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Had a pair of Altberg Mallerstang boots for just under two years, but they have both failed with the leather at the back of the heel (high flex point when walking) split open. Anyone seen similar problems?
In reply to Denzil:
Take them back to Altberg and see what they can do. They're a good company, they will always see what they can do to help. Out of interest, what leather care stuff have you used on them? Altberg's Ledergris or one of their other products?
Take them back to Altberg and see what they can do. They're a good company, they will always see what they can do to help. Out of interest, what leather care stuff have you used on them? Altberg's Ledergris or one of their other products?
In reply to Denzil:
Unfortunately my experience is that they're not 'a good company'.
They make great boots with design flaws that they refuse to acknowledge.
My experience of Altberg and their Tethera boots is that the boots are very comfortable but the stitching at the heelcup fails prematurely (less than 40 hill days- and no - I don't walk funny or fail to look after them, and same thing happened on 3 pairs).
Their response to this observation has always been dismissive- the default position seems to be that customers are trying to scam them for freebies.
Pretty rubbish when you imagine that buying locally made will inevitably come with improved customer care.
Unfortunately my experience is that they're not 'a good company'.
They make great boots with design flaws that they refuse to acknowledge.
My experience of Altberg and their Tethera boots is that the boots are very comfortable but the stitching at the heelcup fails prematurely (less than 40 hill days- and no - I don't walk funny or fail to look after them, and same thing happened on 3 pairs).
Their response to this observation has always been dismissive- the default position seems to be that customers are trying to scam them for freebies.
Pretty rubbish when you imagine that buying locally made will inevitably come with improved customer care.
In reply to llechwedd:
In the interest of balance, I've worn my Tethera all day, pretty much every day since early December, and that includes heading out on reasonably big walking days, (ca. 20 miles), but also to, from, in and around work. I don't drive and rarely use public transport in my daily life, so they've had considerable wear.
There's some heel wear from the excessive tarmac use, and some scuffs on the toe area, but that's all.
In the interest of balance, I've worn my Tethera all day, pretty much every day since early December, and that includes heading out on reasonably big walking days, (ca. 20 miles), but also to, from, in and around work. I don't drive and rarely use public transport in my daily life, so they've had considerable wear.
There's some heel wear from the excessive tarmac use, and some scuffs on the toe area, but that's all.
Post edited at 13:43
In reply to llechwedd:
One swallow doesn't make a spring.
Hundreds if not thousands of Police and Forces people use their boots. I know at least 40 people who use them and have no complaints. Not that that proves it, but you need to see the bigger picture rather than individual cases.
One swallow doesn't make a spring.
Hundreds if not thousands of Police and Forces people use their boots. I know at least 40 people who use them and have no complaints. Not that that proves it, but you need to see the bigger picture rather than individual cases.
In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
I'm more concerned with what I experience than the 'statistics' .
But if you wish to see 'the bigger picture':
Customer service =appalling. Look on various motorcyclist's and armed forces forums and you'll find similar views to my own.
Boots - comfortable but not up to the job. Uppers fall apart if used in heather and rough terrain. They're probably OK for paths though.
Your average policeman or armed services person spends most of their time on engineered surfaces. I'm sure the boots are comfortable and adequate for that.
I'm discussing boots which are described as designed 'for the munroe (sic) mountains'. Perhaps I misundestood, and should have stayed on the bagger's paths.
> One swallow doesn't make a spring.
> you need to see the bigger picture rather than individual cases.
I'm more concerned with what I experience than the 'statistics' .
But if you wish to see 'the bigger picture':
Customer service =appalling. Look on various motorcyclist's and armed forces forums and you'll find similar views to my own.
Boots - comfortable but not up to the job. Uppers fall apart if used in heather and rough terrain. They're probably OK for paths though.
Your average policeman or armed services person spends most of their time on engineered surfaces. I'm sure the boots are comfortable and adequate for that.
I'm discussing boots which are described as designed 'for the munroe (sic) mountains'. Perhaps I misundestood, and should have stayed on the bagger's paths.
In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
and when I mean customer care, I'm talking about after sales.
The people fronting the factory shop in Richmond are great
and when I mean customer care, I'm talking about after sales.
The people fronting the factory shop in Richmond are great
In reply to llechwedd:
Again, in the interest of balance, I've used my Tethera on all sorts of terrain. Perhaps not for consecutive/multi-day trips as yet, but I'll be able to comment about that after this coming summer.
> Uppers fall apart if used in heather and rough terrain. They're probably OK for paths though.
> I'm discussing boots which are described as designed 'for the munroe (sic) mountains'. Perhaps I misundestood, and should have stayed on the bagger's paths.
Again, in the interest of balance, I've used my Tethera on all sorts of terrain. Perhaps not for consecutive/multi-day trips as yet, but I'll be able to comment about that after this coming summer.
In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
Went back via the shop where I bought them, who returned them to Altberg. Altberg response was "they are worn out" and also implied they were not looked after properly. Rest of leather is virtually perfect condition and plenty of tread left. Proper Ledergris used, including occasional use of higher oil content Extreme variant. As a design engineer, the failure point seems to be a high stress area so design is questionable to me. Shop has offered me a replacement at close to their buy-in price, so ok with them - but interested in how many other pairs have failed in a similar way.
> Take them back to Altberg and see what they can do. They're a good company, they will always see what they can do to help. Out of interest, what leather care stuff have you used on them? Altberg's Ledergris or one of their other products?
Went back via the shop where I bought them, who returned them to Altberg. Altberg response was "they are worn out" and also implied they were not looked after properly. Rest of leather is virtually perfect condition and plenty of tread left. Proper Ledergris used, including occasional use of higher oil content Extreme variant. As a design engineer, the failure point seems to be a high stress area so design is questionable to me. Shop has offered me a replacement at close to their buy-in price, so ok with them - but interested in how many other pairs have failed in a similar way.
In reply to llechwedd:
So let me get this right, you had the same problem on four pairs of boots??? So you repeatedly bought the same boot despite having problems with the previous pair or previous 2 pairs or previous 3 pairs? I'm not sure you can blame Altberg for that rather unusual set of decisions. Tethera don't work with you....as you've proven four times over...so why on earth did you keep buying them?
> My experience of Altberg and their Tethera boots is that the boots are very comfortable but the stitching at the heelcup fails prematurely (less than 40 hill days- and no - I don't walk funny or fail to look after them, and same thing happened on 3 pairs).
So let me get this right, you had the same problem on four pairs of boots??? So you repeatedly bought the same boot despite having problems with the previous pair or previous 2 pairs or previous 3 pairs? I'm not sure you can blame Altberg for that rather unusual set of decisions. Tethera don't work with you....as you've proven four times over...so why on earth did you keep buying them?
Post edited at 18:56
In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
I've been wondering that as well!
Should have bought Scarpa SLs. I hammer mine, 4 years, not a single stitch gone or anything. Rapidly wearing out my first re-sole.
I've been wondering that as well!
Should have bought Scarpa SLs. I hammer mine, 4 years, not a single stitch gone or anything. Rapidly wearing out my first re-sole.
In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
No, you haven't got it right. I mentioned 3 pairs, not 4. For some personal reason you've laboured this point.
If you read my post in a considered manner, you'll see that I rated them as comfortable.
Comfort does not mean that they must fall apart. Comfort is important, but so is careful attention to design to minimise premature failure.
In 2012,I walked the British 3000 footers in a single journey without motor transport, cycling between them.
If (comfortable) boots fail on such a journey, replacements are needed to continue. The choice is either get the same or something else. Given their comfort and my lack of blisters, I chose to write the initail failure off as a rogue pair with dud stitching. I bought a second pair. I did not have the luxury of putting up with a bit of discomfort from poor fitting boots over a day or two, and then going home to rest my feet. A bit of trial and error? I didn't have the luxury.
The boots fitted and this is where Alltberg score highly - they provide boots in 5 different width fittings.
Fit(and thus comfort) is a separate issue to design flaw.
Your logic is flawed- 'Tethera don't work for you'. If something fails when it is being used then the product is not at fault, the purchaser is.
Sorry, I don't get it.
Yet if I were an entirely passive consumer who assumed that product development was none of my business, and feedback to manufacturers was not central to boot development, I suppose I'd agree with your line of reason.
The third pair of boots were a replacement for the pair I bought at Craigdon, Inverness, less than 2 months into the trip. By that stage, as expected , the soles had worn out. But the stitching at the heelcup had failed and left it flapping. Craigdon only had one pair in my size in stock. I'd have paid double the price if pushed, because they were needed to continue. Remember. at this stage, I'd written off the stitching failure as rogue.
Unfortunately, in my eagerness to get on with my walk, and without the luxury of motor transport or another day to chase up boots, this second pair soon split across the toebox and let in water.
I'd seen what I thought was a crease, rather than a split, in the shop and assumed that it was just because the leather was thick. I hadn't realised it was a fault.
At the end of the walk I called in at Craigdon to point this fault out. The soles and heelcup stitching had gone exactly as before and a similar timeframe.
This pair were eventually replaced by Craigdon, after repeated and protracted attempts to discuss the matter with Alltberg were met by stonewalling. I cannot rate Craigdon highly enough. A shame the same cannot be said of Alltberg.
You may ask why I didn't buy two pair before setting off. I intended to do just that and went off to Joe Brown in Llanberis to buy the reserve pair. Their one pair in stock had the leather at the toebox cinched in so that they rubbed the dorsum of my foot and so were not bought. Here's another example of Alltbergs' 'deny all, blame the other' attitude: I raised the issue of quality control with Alltberg and told them of the Craigdon and Joe Brown boots. They blamed the staff at Joe Brown for not storing the boot correctly. When I pointed out that the staff there were generally a lot more professional than many outdoor retailers and that both non- factory retailed pairs had a defect, they stuck to their line.
Stonewall. Go away!
Joe Brown no longer stock Alltbergs. I relayed my Alltberg dealings to the horrified manager of the local branch.
I do not have a foot or gait abnormality and looked after the boots carefully as my trip depended on them. In the matter of comfort the Alltbergs are unparalled. At the time of the trip I was perhaps uniquely qualified to provide constructive criticism of their boots, given that I was moving over varied terrain on an almost daily basis, Terrain that the boots were claimed to be designed for.
Amongst their explanations for the failure were that the heather was unseasonably dry and abraded the stitching, that I was going over rough terrain, and that I wasn't using ledergris regularly. I had the entire stock of bootwax from Joe Brown to augment the tins from the factory.
No discussion- Ourboots are flawless, you are in the wrong!
> So let me get this right, you had the same problem on four pairs of boots??? So you repeatedly bought the same boot despite having problems with the previous pair or previous 2 pairs or previous 3 pairs? I'm not sure you can blame Altberg for that rather unusual set of decisions. Tethera don't work with you....as you've proven four times over...so why on earth did you keep buying them?
No, you haven't got it right. I mentioned 3 pairs, not 4. For some personal reason you've laboured this point.
If you read my post in a considered manner, you'll see that I rated them as comfortable.
Comfort does not mean that they must fall apart. Comfort is important, but so is careful attention to design to minimise premature failure.
In 2012,I walked the British 3000 footers in a single journey without motor transport, cycling between them.
If (comfortable) boots fail on such a journey, replacements are needed to continue. The choice is either get the same or something else. Given their comfort and my lack of blisters, I chose to write the initail failure off as a rogue pair with dud stitching. I bought a second pair. I did not have the luxury of putting up with a bit of discomfort from poor fitting boots over a day or two, and then going home to rest my feet. A bit of trial and error? I didn't have the luxury.
The boots fitted and this is where Alltberg score highly - they provide boots in 5 different width fittings.
Fit(and thus comfort) is a separate issue to design flaw.
Your logic is flawed- 'Tethera don't work for you'. If something fails when it is being used then the product is not at fault, the purchaser is.
Sorry, I don't get it.
Yet if I were an entirely passive consumer who assumed that product development was none of my business, and feedback to manufacturers was not central to boot development, I suppose I'd agree with your line of reason.
The third pair of boots were a replacement for the pair I bought at Craigdon, Inverness, less than 2 months into the trip. By that stage, as expected , the soles had worn out. But the stitching at the heelcup had failed and left it flapping. Craigdon only had one pair in my size in stock. I'd have paid double the price if pushed, because they were needed to continue. Remember. at this stage, I'd written off the stitching failure as rogue.
Unfortunately, in my eagerness to get on with my walk, and without the luxury of motor transport or another day to chase up boots, this second pair soon split across the toebox and let in water.
I'd seen what I thought was a crease, rather than a split, in the shop and assumed that it was just because the leather was thick. I hadn't realised it was a fault.
At the end of the walk I called in at Craigdon to point this fault out. The soles and heelcup stitching had gone exactly as before and a similar timeframe.
This pair were eventually replaced by Craigdon, after repeated and protracted attempts to discuss the matter with Alltberg were met by stonewalling. I cannot rate Craigdon highly enough. A shame the same cannot be said of Alltberg.
You may ask why I didn't buy two pair before setting off. I intended to do just that and went off to Joe Brown in Llanberis to buy the reserve pair. Their one pair in stock had the leather at the toebox cinched in so that they rubbed the dorsum of my foot and so were not bought. Here's another example of Alltbergs' 'deny all, blame the other' attitude: I raised the issue of quality control with Alltberg and told them of the Craigdon and Joe Brown boots. They blamed the staff at Joe Brown for not storing the boot correctly. When I pointed out that the staff there were generally a lot more professional than many outdoor retailers and that both non- factory retailed pairs had a defect, they stuck to their line.
Stonewall. Go away!
Joe Brown no longer stock Alltbergs. I relayed my Alltberg dealings to the horrified manager of the local branch.
I do not have a foot or gait abnormality and looked after the boots carefully as my trip depended on them. In the matter of comfort the Alltbergs are unparalled. At the time of the trip I was perhaps uniquely qualified to provide constructive criticism of their boots, given that I was moving over varied terrain on an almost daily basis, Terrain that the boots were claimed to be designed for.
Amongst their explanations for the failure were that the heather was unseasonably dry and abraded the stitching, that I was going over rough terrain, and that I wasn't using ledergris regularly. I had the entire stock of bootwax from Joe Brown to augment the tins from the factory.
No discussion- Ourboots are flawless, you are in the wrong!
In reply to Denzil:
I am sure that for all the boots made in the world there will be several dissatisfied customers with each brand/model.
There are definitely issues when it comes to admission of guilt from manufacturers, especially top end manufacturers whose reputation relies on their product not being perceived as of questionable quality.
I have always thought that altberg are a good, old fashioned, quality boot manufacturer with very few fancy frilly technical elements to their boots which generally lead to failure after a short time.
However, i believe there have been a few quality issues, with the stitching around the heel cup area being one of them, that they have suffered from lately.
I am sure that for all the boots made in the world there will be several dissatisfied customers with each brand/model.
There are definitely issues when it comes to admission of guilt from manufacturers, especially top end manufacturers whose reputation relies on their product not being perceived as of questionable quality.
I have always thought that altberg are a good, old fashioned, quality boot manufacturer with very few fancy frilly technical elements to their boots which generally lead to failure after a short time.
However, i believe there have been a few quality issues, with the stitching around the heel cup area being one of them, that they have suffered from lately.
In reply to misterb:
Reminds me of an apocryphal tale from the early days of prestige Italian motorcycles and their tendency to rust through the pitifully thin chrome plating of the time.
The motorcyclist sent off his complaint about the amount of corrosion on his Ducati after riding through a heavy downpour.
Came the reply from the factory -'How dare you ride one of our machines in wet weather'!
> There are definitely issues when it comes to admission of guilt from manufacturers, especially top end manufacturers whose reputation relies on their product not being perceived as of questionable quality.
Reminds me of an apocryphal tale from the early days of prestige Italian motorcycles and their tendency to rust through the pitifully thin chrome plating of the time.
The motorcyclist sent off his complaint about the amount of corrosion on his Ducati after riding through a heavy downpour.
Came the reply from the factory -'How dare you ride one of our machines in wet weather'!
In reply to misterb:
I've had two pairs of custom McKinley boots from them, plus a pair of desert shoes and a pair of motorcycle boots, all of which have performed flawlessly. The original pair of McKinleys have been resoled and are still useable (now 7 years old). I just question the design of the Mallerstang in the heel area, but clearly Altberg are not interested.
I've had two pairs of custom McKinley boots from them, plus a pair of desert shoes and a pair of motorcycle boots, all of which have performed flawlessly. The original pair of McKinleys have been resoled and are still useable (now 7 years old). I just question the design of the Mallerstang in the heel area, but clearly Altberg are not interested.
In reply to Lusk:
Wore SLs for many years with great results until I developed osteoarthritis in my big toes and the flex point of the SL was crippling me. Custom McKinleys with a stiffer midsole were great until they ran out of the stiffer midsole when I switched to the Mallerstang.
May have to try the new SL which are a different construction and may have a different flex point in the sole. Mantas with the stiffer sole are a perfect fit and I use them in full-on winter conditions, but nice to have.a lighter pair for other conditions.
> Should have bought Scarpa SLs. I hammer mine, 4 years, not a single stitch gone or anything. Rapidly wearing out my first re-sole.
Wore SLs for many years with great results until I developed osteoarthritis in my big toes and the flex point of the SL was crippling me. Custom McKinleys with a stiffer midsole were great until they ran out of the stiffer midsole when I switched to the Mallerstang.
May have to try the new SL which are a different construction and may have a different flex point in the sole. Mantas with the stiffer sole are a perfect fit and I use them in full-on winter conditions, but nice to have.a lighter pair for other conditions.
In reply to Denzil: update on the damaged boots - after getting them back from Altberg who said they were simply "worn out" I took them to Eric Wrathall, the cobbler in Todmorden, who has done a brilliant job of patching them up. As expected he's had to stitch through the waterproof liner, but I'm expecting to be able to get lots more use out of them now.
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