I made myself a pair of boots back in 1992 and they are still going strong.  Been repaired a few times, though this last time by a cobbler mate of mine, wish I'd done it myself as he has pushed them out of shape.  Well worth having a pair made but make sure those who make them always do the repairs.  Buy the lasts outright and when the boots are repaired the lasts should be put back in to carry out the repair.

I live in Salisbury and there is still a shoe maker down here Moore Bros in Downton, they have a web site.  Seems hollow to say it but if I still had my tools (stolen some years ago after leaving the trade) I'd gladly make you a pair.  Altberg look okay but can't vouch for their quality and workmanship as never seen any.  Go and see them they should be only too happy to show you around and let you pick up boots for a real close look.

Good luck it would be money well spent.

Tim

They do tend to make narrow, so if you have a broad foot, be wary.  They now put their  products into retail shops.  In fact I was looking at a pair today.  Classed as "wide" on the tongue, but to me they were very narrow, much narrower than the Scarpas they were beside on the shelf.  Hopefully, custom-made should be right. 

H. 

Just come back from a week with a friend who was recommended custom made Altberg boots (she has very narrow feet). She absolutely raved about them. Apparently, they have a large number of lasts that they will probably be able to match to your feet, which they can make the boots with, so probably not expensive either.

When I bought a pair of 'made to measure ' boots from Altberg about 15 years ago they did things differently.  As I remember, and this may have got a bit garbled in the dim recesses of my mind, they sent a form and instructions on how you should measure your own feet.  They then took the nearest, but smaller, size last from their collection and built it up according to the dimensions on the measurement form.  The build up was in some form of quick setting chemical putty.  The last they used to actually make the boots was the basic wooden last modified by the putty.  When they had finished they saved the putty with a note saying who the customer was and which basic last.  They promised to save this so that if you wanted more boots no further measurement etc. was needed.

The boots were a very good fit and good boots.  As I remember it the cost , for the whole process and the boots, was less than the price of equivalent Scapa boots.

A word of caution with Altberg: their idea of a 'good fit' is much tighter than most other people's.

All the decent shops I visit reckon that a size 11 is about right for me. I visited the Altberg shop in Richmond (back when they had a separate shop in the town) and the guy measured my feet unweighted only. Decent boot fitters will generally measure your feet both seated and standing. He then asked me to try a size 10 and, even though they were clearly too tight, insisted that I walk around the shop in them for 10 minutes. By that time my feet were in agony!

In the end, I needed a 'semi custom made' pair because my feet are so wide at the front, and I was persuaded to settle on size 10 1/2. I've been using them on and off for some time now, including return trips to have the leather stretched as much as possible at the front because they were squashing my feet. When I told them that my toes were touching the ends of the boots, I was told that this is quite normal! In the end I can just about use them, but they always hurt my feet after a while.

I also heard some interesting info about their width fittings from a very good boot shop that stocks them (mentioning no names). The 'extra wide' fitting Altberg boots were apparently much narrower than many other 'normal' boots. I was told that they now make them wider than before, but the boot fitter still doesn't regard them as a particularly wide boot.

I agree wholeheartedly with Graeme's comments.  Feet commonly gain a good half size when weighted.  Seems crazy not to measure both sitting and standing.  I ordered a pair of shoes from Altberg after they measured my feet.  They decided their "wide fit"  was the thing for me, but when I received the shoes 5 weeks later they were much too tight and I had to return them for a refund.  Nice people, but maybe they need to review their ideas based on experience rather than what they consider "normal".

As a matter of interest Graeme, what other boots have you tried or preferred as your feet description sounds similar to mine - i.e. wide at front and fairly narrow at heel? 

Thank you all for your replys.

It kind of sounds like not everyone is happy with their custom made boots. This is a bit of a worry, as they are none too cheap. I guess I'm going to have to spend a lot of time in shoe shops!

 Happy New Year everyone!!

Hamish - I'm still searching for the ideal pair of boots, which is why I still try the Altbergs from time to time...

The best at the moment are a pair of Hi-Tecs, though I couldn't tell you which ones! (They're a light tan coloured nubuck with eVent lining, if you're interested). They're a bit soft and flexible though, and the soles have zero grip in the wet I've recently found the closest to fitting are:

- Scarpa ZG series (but I can't stop my feet moving forwards on down slopes)

- Raichle Mountain Trail XT GoreTex (close, but I'm not quite sure)

- Meindl Tibet (hard to find, but worth trying if you've never done so - it's the only boot they make with that shape)

Hope you have better luck than me

I needed some footwear for a walking holiday in the Bavarian Alps last year, to do everything from simple trails to minor klettersteig. However I have very wide feet and couldn't find off the shelf boots to fit, either the right length and too tight or too long and wide enough.

I tried AltBerg but ended up after several visits with a pair of boots that were too tight. It's a pain having to make several fairly long journeys to get adjustments made (not to mention expensive) so I have written it down to experience and am selling the boots.

My solution was found in a local shop 'Whalley Warm and Dry' who sell a range of footwear called Keen. I got the Targhee II shoes and found them to be a perfect fit for my wide feet. In action they took anything I threw at them and I won't be hurrying back to heavy boots quickly. They do a mid version too.

Thanks, Malcolm.

I have a pair of Keen Portsmouth shoes (similar to Targhee).  Chap who sold them told me it was the last pair in the shop, so I was lucky, as they give plenty room for my toes.  I wear them practically all the time.  Don't think they would be much good in soft mud or really wet ground though as they don't come up very high.  That was my reason for looking for boots.  I agree with you that all things considered, if I could get away with it, I wouldn't rush back to boots either.   

My feet are 4 E width (Extra wide, or extra extra wide, depending on the company). Never found a wide enough pair of boots in my life... have spent about 100 hours searching online in the last 6 months, still no results. Tried a pair of wolverine 4E width boots recently and they were at least one whole E too narrow and had a really bad shape anyway for a wide foot. If anyone ever finds wide moutnaineering, alpine, backpacking, or hiking boots, pleaase email me at ajushi825@gmail.com

Keen regular width is almost perfect, but they don't make any of the above.... they have a couple hiking boots that MIGHT barely fit, but even if they do, they won't once you put on some winter socks.