Meindle Boots

I brought a pair Meindl Tampa GTX boots after 15 months the tread on two places on each boot had broken, they were send back to Meindl for repair, when the boots came back, the first time I worn them was on a wet day my feet got wet, they were send back to Meindl who claim that I had made a hole in both boots with my toes and damage the Gore-tex membrane. They refused to help in any way as this is not covered by their warranty. As I only wear walking socks and used the boots no more than 25 times I feel this is unfair.

I will never buy any Meindl footwear again.

Goretex membranes in boots are notorious for failing (a piece of grit can be enough - not enough to be noticed underfoot with thick socks, but plenty enough to wear a hole in the membrane).

Others...like me...dont rate Gortex in boots anyway, so the sooner it wears away the better.

Get the Nikwax out and quit whinging!

what grumpy old man said. goretex lined boots can be more trouble than they're worth.

however, as meindl explained why your boots failed i would embrace this as a piece of very useful advice and would explore how not to replicate this. if you can't then you are on the road to a very long, very expensive and very disappointing relationship with your footwear.

that said, i've never had lined boots leak on me...yet. probably because i'm rather anal about looking after them correctly so these problems can't materialise and ensuring my toenails are always properly trimmed and ensuring they are laced sto prevent foot movement. down hill, long toenails = holes in the membranes.

and welcome to om too.

Many thanks replying to the post, it is great to hear other peoples point of view. If I brought £40-60 pair boots or had them 3 or 4  years or had long toenails then  I would not feel I been let down my Meindl. They cost £150, my toenails always cut back, I have normal feet and I tighten the boots well reason being I have trouble with my ankles, which is why I like wearing Meindl boots. The boots are made for walking in them they should had extra material around the toe area to prevent this happing; we paid a lot of money for  walking stuff, why should we put up with things that are not to the job. The boots are not fit the purpose they were made for. They were sold claiming to keep your feet dry; they should have been design not to allow the Gore-tex membrane to be damage. If we do not complain then nothing will change

Good question Pedro - probably something to do with the general "consensus" in the marketplace  (i.e. the great unwashed public) that Goretex (or any other liner) is good/better than using a waterproofing treatment.  think of other products with features we dont actually need - from washing machines with 26 programmes to computer software (like MS Word..who honestly uses everything it does) etc etc etc.  Its all about product differentiation and percieved value.

Gary - I have a lot of sympathy with your point and, since you obviously feel strongly about it, take your case to trading standards and see what they say.  I suspect the answer will be no case - because all boot manufacturers appear to have this problem with membranes - so Meindl are no worse or better than any other manufacturer in this area - and since no manufacturer has made a breakthrough in protecting the membrane over the years..I suspect there is some reason why it cant be done.

The question - as Pedro has alluded to..is should boots be fitted with membranes at all or is a membrane lining just an extra we dont really need?

Discuss

according to meindl we get goretex liners because we want them aka gore's publicity machine tells us so.

it is always disaapointing when something fails, especially if has cost a few bob!

gary, meindl's boots - and i assume that there will always be manufacturing exceptions - are well made and very much fit for purpose. your foot in one boot will behave differently to when it is in another so it's nigh in impossible to even say that you never had this problem with x brand of boots.

take this experience as part of the learning curve that afflicts some more than others (it's certainly cost me a lot!). seek out and learn how to lace your boots differently to prevent/lessen foot movement and experiment with socks (the only good sock by the way is a sock that fits you properly - just like boots - irrespective of brand)

the lacing below will lock your heel at the back of your boot irrespective of how tight the rest is tied up - give it a try.

that may possibly illustrate why the boot doesn't need a goretex lining anyway...

i would guess that a gortex lining in a full leather boot is more likely to be punctured by foot abrasion rather than grit where for a fabric boot grit and dirt get into the structure very easily and can abrade whatever is in there - it doesn't need to "gritty" either. rub a very fine emery board over something to see just how much that damages the rubbed surface.

that's why i think it's important to ensure that seams on leather boots are well sealed with wax.

just my paranoia showing through...

If the Gore lining is protected by leather, twice, how can it still be breathable???

Agree with Parky, always wax or spray your seams well

Again thanks for all the post, I have find your thoughts on the matter extremely interesting, you have certainly change the views on what to expect from my walking boots. It seems one has to use chemicals to get the best out of them. Because I need very good ankle support, there is very little choice in boots which do not have GTX, the only one looks suitable is Scarps SL M3 boots but I am little worried that could be a little heavy for me.

Today I received a cheque in the post from where I got the boots,  a full refund for the boots, now looking what boots to bye, I have some serious thinking to do.

Thank you all for your kind help

Gary

But, outside of technical pursuits like skiing, why restrict your ankle from its natural range of mobility?

Stability from the footbed and heelcup, and allowing your ankle the freedom to respond to the terrain, seem preferable to straightjacketing it into unnecessary 'support'.