In 1995 I was selecting between what seemed to be the 'best' boot for my purposes and I remember narrowing down to the Scarpa Alp M4 (which I bought) and an equivalent from Zamberlain. They were considered to be approximately equal in most regards though a couple of cautionary tales about poor quality control at Zamberlain meaning that folk had to replace their boots soon after purchase forced my hand.

I don't hear of them so often now; but the market is wide open compared to what it was 10-15 years ago. There are so many good boot manufacturers available in the UK that I imagine they are a bit lost in the crowd?

Id give the Zams a big vote of confidence,Ive had zams since 1988 and bought my present ones ( zam trek lights) 3 years ago.Good quality leather uppers and nice grippy soles.Mine are usually used in the alps for multiday hut to hut treks and all through the years have never let me down.

They have quite a narrow fitting so as with all walking boots make sure they fit o.k.For someone such as myself that doesn,t  like goretex linings thet are a boot worth considering.

My second pair of boots at around the age of 18 were Zamberlans - very good too; lasting ten years or so (although I was mainly in trainers in those days being into clambering).

As I recall they were lightweight, well-made, and expensive. 

I think Zamberlan lost the plot a little 10-15 years ago. Other firms were bringing out new models all the time, some of them owing quite a lot to fashion, and Zamberlan stuck pretty much with the little brown boot look. Probably still good boots, but not what Mr. and Mrs. consumer wanted.

I also believe I remember they had some quality issues, so Scarpa, Meindl etc stole a march.

I had a lightweight pair in the early '80s. I remember them being very comfy. The sole was totally smooth when i binned them but the uppers were fine. I seem to have gone full circle in hillwalking footwear over the years. Trainers, light boots, mountaineering boots, light boots and now back to trainers again.

Give me a one piece leather upper any day over all these fancy boots with enough stitching to sink a battle ship!!

Have the Zams trk light gt or sommet or other and no quality issues as yet and have never have them off my feet for the last 3 to 4 years!!

Great boots never had a blister in them neither .

Would buy again when these eventually give up the ghost!
 

I use Scarpa boots for the simple reason they fit me better than anything else I've ever tried.  Including Zamberlains.  Nothing obviously wrong with the Zams, but fit is king and my feet aren't best served in them.  That's all.

Pete. 

Has anyone actually had problems with their Zams? I knew one case in which the sole of the boot detached from the leather in the first 50 miles or so, but of course they replaced them. Still, when you are planning an extended trip away from the UK, you don't want to be worrying yourself about such things. Perhaps Zamberlan sorted this out?

The problem is that now, even narrowing down to the Italian all-leather options, you've got Scarpa, Sportiva, Garmont, Asolo to name but a few...

Add to this the likes of Meindl, Hanwag, Lowa, Altberg etc. and it's obviously a tough market... especially if you are selling a product that is designed to last for years!

I know that good boots are considered expensive but I am often surprised that they don't cost a lot more. Compare them to the running shoe market. As I have problem feet & knees, I tend to buy from the higher end of the ranges (Mizuno, Asics, New Balance etc.) and these shoes can easily reach £80+rrp (hence my bargain hunting). Yet they are sold on the understanding that the average runner will get about 500km of use out of them before they should be retired... Mountain boots on the other hand could last a decade or more of regular use and you'd expect to be able to get them resoled more than once. Yet the prices are only slightly higher than the running shoes which I am forced to replace every six months or so!

Has anyone actually had problems with their Zams?

Mine are still spot on and inspect them after every wear(cleaning).other than scratches on the toe they are mint.

And still using the same laces too ...

Mine have all been spot on,my original zams from 88 lasted 10 years including long treks in Mali,Zaire/Rwanda, kilimanjaro T.M.B and even the mighty langdale pikes

Never had lace problems either.Give me that old fashioned leather look anyday although of late ive developed a liking for approach shoes but still use the zams as soon as the "serious" stuff starts in the alps.

I use the trail lite, currently on my 2nd pair, and the 4 season mountain lite both here and the alps with no problems whatsoever.

Buy with confidence just check the fit-narrow and use a size up.

Nobody's spotted what's really wrong with Zamberlain.

It's misspelt!

I picked up a pair about 3 yrs ago ( trek lite I think) non Goretex £110 down to £55! Really comfy, grippy and solid feeling. shop assistant said they were stopping doing the non Goretex as everyone wants Goretex nowadays.

The reason why you dont hear from them is because.....

Firstly (cant remember their name) but the they had a UK distributor. Then Zamberlan decided that they would deal with all of their own worldwide distribution from Italy - the UK market doesnt now enjoy the same coverage that it used to.

I recently bought my first pair of Zamberlan Trek Lites. They didn't take much breaking in and I was very impressed. After about 3 weeks they started to 'click' which could be felt and heard just above my little toe. I perseveered thinking the problem would go away but unfortunately it became worse. If you could imagine on a long hike every other step - 'click' - 'click'! Drove me round the twist!! I spoke to the shop that I purchased them from and before I got chance to send them back another pair arrived. These felt different again. I did a 17mile hike with no rubbing nor blisters v comfy. I must have caught the lace on something as it is nearly cut through. Anybody know where I can get Zam laces?

Having been let down by two pairs of goretex lined boots I went back to the one piece leather boot and I am well impressed with my pair of Zamberlans!

My brother had a pair of Berghaus boots that clicked and when he took them back to the shop they said it was a metal plate that had come loose from the footbed and thats what caused the clickety click sound!!

They swapped them no prob

going back a while (94) they had real problems, mate had a pair and the rand detached. similar problems with 2 other people in norway (sole coming off).

put me off 'em to ne honest (i know it was ages ago but still..........). scarpa for me (alp m4s were ace)