ALTBERG Desert Tabbing Boot SF-MK3 On Test

My birthday arrived early this year when yesterday Postman Pat delivered a pair of the new ALTBERG Desert Tabbing Boots SF-MK3 for me to test, writes Bob Morrison.

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I have been waiting a little while for these boots to arrive, as naturally despatch of urgent military boot orders must take precedence, but at first sight the wait has probably been worth it.

The beauty, in my opinion, of this latest evolution of The Yorkshire Bootmakers‘ now near 15 year old lightweight arid theatre boot is the use of closed upper lacing hooks. Even though I am a bit over-the-hill now for military parachuting, which is primarily what this SF (Special Forces) version was produced for, I much prefer closed to open hooks on my boots. The 8-inch Desert Tabbing Boot, which is produced on the more asymmetric AForme last designed by company founder Mike Sheehan, has always been a great boot and I reckon the latest lace option probably brings it damn close to perfection.

I have worn ALTBERG Desert Boots, which are manufactured from full grain suede and Cordura, for close on a quarter of a century; indeed I even still have a pair of Mike Sheehan’s original trials batch which I took with me on trips to the Sahara and the Arab Empty Quarter deserts. Unfortunately I don’t have a desert assignment lined up for the immediate future, so I will need to try these out under UK / European summer conditions, but past experience tells me these boots will do precisely what it says on the tin and they will probably be so comfortable that I will not need to gently break them in.

Watch this Footwear section for a full review in due course, but if in the meantime you want to go ahead and order a pair based on ALTBERG’s reputation alone you can do so through this link:- Desert Tabbing Boot SF-MK3.

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