NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT – So pumped about the new LOWA line up for 2018. The new Elite EVO is absolutely sick!!! Z6 GTX, ZEPHYR GTX & INNOX GTX in grey…we know a few people that are gonna be excited about this!!! They will be available at our Ottawa & Petawawa locations spring 2018!
Tags: Lowa, Millbrook Tactical
I can hear my wife now……You have how many pairs already?
Was there ever a known problem with the entire sole (bottom) of Lowas ripping off? Mine came off after about 3 months, tearing as if the foam-compound hadn’t been mixed right and was weak or something. This was a few 4-5(?) years ago.
If you saw it from a distance you’d assume a dog did it because the damage is so extensive–but there are no bite marks. It just started to tear, and got worse as the day went on (I had to choose between duct-taping it back together or switching to sneakers in a carbine-pistol class).
Call me old skool and old fashioned or stupid, but that’s the reason why I only wear welted footwear for seriously rigourous use.
That said I also understand it’s impossible to have a welted design for footwear used in subzero temperatures and similar adverse conditions.
I recall, also about 5 years ago, seeing boots do that. Including 2 pairs of my own from scarpa and salomon. One model became popular with users from well regarded units who mention same. The boots i know were all about 5 years old when they degraded as rapidly as yours.
The rubber in the inner sole just seemed to degrade into a pithy mass that crumbled when touched. Like the bond element had just disappeared.
Having never seen it since im thinking something in the industry was changed.
Clearly the adhesive had failed. Did you contact Lowa and let them know, give them a chance to correct the problem?
As for this new assortment, very excited, saw the line up last month, very encouraging. Those with large volume feet should be onboard this train.
Good to know!
Yes its a problem mainly on the Inoox’s. I have had 4 pair and none of them last longer than three months. These were all boots that were purchased last year and one this year. Sometimes it starts to delaminates at the ball and sometimes at the toe, but eventually the entire sole will come off.
Agree with above.
However for an all around booth and i have used them all lowa,merrel,saloman etc. The rocky s2v special ops boot has served me very well in the durability/hard use department for a berry complaint boot. But for a not berry complaint, unfortunetly i find it that none can compare to the nike airmax ACG boot.
If you were talking about cars you would be comparing the performance of pickups, sedans and sports cars like they were the same thing.
Is the EVO Elite the one that looks like the Desert Elite? The DE and Zephyr have been my go too for years, both are awesome in the field and overseas. The Desert Elite is the only one I felt comfortable wearing in garrison without worrying about getting choke slammed by CSM. I went by their booth 2-Yrs ago at Shot to ask about Coyote boots and they showed my the Zephyr, I think it was the only one at the time. I hope they will keep up dating their line.
I know some folks have had wear out on the soft compound sole of the Zephyr, but the DE held up like a champ in the mountains of RC-East. Never had an issue. Did replace the laces with 550 though.
The military puts a 9-12 month lifespan on footwear. While we in the commercial market would consider that to be very short, the military doesn’t.
I’m not saying that a decent pair of boots should only last 9-12 months- but if you use that as a reference point, it changes the way you look at footwear.
Similarly, running shoes have a very short lifespan too. People tend to wear for much longer than what the shoe is rated to mileage wise.
Darkhorse,
The US military can put a 1-2 month life span if they want, on anything they choose to consume. Doesn’t make it legitimate. Why ? Because they have a bottomless pit of taxpayer dollars. The CON-gress and the flag officers arranging the transfer of your, ahem, “wealth” could give a fiddler’s damn about equipment longevity. They’ll just continue to suck at the trough of taxpayer dollars and buy more garbage like the F-35 or the Army’s FUBAR UCP camo patterned clothing and equipment.
Using the US military’s life span designation of their equipment as a usage barometer, is simply ludicrous at best.
You are kidding right Dan? The military orders things to certain specifications and one of those specifications also includes lifespan. Yes, obviously some things will last longer and others will fail sooner, but if you are putting miles on your boots like someone in a light infantry unit does, I am sure that their boots will start mirroring those stated lifespan numbers.
I had that happen with a pair of Belleville 390s myself. They are a great combat boot, and I had a very good experience with them, but it was clear that they were done after about a year of use through training and a deployment.
Does that mean the lifespan is always going to line up with the failure of an item? No, but one you are past that lifespan it means you are not guaranteed performance in line with the original specification of the purchased item and that is why you should probably change it at that time.
You just don’t see many average consumers putting miles on boots in the same manner as the military does, so it really isn’t a similar comparison. Usually a lifespan designated via time is assuming that in said time you have covered a certain mileage. If it takes significantly longer for a civilian to reach that mileage, than their boots will either last longer, or fail in a different way, because the boots had a shorter lifespan in mind when designing their product.
I never really understand what the deal is with women and their shoes, but now each time I see a new pair of boots I get interested and think, “Those would be nice to have.”
🙂
My shoe/boot shelf now dwarfs my wifes. I have a really hard time walking thru REI or my local boot store and NOT seriously contemplating a new pair of hiking boots. Perhaps therapy?
Dellis,
Want therapy ? Start buying guns and ammunition.
Thank you! Feel better already
Please email me a price list on these boots.