21 » Tue May 04, 2021 9:55 pm

Hi, I go to mountains about twice a month. I want to get a boot which would be waterproof, strong sole, comfortable and with good ankle support. I have regular width feet, and formerly have used Legero and lowa renegade and loved both. My budget is something around 100. I have tried Salomon and Salewa too narrow, Merrell bulky with no ankle support. Many people suggest Altberg, but it's too expensive in my opinion. It would be great if you could help with choosing right boots.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby pww235 » Thu May 06, 2021 5:51 pm

I love my leather Scarpa Delta GTX boots.
Not the lightest but very comfortable, supporting and I've never had wet feet in them.

I've had a few non-leather boots in the past but none have been properly waterproof.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby davekeiller » Thu May 06, 2021 6:33 pm

Altberg are expensive but good quality, and because of the different width fittings it's more likely that you'll find a pair that fit your feet properly. They also have a repair service, so it's possible that they'll cost less in the long run because you can get them re-soled.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much on the market at the £100 mark these days. The other obvious brands to try are Berghaus (a British company, and as British people tend to have broader feet than continental Europeans might be a better fit if others are too narrow), Scarpa and Meindl.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to give definitive advice over the internet because the only way to tell if boots fit is to try them on.
One thing that might help is a little bit more detail about what you want to use the boots for. Boots that would be fine for the West Highland Way (for example) might not be so suitable for scrambling on Aonach Eagach.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby simon-b » Thu May 06, 2021 9:19 pm

Hi Jasmine, decent advice already about brands from pww and Dave. As already mentioned, boot fit is very personal, and the shape of your feet is important as well as the width. I find toe alignment makes a difference, my little toe is further forward than some people's. So boots with a taper towards the front squash my little toe, whereas Scarpas I've had which are actually quite narrow fit well because they're more straight on the outside. Something else to consider when looking at the shape of boots.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Jasmine_21 » Fri May 07, 2021 1:05 am

Thanks all for your good advice. I am planning to go to cotswold outdoors and get fitted. I found Scarpa and Anatom quite appealing so perhaps I'll go with one of them after trying. I am preparing for Ben Nevis climb, but generally will use it for mountain hiking and not much of scrambling.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Jasmine_21 » Fri May 07, 2021 1:06 am

Thanks all for your good advice. I am planning to go to cotswold outdoors and get fitted. I found Scarpa and Anatom quite appealing so perhaps I'll go with one of them after trying. I am preparing for Ben Nevis climb, but generally will use it for mountain hiking and not much of scrambling.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Marty_JG » Fri May 07, 2021 7:09 am

Jasmine_21 wrote:Many people suggest Altberg, but it's too expensive in my opinion. It would be great if you could help with choosing right boots.


I got mine a a few years ago second hand, ex-Army, £40, fantatic condition so it's worth checking EBay for them.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby simon-b » Fri May 07, 2021 11:17 am

Jasmine_21 wrote:Thanks all for your good advice. I am planning to go to cotswold outdoors and get fitted. I found Scarpa and Anatom quite appealing so perhaps I'll go with one of them after trying. I am preparing for Ben Nevis climb, but generally will use it for mountain hiking and not much of scrambling.

That should help you stay nearer your budget, as flexible hiking boots generally cost less than more rigid scrambling ones. Scrambling footwear is a personal choice anyway. I prefer semi rigid boots for scrambling, so agree with points made about that, from my angle. But some actually prefer more flexible footwear for scrambling, so you could find your boots quite versatile.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Joey » Fri May 07, 2021 12:02 pm

I've got wide feet, a bunion and weak ankles and can't see past my Meindl Bhutan boots. They are more expensive than your £100 budget, but if you shop around you might get some for £160 or so. IMHO, I think the one thing you should invest in is good boots and if taken care of, they will last a long time. I'm on my second pair and didn't need to break either pair in - straight out and up, no problems! It's such a personal choice though - just try on lots of different brands if you can.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Jasmine_21 » Fri May 07, 2021 5:13 pm

Thanks all for your good advice. Very helpful indeed.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby camy » Fri May 07, 2021 9:34 pm

Hi I took advice and got altberg tehera boots never heard of them but defo if you can stretch the ££s highly recommend look around for prices as well.
Up the Ben wed there ski's more appropriate lol
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Jasmine_21 » Fri May 07, 2021 10:50 pm

I'm sure the Altbergs are nice. I looked at ebay but all are strange sizes and more like men army boots rather than hiking.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Alteknacker » Fri May 07, 2021 11:25 pm

Jasmine_21 wrote:I'm sure the Altbergs are nice. I looked at ebay but all are strange sizes and more like men army boots rather than hiking.


Naaaa! They're excellent walking boots, although my view is biassed by the fact that I only wear them in relatively heavy winter conditions - normally I wear trainers/approach shoes. The big advantage is the range of sizes, especially width, that you can get. I was up in Snowdonia yesterday, and there was a lot more snow than I'd expected, and I wished I'd brought my Altbergs, rather than my approach shoes (feels like temperature on the summits was -8 degrees!!).

But the best advice I think is to try as many as you can. Feet fitting seems to be a very idiosyncratic thing.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby davekeiller » Sat May 08, 2021 3:28 pm

Altberg do make boots for the British Army, so if you type Altberg into ebay you probably will get military boots.
For the type of walking you're doing the Malham, Fremington or Yan Tan would probably be most appropriate.
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Re: Mountain hiking boots recommendation

Postby Jasmine_21 » Sat May 08, 2021 7:31 pm

I got a lovely pair of Scarpa terra gtx from cotswold outdoors, super comfortable and soft. It was a great experience to get my feet measured and to get a suitable pair of boots.
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