Meindl - Shoes For Actives Reviews 644

I bought Meindl Journey GTX boots. They were very comfy, was pleased with them and was thinking of buying a spare set - but after 14 months of light use the sole came away from the upper. Warranty is only 1 year so no repair "because the upper leather is a bit worn" - as if that matters! This is not something I expect of a shoe that cost £200. No more Meindl shoes for me, ever.

No reply from Amanda Bainbridge at Meindl/Bramwell UK. Shoes should be recalled as not fit for purpose and pose safety hazard when walking.
Respond GTX soles detached.
I see from others this appears to be a common problem. Have just contacted Meindl UK about it so will await their response but doubt I will be purchasing from them again.

Forcing a customer to be without a pair of shoes, costing around £200, is simply not reasonable in this day and age, and reflects very poorly on their service and wish to maintain brand reputation
I Purchased a pair of their boots from a small independent retail in March 2022, which seemed fine for a few months. However before Christmas they developed a bulge in the rear upper inner lining,causing rubbing on my ankle, which became painful if wearing them for extended periods.
I contacted Meindl for advice and rather disappointingly was merely referred back to the selling retailer
When the shoes were returned as instructed I was told Meindl would be returning them to Germany for repair , which would take several weeks
Quite frankly what they expect me to wear while they are away I don't know. Go barefoot I suppose
This is a most unsatisfactory situation and wittering on about sustainability does nothing to make me feel any better
If I had bought a pair of the many many cheaper options than Meindl, doubtless they would have just been replaced on the spot or refunded
So, I'm going to have to buy another pair of walking boots while these are away, but I'm sure you can guess what brand they won't be or ever will be again

I bought a pair of Meindl 3825-49 Caribe GTX walking shoes for around £140 - not cheap. They were worn for less than 200 hours in total, when the lacing support system in one shoe fell apart, rendering the shoes unwearable. Contacting Meindl was a waste of time - no response. My view is that these are over-priced, poor quality shoes, and my advice would be to not purchase Meindl products? You would only be throwing your money away, without recourse to remedy.

I had a pair of Meindl Matrei GTX comfort fit walking boots for over ten years and they maintained their waterproofing and stability throughout. I work outdoors and hike during my leisure time so they had a good workout. During this time I also had a pair of Meindl Journey GTX trails shoes that were similarly robust. Eventually I had to replace the Matrei boots, so bought some Meran GTX boots. Literally the first time I wore them it rained, and within half an hour my feet were soaking wet. I returned them to Trekitt who tested them, found them to be faulty and replaced them with another pair. Today I wore these on Dartmoor in squally showers and, unsurprisingly, the left shoe gave out after half an hour, soaking my feet. Awful, awful quality, and will be returning for a refund as these are cheap, low quality boots sold at a premium price. Unfortunately Meindl have sold out, compromised a lifetime of reputation in order to make a little more money and now see their standing dropping amongst professional and casual users alike. Not good enough. Hanwag here I come…

Meindl Activo GTX
I bought the Meindl Activo GTX with a price tag of £170. Within a few weeks the heel cup stitching started to come away. After returning the shoes I have been advised that this was due to wear and tear and my gait. The shoes have hardly had any mileage and were sized in store at Cotswolds outdoor. I have extensive walking (civilian and military) and trail running experience, using Altbergs, Inov8, Lowa's etc. Never have I been so disappointed, even if I would have spent half the money, these in my opinion are not fit for purpose.

I bought a pair of Meindl Comfort Fit hiking shoes after trying on a lot of pairs in the store. over 18 months later I can confirm
1) The shoes are still waterproof despite being worn at least 50% of the time and on easy coastal walks.
2) The soles are still grippy and haven't worn down.
3) No stitching has opened and the soles haven't detached.
4) The shoes look great, with maintenance using Meindl cleaner, and proofer / conditioner. No cracking in the leather or eyelets detached. The only sign of wear is some pilling of the fabric at the heels (not fraying yet) and I had to replace the insoles with the same comfort fit sport models.

I was so satisfied with the purchase I bought another pair of Meindl shoes recently, which are also fine despite taking them scrambling the last 5 weekends. Looking at these reviews it's like I purchased the only good pairs of Meindl shoes in the world but somehow I doubt that's the case.

I've bought Meindl shoes since the late 90s and I'm not going to lie, I don't feel the quality is at the same level as it was then. Boots in general are lighter and more comfortable now but manufacturing and quality control have perhaps suffered for most brands. My mid 2000s Islands stand out at as the best made footwear I have bought, along with a beautiful pair of Church's brogues.

I also wouldn't have any interest in buying an Asian-made Meindl shoe and I don't think they should make any shoes outside the EU. The company has a premium brand for European-made shoes and needs to protect that for long term profitability.

However, I can only judge Meindl on what I've purchased and they have been very good. I hope whatever QC issues exist can be fixed but my experience has been positive. My friends who buy Meindl Bhutans, Islands & Air Revolution shoes have also had good experiences in recent years.

Meindl are expensive, cheaply made boots. Mine started to fall apart after first outing due to the glue failing, upto 12 weeks to repair them. I think they are now made in China????

The sole on the right shoe has started coming off after just a few days of use on my new GTX Toledo shoes. Also the left shoe is very uncomfortable and hurts my foot. The stitching has started coming loose aswell.

I will not be buying any meindl products in the future.

Edit as of 12 Dec.

Meindl sent me a new pair of shoes. I will update this review after a few months of use to see how this pair holds up.

Just comfortable. But not intelligently made
Too bad I can't attach pictures

June 23 Bought Meindl Bhutan Ladies Walking Boots for £199 from Hill & Dale. Wore them outdoors for around 2 weeks, as a result of wearing them they gave me tendonitis, swelling and tightness in my calf muscles and ligament damage. Very painful, paid £190 for osteopath treament to solve the issues, had to do physio twice a day for months after. My osteo said the injury was caused by the boots, they were too high and the soles don't bend. Contacted Meindl, returned the boots at their request. Was told that they would not give me a refund or pay for the treatment. Their way of testing them for fault was letting some of their staff wear them around the office. This is neither hygenic nor a suitable environment to test a walking boot! I am now at a loss of nearly £400 and they say they have sent the boots back to me but I have never received them. They are now blaming Hill and Dale and telling me they won't deal with me any more. Thought I was treating myself to top of the range boots and have had nothing but a nightmare, financial loss and pain. I would NEVER deal with this company again. No customer support or responsibility taken for their many faults in this process. These boots are not fit for purpose. Buy something from a better company. I am taking legal action for all of this

Mfs Vakuum .Worst boots I've ever bought almost £300 wasted walked less than 20 miles before leaking and cracking and then the sole came off .customer service didn't want to know . I've had boots that's cost £40 last years with no problems..I'll never buy meindle ever again..

I have an old pair of Meindl Sahara boots that although old have not had much wear.
This week whilst driving the sole of the right boot became detached from the boot and got stuck under my brake pedal narrowly missing an accident I contacted Meindl.
Unbelievably they said the material PU fails after a few years and essentially they were old and not their problem. I have used Meindl for over 30 years and I'm disgusted that they could produce a product that is essentially dangerous.

Pair 1 purchased July 2021
- leaking February 2023
- Meindl - Bramwell (UK distributor) contacted
- Boots sent, test and replacement sent
Pair 2 received April 2023
- leaking April 2023 - within 3 days!
- Meindl Bramwell contacted
- Boots sent, test and replacement sent
Pair 3 received June 2023
- not worn until Sept, as summer
- leaking by early Nov 2023

Bramwell contacted a third time but refusing to engage as > 2 years since original purchase, replacements were under “goodwill” and implied we contributed to the issue?

It’s not “goodwill” if you repeatedly replace faulty goods with faulty goods!

How could we contribute to boots leaking after 3 days and another in less than 2 months? They have low level outdoor use in a Hampshire country park with muddy sections and large puddles in winter - nothing out of the ordinary.

Bottom line, beware of quality issues with Meindl products - 3 pairs and now hiding behind warranty period of original boots. Take some ownership Meindl - Bramwell for serious ongoing quality issues in your products.

Meindl Ladies respond MID 11GTX;
Bought 2 months ago. They leak badly in wet grass through to toes. They are sold as waterproof and they are not. I have contacted Meindl and they are not interested in responding to me.

Please dont waste your money on buying Meindl Journey Mid GTX Mens or any of there products after walking 300 miles over 16 months they have split, I polished them and proofed the leather, Hill and Dale sent them back to Meindl and Meindl would do a thing not worth the money, a hasbeen company trading on a past reputation, im very disappointed

Shoes leaking badly after 15 months and took them back to Costwold Outdoor where I bought them. Took them wet to show how badly they had failed and was told to clean and dry them because Meindl would not accept them like that. Spoke to Meindl customer service who was insistent that they were not their boots but mine and that they would not accept them wet. No apology nothing. Apparently Cotswold say its a health and safety issue. I suggested I package them in plastic and they use plastic gloves to receive them. Policies should be there to help not hinder customers.

I went into the store again today in Skipton as the boots fitted gave me blisters. I brought back the boots. At one point I had to tell the manager to be a little softer as she was being quite rude and loud. I have been given some boots as a "gesture of good will" - and made to feel that she was doing me a favour in trying to deal with my complaint. 3 pairs of boots in less than 3 years is not good and customer service skills in dealing with the complaint have been appalling.

I will never come back to Cotswold and will tell my friends of the bad service which seems focussed on making a profit, selling many boots "sustainably". I will sell the boots given to me and go somewhere to have some boots fitted by experts.

Bought a pair of mindless douvre extreme boots for £360 and within a week of use the rubber started peeling away from the leather, I was on a walking holiday so had no alternative to continue using them. When I got home, the glue had completely perished and the boots were ruined! I contacted customer support and haven’t heard back at all, it’s been a week and a half. Can’t believe I payed so much money for such a poor quality product and I don’t know where to turn to get my money back.

Bought meindl airstream chainsaw boots after 4 months 60% of the rand had peeled away so sent back to meindl for them to do the report to find out they wanted to charge me £105 to resole them in Germany and would take approx 8 weeks, absolute joke £280 boots owned for 4 months and want to charge me to repair them when you can clearly see it's manufacturing fault. For anyone that doesn't know the rand is a leather/rubber strip that sits above the sole and on my boots it's had peeled away in several places but the rest of the boot was fine, I maintained the boots with meindl products as well so they were looked after, none the less they were only 4 month old. Very very disappointed. If you want chainsaw that last buy arbortec scafell or go for haix, NOT MEINDL AIRSTREAMS.

Worst customer support I've encountered. I want to order shoes, but I can’t try them on since I live in the USA. I measured my foot size with precision and asked for help with picking a correct size. They just replied that they couldn't help.