My partner and I are setting off on an extended trans-Écosse tour on our tandem this May.
I've ridden with clipless pedals for 15 odd years now but I've fully embraced the flat life for cycle touring.
I also fancy indulging in a bit of Rough Stuff Fellowship Archive (https://www.instagram.com/rsfarchive/) LARPing en route. This is a generous way of saying that I expect to spend quite some time pushing our fully-laden tandem over rough terrain.
There are plenty of approach shoes that fit the bill but the hopeless fashion victim in me is attracted to something like the Altberg Jorvik Veldt; https://www.altberg.co.uk/boots/shoes11/jorvik-veldt
I prefer one-piece leather uppers as they are so much easier to maintain than synthetic shoes (the smell of Sno Seal is a heady and nostalgic aroma) and the fact that they can be re-soled is also very attractive.
However, while the Altbergs fit the bill near perfectly, there's no denying they're fairly expensive.
Does anyone have any recommendations for similarly-styled shoes that aren't quite so pricy? I suspect I'll just end up buying the Altbergs but I have to at least pretend to try and look for something else.
Many thanks in advance!
(Ps, apologies if this is not in the correct sub-forum. I considered hill talk but this felt like one for the gear heads.)