Oregon Hikers

That's a bummer, Chip....I have only had one pair of Lowa's and so far they have served me well. I know you like to do the off trail hikes and I am usually on trail, but the boots with goretex have always served me well through many seasons of use. Hope you are able to find a pair of boots that serve you as well as mine have served me...

A few months ago (December?) I bought my first pair of La Sportiva boots. Bought a pair of socks at the same time, which I intended to specifically wear with these boots. The socks are fine. The boots are failing. Boots should outlast socks. It's just like your car should outlast its tires, your house should outlast your roof, your mistress should outlast your marriage, etc. Imagine if you bought a printer and it failed before the first set of ink cartridges ran dry!

my boots/shoes often fail at that same point

sometimes, I put McNett Seam Grip right there and it'll last a while longer. Put the unused tube in freezer and it'll last several years vs several months at room temp

Chip, wildland firefighters cross the kind of terrain that you do. Maybe it's time you try their footwear.

https://nicksboots.com/shop/firefighter-boots/
https://franksboots.com/wildland-fire-boots/
https://drewsboots.com/product_list/458
https://whitesboots.com/firefighter/

I just climbed Mt. Whitney in a pair of Adidas hiking shoes that I got at Costco for $27. I'll never buy footwear at REI again.

Chip Down wrote: ↑

August 7th, 2020, 12:22 am

A few months ago (December?) I bought my first pair of La Sportiva boots. Bought a pair of socks at the same time, which I intended to specifically wear with these boots. The socks are fine. The boots are failing. Boots should outlast socks. It's just like your car should outlast its tires, your house should outlast your roof, your mistress should outlast your marriage, etc. Imagine if you bought a printer and it failed before the first set of ink cartridges ran dry!

I have the same problem with Merrells I've been using for years. I beat them up with off-trail hiking and only get 400 or 500 miles out of them on average. I have better, but much heavier boots for really tough events but prefer the ease of lighter more flexible footwear over heavy and stiffer. I think I've found a good balance and that it's a small price to pay.

As for the mistress, Agreed.

dn

Yesterday I finally retired my Lowa Mountain Experts. Although durability has been poor, I have to admit they wore out in various places about the same time, roughly. So it's not as if I had a good pair of boots that just suddenly failed at a specific spot. And looking at the sole wear, it can be argued I may have gotten my money's worth.

Guide to pic below:
1: Failed stitching and hole in fabric allow debris to enter.
2: Poor rand durability.
3: Crampon bail groove completely gone!
4: Midsole breakdown
5: Sole lugs worn almost smooth.
6: Cracks! (This one is unforgivable, this should never happen.)

How old were those? How did you manage to wear out the Rand without, like, front pointing or edging on tiny holds endlessly? That is nuts.

Bosterson wrote: ↑

August 14th, 2020, 7:05 pm

How old were those?

I remember the first time I used them, so was able to search my trip log. Was June 2017. Of course, I don't use them on every hike. Hard to guess how long they would have lasted if they were my only boots.

Bosterson wrote: ↑

August 14th, 2020, 7:05 pm

How did you manage to wear out the Rand without, like, front pointing or edging on tiny holds endlessly? That is nuts.

Hmm...I guess I don't know why rands fail, since I'm not watching my boots all the time. But I tend to get little failures here and there. It's not gradual wear, like on a sole. Rather, it's little spots where they lose adhesion and tear off. You probably experience the same, so I suspect what surprises you is the large bare area, all the way down to the stitching. I've never seen that degree of failure, but I think this started like any rand failure, and just spread in time.

Above, I complained about my disappointing first experience with La Sportiva.
Today it's Scarpa's turn.
Toecap (short rand) is separating from leather, and cracking. I'm sure they'll start flaking off soon.
How long did this take? Turnaround point on their maiden voyage. Wow.