Leather bacpacking boots

Does anyone know of a retail establishment that carries leather resoleable boots like Alico in the Massachusetts or southern NH area?
Thanks

How deep are your pockets?

Check out the Limmer Boot Site www.limmerboot.com They have links to retailers that sell their boots.

Thanks for the tip.

pbernard said:

Does anyone know of a retail establishment that carries leather resoleable boots like Alico in the Massachusetts or southern NH area?
Thanks

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EMS used to carry the Alico Guide. Not sure if they still do. They were rebranded with an EMS logo.

Other places in Boston I would check for boots=
Hilton's Tent City on Friend St. near North Station
Bob Smith's Wilderness Hut on Comm Ave in Brighton

Thanks dolladoj, unfortunately EMS discontinued those boots. Occasionally similar boots can be found in some of the independent shoe stores.

limmers

evans shoe store in townsend ma, carries a full line of limmers
cool shop check them out

i ay it all the time. if they fit you, get the limmers. you will not regret it. ever. get 'em at the limmer shop in jackson and they will hook you up right.

I agree with the Limmers! They have been the best boot I have ever owned! Matter of fact I just got them back the other day from being re-souled..... also, they will resoule any boot as long as it's norwegian welted.

-MEB

Go with Limmers!

Yes, Yes, Yes. However, the last I checked the custom Limmers, made to your foot, had a waiting time of from three to five years and ran over $500 a pair. I've had mine since 1980, they have been resoled 4 times and have been all over the world with me. When I die they will be buried with me. I will probably die with them on. Unless it's winter then I will go with my Koflacs. hehehe

Just a trip to their big green barn in Intervale, NH is memorable.

Check this out : http://mirrors.meepzorp.com/portland.com/limmers/

Sorry for the late update, been away (the work thing ). I stopped by Evans on the Common in Townsend, MA Awesome place, great selection, decent prices, and fantastic service. Just the type of place I was looking for. Thanks all for the advice. (disclaimer: no affiliation with Evans, just a happy customer).

Limmer Boots

When talking about Limmer boots it's important to distinguish between "custom made" and "stock" boots. Customs are made to fit a particular person's feet specifically. The stock boots are made to fit the general population. I own a pair of stock "out of the box boots" and have a love/hate/love relationship with them. For the most part they fit well and are comfortable (once their broken in). My major complaint is with the size of the toe box. They've designed the stock boots to have a much more tapered toe box then their custom boots. The difference between the two styles is quite noticeable. I can tell if the Limmer boots that someone is wearing are custom or stock just by glancing at the toe box of their boots. I'd be very gratefull to anyone out ther who has a good repore with these guys to question them on this particular design flaw (as i see it) and post their answer. I think that if they had their stock boots made with the larger toe box design more of us would be happier with our stock boots. ( It's in the toe box where I have most of my discomfort in the fit of the boots.)

BEUCS said:

( It's in the toe box where I have most of my discomfort in the fit of the boots.)

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Have you brought the problem to the attention of the dudes at Intervale Limmer factory? I have horrible feet, major distortions in the toe box, and they made mine fit really well. (They were not custom made).
I did have to break them in but I was warned about that. I can't say enough about my Limmers.
I have other cross-trainers and boots and I live in my Limmers. I would wear them to work if I could.
Nothing feels that good on my feet. I had no faith when I walked in there but definitely converted.

Maddy. I have'nt taken my boots back to the guys at Limmer yet but have taken them to be stretched out locally by a shoe repair shop. The problem I have is that the leather in the toe box gets stretched out over the stitching of the upper and the sole. This creates a fit where the leather surrounds and curls back under the sides of your toes causing quite a bit of a rub. Mine are so stretched out that if you were to look straight down on the boots you would see the toe box stretched out not only just over the stitching but also extending beyond the sole. That means the sole is narrower then my toes are wide. Right now I'm wearing a pair of Sketcher shoes that have a great toe box built right into them. I guess I'm just puzzled as to why the "stock" Limmer's are'nt built with the larger toe box design. Why is it you have to wait 5-years and spend 600+ dollars to get a "custom" boot that your toes can fit into. Ok, I'm done, I just had to get that off my chest. It's so frustrating to have a "nearly perfect" boot and know that it could have been made better.

I don't know if the can still be found in retail establishments, but Scarpa still has the Rio boot in stock, or did as of a couple of months ago. This is a heavy (but not super-heavy) all-leather boot with leather lining and lug sole. It's roughly equivalent to the non-custom--i.e. made by Meindl--Limmer midweight boot (which is, by most standards, a heavyweight). The uppers have one rear seam, whereas the Limmers have none, but the Norwegian welt construction is, to my mind, superior to the "Limmer." For what it's worth, I think they are better made than the Meindl/Limmer boots, which I found disappointing in terms of fit. The sole is Vibram's excellent Roccia Block, good for all-round mountaineering.

Black Diamond now owns Scarpa, and I've noticed that they have sold off a lot of their boot lines, so whether the Rio will continue to be available is an issue. I had some problems with a pair of lighter Scarpa boots last year, and BD (to their credit) upgraded me, at my request, to the Rios, gratis.

Ted.

BEUCS said:

. I have'nt taken my boots back to the guys at Limmer yet .

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If you are able to, I would take them back to the Limmer boys in Intervale ASAP. Ken is the one who really helped me.
He refers to my bunion as the "doorknob" and I also have a huge hammertoe.
Now that I read your post I will not have my boots stretched by anyone but Limmer. He showed me his equipment. It was pretty impressive. They had me wear the boots at home and then mail back the one that needed to be stretched. They wanted to be sure I didn't have other issues before starting the stretching process. I have had no problem like the one you describe and my left boot is really blown out. I wonder if someone caused you a bigger problem by not stretching it out correctly.
I think it's worth a little chat with the boys up North Country.
I tried a pair of Limmers in a regular retail store but they felt horrible. I really needed their expertise and Ken spent a good amoun' t of time with me.
Good luck!

"ARE YOUR RUNNING SHOES DEFORMING YOUR FEET?"

This is the title of an essay I read once which discribed how the shape of some running and dress shoes deform peoples feet especially the toes. My personal foot problem is with bunions on my big toes. These I believe developed from wearing shoes that tapered (narrowed) to a point in the toe section of the shoe. As a result of pushing the tops of the toes together the joints further back from the front of the toe bulge out to the side and press against the side of the shoe causing great discomfort. Stretching out the shoe at the point of contact is only part of the solution to this painful problem. Wearing shoes that have ample toe room from the begining is the key. Every time you take a step your toes want to spread out a bit, if there's no room for them to do that the pressure shifts down the toe until somthing gives. So Maddy, I'll probably give the guys at Limmer a shot at stretching them out but really I'm just venting frustration about why their standard boot is'nt built with a toe box in the first place worthy of the "Limmer" name.