I ordered these a couple of years ago via AB’s web-fitting service - carefully measured my feet, and these UK10.5 medium-width boots resulted.
They seemed fine and I wore them on a couple of short dog walks… …and realised they were far too small.
So they went on a shelf and commenced a career of dust gathering. Next time I was in Yorkshire I visited AB and came away with an entirely different model in 11.5 in the widest available fitting…!
So these are not new, but they’re as near as damn it, and I have just given them a careful clean and re-wax with ‘Leder Gris’, and here they are.
Malhams are currently £214 per pair, so a BIG saving for barely worn. There are two different insoles - neither of them have ever been used as I always remove them and replace with orthotics as I suffer from plantar fasciitis without the right supports:
Collection or meet-up at a social welcomed, but sadly I can’t go to Settle; post will be £10 as they’re pretty weighty and bulky - I don’t have the box, but they will be very well wrapped-up.
For what it’s worth I was a UK 9.5 in regular ‘shoe shop’ everyday shoes and those were snug on my left foot and a little loose on my right one. When I got my orthotic insoles, which are on the thick side and which I wear all the time, I went up to shoe shop size 10s. The recommendation for walking boots was to go half a size larger than your shoe shop ones and to buy them to fit the larger of your feet. So I bought Alt-Berg size 10.5 Fremingtons (slightly cheaper than Paul’s Malhams). They felt great on my left foot and a bit loose on my right but with a really thick sock on my right foot, or two socks, a 10.5 pair seems to work fine.
I confess I was also tempted by these. But my fat feet and maybe my funny gait mean I need the Wide fitting in the Fremingtons. Alt-Berg explain that the Malham uses their AForme last and it seems that has a narrower heel and wider toe box. I suffer a bit from swollen ankles so I’m nervous that in the Medium width Paul’s pair might be too tight there.
Boot fitting is a bit of an art. Having had one pair of 10.5 Wide Fremingtons it was comforting to drop in on the Alt-Berg factory shop in Richmond and get that sizing confirmed by measurements done there. It’s also worth saying that the details of the lacing matter too. I went several years without realising that I really need the lacing loose-ish over the toe box to avoid compression pains in the top of my feet (particularly the left one) while keeping it snug further back to stop the boots moving on my feet. Tweaking it made a huge difference.
FWIW, “It’s me, darling…” - I got my feet measured in the fancy machine in Richmond and once again came-up UK10.5! So I humoured the nice man, and once again no chance, so he humoured me and bought out some 11s - too small. So finally, 11.5 - Baby Bear’s Porridge. Next time I may get 12s - I like roomy boots, my feet like roomy boots…
