Lowa Men's Zephyr Mid TF Hiking Boot Review

Ok I bought these as a upgrade replacement for the military style Danners I had become accustomed to after 23 yrs of military service. I was looking for a ankle height, all terrain, lightweight boot that would be good for a multitude of environments. Primarily the desert as I spend a lot of time In Joshua Tree National Park. Rocky trails and scrambling is par for the course Was not concerned with waterproofing as I have never owned a pair of water proof boots in my life.After reading the reviews and trying a pair of these at Nomad Adventures in JT. I would have worn them out of the store but, I wanted to check pricing online. Retail and online pricing is fairly close once you take into account any taxes you might pay in a store. average price was between $180- $190 depending on merchant. So I decided to order them via Amazon to get the sooner. I will say that anyone interested in these boots should definitely pay attention to the reviews. They are made in Europe so ABSOLUTELY order them a half size larger if you are used to North American sizing. I wear a 9.5R and I ordered the 10. The fit was perfect!!Took them for a test hike up Ryan's peak in the park (3.5 mile roundtrip) All up hill one way :) No hotspots, rubs, chafing or blisters. They felt like an extension of my feet from the second I put them on. Of course I go with the higher end Smart Wool socks so this may have contributed. I have now put about 20 hard miles on them in the last 10 days and have no complaints with the fit or the performance.I am not a huge fan of the upper eyelets but, I can live with it. I will be wearing these on the Cactus to Clouds trail at the end of the month and plan on wearing them for the 76 mile C section of the Oregon PCT. So I will follow up with any new information related to performance or comfort. So far so good and I am happy with the purchase so far.Highly recommend these boots for for anyone looking for a good all around multi terrain hiking boot.

Thirty year career Army Warrant Officer; U.S. Special Forces Commmander; this is the best boot I've ever worn; period. At 48 years of hard living, plantar fasciitis/fasciosis are an issue for me; the cascading effects of what that can do to your gait, knees, and quality of life are imminent unless you do something to treat it. After a week+ in these boots, my feet are healing and I am almost completely pain free. Previous reviews suggested potential problems with the webbing failing at the laces; I can sort of see that, as those loops are webbing and not otherwise part of the boot; we'll see. Some suggested that the arch support was less than expected; I agree, but only mildly. If these compress, I keep Sorbothane UltraGraphite arch supports in my kit; Amazon and Zappo's sell them and will get them to you nearly anywhere on Earth. !!!IMPORTANT!!! Order 1/2 size LARGER than you normally wear. I normally wear 8.5; I ordered a 9; if I hit a step really hard, I can barely feel my toes hit the end of the toe box; but I really feel like 1/2 size larger is about right; if you go up a full size, you'll likely still be fine as this boot is a snug, but not binding, fit; but I'd err to the larger vs. smaller size. In closing, this is the lightest and most comfortable military-style boot that I've ever worn. I am currently on the ground in a combat zone. As to the durability, we'll see, but there are many of these boots being worn around me and nary one bad or ambivalent comment.

Ordered desert color and got coyote , no big deal, but dammit..

Okay this is by far the best pair of shoes I've ever wore. And I've wore many many different types of tactical shoes. A few reviews have mentioned that these shoes have fell apart. Well I've had theses 1 year so far and from day 1, and i've pressed these shoes to the limit. I've wore these through water knee deep u and down creeks, rappelling, caving, fast roping, I've ran in them training for Navall special operations. Never been washed, just sprayed off with a water hose. You name it they have been in it, snow, mud, sand, rock, water, and NO tearing apart anywhere on it. Only a small hole wore on the back of the ankle on the left shoe. I have wore them EVERY DAY for a year and I will swear by them. They are very resistant to oder as well. Sounds too good to be true and I thought the same as well until now. Definitely worth the money no shoes should have lasted through what these have but I'm still wearing them today. Tread is getting low due to the miles of running and hiking over the last year but still very comfortable. If I can figure out how to upload pictures I will. Two thumbs up for lowa!!!

These boots come in a few versions so you have to be careful in ordering - one is a waterproof version which is NOT what we wanted and another appears to not be the "tactical" version - which is what the T in the TF stands for, I suppose. ANYWAY...these boots LAST if not in theater. If you are Over There I recommend you assume these are replaceable and very worth their money. It's your feet, we're talking about. That is why as soon as we toss one pair, we order another - they are worth it. Yes, I actually keep two spare pairs for Sarge. I figure that's about 8 years worth of wear in average civilian usage. Remember - rubber soles mean you cannot warm your feet at the fire! I suspect some failures are related to same. Treat them even halfway nice and they WILL last.Lightweight, not hot in summer/humidity, but YES, porous - if you will be crossing streams, go for the Goretex version. These will take on water in a hurry because they are ventilated. Sarge finds them very comfy - he usually wears a 10.5 but went with an 11 this time - you know how your feet get a bit wide with age and - well, eating something other than MREs.