I have worn Altberg's on a daily basis for the last 6 years, desert microlights and sneaker aquas, I did have a pair of mountain desert boots, but they don't seem to be making those any more. They fit my feet like a glove and always seem to need no breaking in at all, I have done some long hikes in a few days old boots and never suffered a blister, they are super comfy and built to last. Altberg also offer a service to have new soles put on your old boots if you so wish. They are excellent boots in my opinion and the only remaining boot maker in the uk that uses traditional lasts to manufacture their boots. I would highly recommend them to anyone wanting a pair of high quality boots. gucci kit.
Thanks for the input, yes Altberg seem to make excellent products and carrying on a fine tradition of British companies supplying first class footwear. I believe ?? they are the last British owned boot company which in a way is sad. I have a pair of Hawkins boots from the mid 1990's, they were based in Northampton for 150 plus years making Army boots during the Boer war and Spitfire pilots boots during the second finally had to close around 1994/5 sadtake care out there
Yorkshire boots I'm going to have to get a pair of ex army surplus. Look perfect for hiking around the Yorkshire dales. Thanks for a very comprehensive review.
Got a pair a few years ago and love the lightweight and the lack of goretex, I sweat and with goretex my feet are swimming. Spent a good time finding good insoles that would fit (11W) but am happy now with Jalas Fx2, excellent heel support.
Altbergs are the creme de la creme of boots. If you don’t want to go second hand buy new because you won’t be disappointed. Totally worth the money. Get you feet measured to ensure perfect sizing and you won’t look back.
Hello my friend hope your well added a brand new pair of black ones to my collection they come with a new lacing system closed all the way to the top. Not as easy to get a good lacing fit as the older model. Could but resist the black pair your a great deal off the bay. How are you getting on with the altberg defender boots.
Great yes be interesting to hear how you like them compared to the older model over a period of time, I have a major project going on at home at present and so not managed to get into the walking so far this year will start soon and I have been using the Bates a lot during the different weathers so I can comment soon on the long term test take care out there
Where are all the black pairs? I was expecting the market to be flooded with them, but I've been looking for a pair of black 12's for over two years. I have found *all* sizes (including 13 and 14's) but no 12's.
Hello, to be honest I was not aware that you can get the Defender Boot in Black, The British Army moved to MOD Brown from 2013, but perhaps some units kept with Black ? On the Altberg web site they only show Brown for the Defender Boot. Plenty of the Brown Boots via surplus shops, I will post a link to a shop that has size 12 in Brown. Otherwise if you need Black there are lots of other Army surplus boots in Black but not seen any Defenders in that colour Take care out there www.twrydersinbirmingham.co.uk/store/Altberg-Defender-Brown-Boots-p74386324
Hi hope all well and you're banging out some good walks. I've done quite a few in various boots. I have another question for you do you swap the insoles in any of your boots I'm finding the quite 6 hard and not much cushioning. The meindl desert fox are perfect. But no so the defender boots. Just wanted your opinion and thoughts.
Hi as they say in India " you will live a long life" meaning when somebody is also thinking about the same issue ! I have just bought a pair of Kiwi insoles " Comfort" they are made of thin leather, still in the packet bought them yesterday ! for the Defenders cost from Tesco GBP 5.98. Altberg now seem to only sell high Technical insoles at around GBP 25 a pair which is to expensive for me I will give them a try and let you know take care out there
@@ontherunplmr1218 hello my friend lol that's a great saying. I've been looking on amazon for some insoles seem some memory foam ones with amazing reviews for around 10 for a 2 pack made by another yorkshire company I'm thinking of giving them a go. True true the altberg insoles they sell are way too expensive. Here's the amazon link but they do a double pair also for £10 pounds. www.amazon.co.uk/PRO-11-WELLBEING-Wellbeing-Soothers/dp/B00X7OS9FE/ref=pd_d0_recs_v2_cwb_2/262-1221442-9747518?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00X7OS9FE&pd_rd_r=3718c799-5be5-11e9-8997-e18f44a51c10&pd_rd_w=I0XA5&pd_rd_wg=ErgDu&pf_rd_p=2614c710-40f5-44b3-9cd9-e5f3024c91c5&pf_rd_r=FYAX5N8C1MGMJ96DPMP5&refRID=FYAX5N8C1MGMJ96DPMP5
Yes the inner soles are very hard,yet to find an insole that works,sorbothane ,thick dense rubber,nothing works,which is a pittas I like them but not after 5 hours.
I have been trying to buy a pair when I was in the UK ( now back in the ME ) could not seem to find any my size will keep trying in the future. I have now have a Desert Boot Ex German Army by Baltes and will make a review about them
It's interesting how are these Defenders Mk2 with close hooks are comfortable in wearing and lacing as compared with former (2012-2017) defenders Mk1 with open hooks.
Andy thanks for the input, that's a good price for new boots I understand that there are now a MK 2 version starting to be issued under the MOD contract, some small changes compared to the MK1 like the lacing system. Not seen them yet take care out there
hello i bougt a pair of Alt berg defender (brand new ) a few weeks ago.And i probably made 80 km with them and i can said they are really good.They broke easly.They are ligth .I have also some Haix shoes and it's difficult to say who are the best .Haix is everywhere now Alt berg should be too
Yes I agree both quality products and quality companies, Altberg do not promote themselves that much working on word of mouth, repeat customers and I guess the British Army Contract. Also I would like to say how sad I was to see the Fire at Notra Damm I remember climbing the spiral staircase many years ago. Looks like the Paris Pompiers did an excellent job being an ex Fireman I can appreciate how difficult that Fire would be to fight, all that old oak beams that had centuries to dry out !In any event I am sure it will rise again in all its glory take care out there
@@ontherunplmr1218 About Notre Dame since the bigining of this year we had 8 church or cathedrale who burnt in France .The beginining of the fire the smoke was yellow .All specailist said the wood in N D was 850 years old and this kind of wood is not so easy to burn and don't smoke yelow SO .To back to the army British boots I bought also recently a pair black leather boots call ECW and i finaly found who made this shoes .The company is call " Prebos " model is vz2000 ECWCS this company is apparently from Tchecoslovaquia and is also us in the tcheque army. This shoes are realy tough .Thick leather and all leather.
Interesting the ECW boots were used by the Royal Marines not sure if they have now been replaced by the new Iturri Cold Weather Boots ? take care out there
Thanks for the input they do have 5 width fittings with their walking boots, so perhaps one of their walking boots might be more suitable ? take care out there
Thanks for your input, yes you are right but the costs are between GBP65 and GBP 85 depending on the work involved. So yes it might be worth the cost particularly for just a re sole at 65, however another pair from Army surplus can be around GBP 50 Take care out there
To be honest I have not have the opportunity to use them a great deal because I spent most of the year in the Middle East, I have covered only around 100 km with the Altbergs ( while 2600km with the Desert Fox )They seem very comfortable with good ankle support and hopefully in the future I am planning to use them on longs walks in the UKtake care out there
Hi l see from the Altberg web site that there is a difference in the weight Defender 741gm and Sneaker 660gm The Defender is a main Combat Boot while I believe the Sneaker as a lighter boots is for training and tabbing Take care out there
Hello my pair are 9 large and they fit me very well as I am a 9 wide, I think if I had 9 m they would be to tight, as always difficult to tell unless you can try them on ? I tried swapping out the insoles for a much bigger pair (sold by Altberg )and that made them to small Take care out there
Hi yes does sound a bit strange a bit like you might get a broken leg wearing High Liablity boots ! My understanding is that from 2012 the British Army moved to a system that placed combat boots in different areas "Patrol Boots" are for non combat troops ,base use etc High Liablity means boots that are designed for actual combat either in Temperate type climates like the Defender boot or Desert areas like the Haix ir Iturri boots Take care out there
Hello, I'm interested in these boots, but there are only UK measurements for sizes. How to size these shoes please ? My foot lenght is 275mm ou 44,5 EU. Thx for your help.
Hello, see attached link to a conversion chart. 44.5 is equal to 10.5 in UK size and shows 279 as the length Altberg do make half sizes but you might find it difficult to find in the surplus market. So I guess you might want to move up a size depending on the socks/Insole you want to use ? As always it is a little tricky if you are buying on line rather than visiting a surplus store Take care out there www.converse.com/uk/en/size-chart-guide?id=men&modal
Thank you very much for your answer. I actually have a pair of Meindl Desert Defense, 43EU, 9UK. This pair runs large. What I'm mainly looking to know, is Altberg normal size or large size ? Because looking at my different shoes, I size UK 9 - 9½ max. I found one on Vinted and I want to try this brand. Thank you.@@ontherunplmr1218
It might be sometime because I am the ME at present and can only purchase some more boots when I am back in the UK during the summer. I have a number of boots I would like to obtain if they are availabletake care out there
To be honest I have not used them yet that much because most of the year I am in the Middle East. I am " old School" and do tend to believe in Dubbin and Wax boots to keep them waterproof so the logic behind the Defender is in line with my thought process. I believe the idea is that if the boots gets soaked then a non Goretex boot will dry out a lot faster than a boot that has Goretex, however that is I believe only applies if the boot has been flooded, in other words if water has come in over the top of the boot while wading a stream etc. then a Goretex boot will take longer to dry out.Moving forward I am hoping to record some long term tests of the boots on the site, starting in the near future with the Desert Fox which I have been using for 3 plus years and covered 3000 plus KM in themtake care out there
Yes I believe with the correct socks they would be ok for the UK, I guess you might be somewhere a lot colder !The British Army do have Cold Weather combat boots by Haix and Karrimor, although I do not have any of these yettake care out there
we could have short cold period when temperature could go down to -15C, there are some boots whos soil could crack in such conditions, I was just wondering will be any damage to boots if id put them on in that temperature, thanks for the reply!
I believe the Official British Ministry Of Defence standard is that for short periods of combat they can be used down to -10 with Cold Weather socks. Their temp range appears to be -10 to + 35 with both extremes for short periods below -10 they have the Cold Weather versions by Haix and Karrimor although I have not seen these boots yet available via the army surplus stores. I guess because the amount of boots for the Cold Weather is much lower than the standard combat boots by Altberg and Haixtake care our there
well I have never used them in that sort of Temperature because I switch over to a Desert boot when I visit the Middle East. I think they would be very hot given that they are a full leather boot with no ventilation holes etc like a Desert Boot. Also I guess how long you would want to use them in those sort of temperatures ? Overall I think you would be better with something a bit lighter Take care out there
Ha Ha could be ! my understanding is that when the Army moved to different types of boots, its a way to define their specfic purpose . High Liability means a boot for full combat conditions either in temperate climates like the Defender Boot or Desert like the Iturri. One other definitions " Patrol Boot" means more of a boot for base wear or troops not in front line combat Take care out there
That's a difficult one to answer because The Altbergs are great boots but I only have the Defender boot, while with iturri I have the Cold Weather Boot, the Karrimor SF boot manufactured by Iturri , the Patrol Boot and the Desert Boots. Again these are all great boots in terms of my preference I guess I would quote from John Wayne in the movie Rio Bravo " I would hate to live on the difference "!! Take care out there
Altberg do sell a range of insoles ( see link below ) although you can get a lot cheaper versions by Kiwi in local supermarkets or poundshop Take care out there /www.altberg.co.uk/accessories/footbeds
Hello sorry for the late reply only just seen you posting, I have attached a link to a shop in the UK that sells them on line Take care out there //www.surplusandoutdoors.com/shop/outdoor-footwear/desert-army-boots/altberg-defender-brown-current-1153793
Got a pair & never really enjoyed them.... Well made but too much heel lift, ankle support average Lace system nothing special, although the altberg sneeker has better lace system
Altberg beat danner on sizes, half sizes. 8f you are 15 or 14.5 U.K., well danner aint got big sizes covered, if they have, tjey need to work on their onl8ne marketing
Well for the Army they are for different purposes The " Defender" boots are one of the main combat boots for Temperate climates while the YDS and Bates Boots are for Patrol Work with only short periods of combat expectedusing them both in the Civvi world the YDS and Bates are a lot lighter and ideal for summer days in the UK. or say traveling The Altbergs are a tougher construction and more like a hill walking boot so I guess it depends on what your requirements are ? The Altbergs would also be able to take the winter conditions with heavy mud , snow etc perhaps better Take care out there
Thanks for the input, I believe the new version of the "Defender" is going to have a different outsole. It will be interesting to see how that changes. The problem with the 95 Boot seems to be that the rubber just crumbles over time take care out there
Yeah, the problem seems to be with storage/shelf-life. I've had BA assault boots crumble in high temperatures and I've just had 2 pairs of the legendary German paras (which I've been buying for over 30 years) crumble on me in cold temperatures - one pair was unworn and brand new! I guess all good things come to an end :). I recommend the PSNI boot by Jolly: quadruple kevlar stitching, steel toes and indestructable soles. Not pretty but comfy and super-durable. Thanks for the vids and the chanel.
No Chinese versions I think !! Altberg have manufacturing in Yorkshire in the UK and ItalyThe British Army video on how to clean boots shows the Yellow Logo like my pair, however I guessing that sometime later somebody decided not a good idea to have a full camo combat gear and show a bright yellow logo ! and moved to Black. MOD now about to place contracts for 5 new boots which again should include Altberg British Thro and Thro !!!!!!!! take care out there
Yes I think you are correct, the Army have some videos called " Squared Away" On the boot cleaning video the female soldier has the Yellow logo . So I guess the early boots has Yellowtake care out there
