Lowa Tibet Hunting and hiking boot review

Lowa Tibet Review

Editor: Oregon Cameron
Lead Boot, and Back Pack editor

Basic Description of Item:

This boot is a serious mountain hunting boot, not for a flat lander, hunting from tree stands. It has the ankle support and full length shank which give the boot the perfect amount of rigidity and stiffness, making you feel confident in the steepest and roughest terrain. I have worn this boot with 60lb+ in my pack on some gnarly off trail terrain and never once was I worried about my feet or ankles.

Just the Facts:
UPPER: Nubuck Leather
LINING: GORE-TEX®
CLIMATE CONTROL
TONGUE STUD/X-LACING
C4 TONGUE
FLEXFIT
I-LOCK
FOOTBED: Balance Comfort
MIDSOLE: PU with SPS Cushion
OUTSOLE: VIBRAM® Masai
STABILIZER: 5mm Full Length Nylon
WEIGHT: 1800 gram

The Story:

Over the past 4 years I have used a boot from just about every high end boot company around. They all are great boots, but everyone’s feet are different and some boots just don’t fit very well. With that said, the Tibet’s are the best all around mountain/hunting boot I have worn. I know it will come to a surprise to some of you but these are one of the more “stiff” boots I have worn. You might say, “How can a stiff boot be the most comfortable you have worn?” Well, let me explain. When you are putting in 40-50 miles or more on a weeklong hunt I found that my feet get tired. Shocker I know, The tiredness is almost as bad as the blisters you can get IMHO. The thing I found with the Tibet’s are this, when you are on steep terrain and your feet are bending constantly with every step the “stiffer” a boot is limits the amount of strain directly on your feet. Just think of walking up a flight of stairs verse walking up a ramp that is the same grade? Your feet and ankles are working much harder walking up the ramp than the stairs? Your feet stay more level when on the stairs. These boots essentially do the same thing when walking on steep uneven terrain. I noticed a fairly large difference in these scenarios with these boots.

Blisters are terrible!! I have baby feet and on a long hunt I am going to get some form of blister with every boot I have tried, however the Tibet’s were the best in this department. I had fewer hot spots than any other boot I have owned. FYI, I am wearing high quality darn tough socks and super feet insoles, so I am setting myself up for as much success as possible in the blister department.

Another thing about these boots is durability, the leather upper has held up extremely well! I also take great care of my boots by putting high quality conditioners and cleaners on the leather and I never let dust or dirt stay on them for long. With a $400 pair of boots (and I have a quite a few of them) this can kill the leather quicker than anything else. Drying out the leather and making it harder to withstands cuts and scrapes from rocks etc… The soles also look like they are brand new out of the box, even with well over 100 miles on them. The rubber rand on this boot (something I think is a no brainer on heavy duty mountain boots) is bonded to the leather extremely well and has no sign of wear or coming lose.

The next great thing I like about this boot is the lacing system, it makes it extremely easy to get your heal locked in the pocket and stay there! It is also very easy to have 2 zone lacing when you want the forefoot loser (cold weather) than the upper portion of the boot. I like doing this is colder weather as these boots are not insulated it help my feet and toes stay warm.

I cannot stress how awesome these boots are! Like I mentioned earlier in the article, some people with weird feet may not like these boots (which I think would be a select few) but for everyone else you cannot go wrong with these things! They are comfortable, bomb proof and give you the stability and confidence you need on your most demanding hunts!

What they could do better:
They nailed it, buy this boot with confidence, it is a winner!