Dayhiking Nirvana for the Feet

By TN Hiker Ranked #343 - Men's Hiking Boots July 5, 2009

I hike mostly in the Great Smoky Mtn's area where many trails are either rocky, wet or both and often the routes involve multiple unbridged stream crossings. Lowa Renegades are great boots for those conditions.

Ahhhhh: The big plus is that these boots require almost zero break-in time. Over the years I've found that they can be worn on a hiking trip right out of the box with only minimal discomfort.

Ouch: Sometimes I backpack with a 35-40 lb. load and on those rocky trail segments I can definitely feel the rocks--especially after a few miles of bad trail. But, hey, these boots are VERY light on the feet so I just accept the compromise between the light weight plus easy break-in vs. something that would be stiff enough to smooth-out those rocky trail surfaces.

Periodic waterproofing is desirable--especially if you wear these on multi-day adventures in wet conditions.

Durability: The life of these boots for me has been about 1,000 miles before they start to break apart at the stitching near the toe bend area. You can have them re-stitched by a shoe repair shop but mine have tended to leak water in that area after being repaired (they do have a Gore-Tex liner). My local store says Lowa will replace these boots if they fail within one year of purchase--mine usually last longer than that since I alternate between two or three pair during my peak hiking season.

Bottom line: I usually keep a new pair of these in my closet "ready to wear" whenever one of my older pair fail. Watch for them to go on sale--the 2009 list price is much higher than what it was in 2008.

View Details: Lowa Renegade GTX Mid Hiking Boot - Men's

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