Walking Boots

Altberg Dalesway Boots | Review

Our take on these vegan-friendly boots that are made (and serviced) in Yorkshire

Altberg make a broad selection of boots for hiking, hunting and for the military, and they have a very strong reputation within the UK for their craftsmanship. All of their products are actually handcrafted in the UK and, in a lot of cases are built to order.

These, the Dalesway, sit within their hiking range and are their fully vegan offering, with no animal products used for their fabrics or glues. I’ve been testing them out recently, most notably over the course of three days hillwalking in the Lake District. Here’s how I got on with them.

Construction and Materials

The Dalesway vegan walking boots use a faux leather called Lorica, a material that’s primarily composed of extremely fine polyamide fibers. These microfibers are engineered to create a structure similar to the collagen fibers found in real leather, giving Lorica its soft, flexible, and breathable properties. This fabric is protected by a PU coating while underneath it there’s full waterproof protection provided by a Sympatex membrane.

OM editor Will tests the Sympatex membrane on a Lake District hike. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

Underfoot, there’s a removable ergonomic footbed, a fairly stiff midsole with what feels like some sort of lightweight shank and then a Vibram outsole with large tractor wheel-like lugs and a fairly pronounced heel brake.

Sustainability

Altberg can be commended for a number of things in regards to sustainability. First of all, their hiking boots do have a strong reputation for being built to last but also they’re designed for repairability too – and Altberg offer a number of repair and refurbishment services at their HQ. It’s possible to have the sole totally replaced, a new wax layer added and you can also have the rubber rand replaced as well. This, by the way, is done at the Altberg headquarters in Richmond, Yorkshire, where they hand craft all of their boots – often to order.

The Dalesway obviously also represent a more ethical choice for those who want to avoid materials that derive that from animals. On the flip side, however, it’s also worth bearing in mind that the synthetics that are employed here are produced from fossil fuels and without any recycled materials.

The use of a Sympatex membrane normally represents a more sustainable choice by a brand as it’s a material that’s designed to be recyclable. That said, upon investigation I found that Altberg don’t actually have a recycling scheme nor do they publicise any schemes that can help with this. I rang Altberg and the customer service person said that they weren’t aware of any ways to ensure the membranes in their boots get recycled at end-of-life. It would be good to see Altberg come up with some form of solution here in the future, even if it’s just a note on their website pointing their customers to third party schemes that are able to take their products in for recycling.

Performance

Altberg describe the Daleway as two- to three-season boots for low-level trail hiking, but I’d say they’re far more versatile than that. From my experience, they’re a suitable option for three-season hiking over mountainous terrain and I could see myself using them on milder days in winter in the UK’s countryside too.

The semi stiff sole, which offers a nice touch of flex at the toe, makes them comfortable over long distances while also making them capable over rocks and roots too.

I found that they offered plenty of dependable traction on mud while hiking in them on a very sloppy few days in the Lake District. The grip was also good when hiking on dry rock and trails. On wet rock, the Dalesway did offer a touch of traction but, like most boots, there are limitations there. I’d say the compound performs similarly to Vibram Megagrip in that regard.

The durability seems good too. In the six weeks that I’ve used these for hiking and local dog walks, they’ve held up well. Some creases have appeared at the toes – which is normal – but by and large the material has come across as having a good abrasion resistance.

The padded ankle collar feels comfortable and it provides good ankle support. It does seem to absorb water quite easily, however, and it takes a bit of time to dry out.

Fit

Because Altberg have complete control over their manufacturing process, they’re able to make these boots (and most of their collection) in a range of different widths.

My feet, which are a fairly average shape, tend to nearly always fit size 10 boots. I opted for a Medium width and followed the advice on Altberg’s website by going up half a size. This seemed to work for me as the boots fit very nicely. There’s a touch of space at the toes for them to wiggle a bit and my heel is kept in place without feeling locked in tight. It’s slightly cupped there, which helps.

I also particularly liked that the boots have a slight roll and propulsion to them which feels very natural. There’s arch support too. I didn’t find that any breaking in period was required – they were good to go right away.

Altberg Dalesway Verdict

Overall I was impressed by the performance, fit and craftsmanship of the Altberg Dalesway. The repairability element is particularly commendable and Altberg also deserve credit for offering an extensive repair service long before repair was ‘cool’. In the future, it would be good to see them expand on their sustainability efforts, perhaps by using recycled textiles in the upper and by offering some support for customers who ‘d like to recycle the Sympatex membrane when the boots are at the end of their usable life.

Pros: well crafted, locally made, resoleable, durable and sturdy
Cons: padded ankle cuff could be more water resistant, no recycling efforts