Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Lowa boots - Baffin vs Tibet vs Banff

Due to glowing reports of Lowa here I want to give them a try. I have used Cabela's Meidl's (Hiker and Ibex) the last two years for hunts in CO and both failed miserably. The Hikers tore my feet up and the Ibex leaked like a canvas tennis shoe.

I am going to order some Lowa's. No one stocks them in Columbus to try them out first hand before ordering. The Baffin and Tibet seem to be very similar boots. The Banff seems a little lighter and one piece construction.

Basically, I generally hike into a CO hunting area about 5 miles with a 55-60 lb pack then set up camp. Hopefully, I get to hike out camp and them some elk . This is Sept - Oct, so temps can be teens to 70's. Most of the time I am just hunting in the boots with a day pack on. I like to wear thick wool socks (Smartwool Expedition) and am not "cold-footed". I would appreciate recommendations about which of these models may best serve my needs? I am well aware that boot fit is of utmost importance.

Thanks in advance

If at all possible, find a backpackatorium and go try on boots. There's no better way to know what your feet will like.

Forums are all well and good but body differences are so great it's nearly impossible to make a recommendation of a boot other than as a general quality statement.

Were I springing for a pair of hikers tomorrow I'd skip right past any Lowa and go to a Scarpa "Nepal." But that's because, while a quality boot, the last the German Lowa's are built on don't work well for my feet, whereas the Italian last of the Scarpa generally seems to work better for me.

http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/pr...&pf_id=10033356&ad_id=GoogleBase

Only you can figure that out...

I know.....that is what is so frustrating. I live near a large metro area and there is no one (to my knowledge) that carries high quality boots/gear. We have multiple Dicks/Gander stores but 1) they are staffed primarily by clueless 19 year olds and/or 2) do not have anything above Merril/Columbia quality. I drove to Wheeling WV in order to go to Cabela's to try on the Meindls.

I just have to go through the order-send back cycle until I find something I like. I really don't want to screw a company out of their profit by send boots back 10 times. That's why I am trying to narrow down choices as much as possible here. If the Lowa's don't work for me I will try your suggestion as well the Kenetrek Hardscrabble. Thank you Brad

Couple more nice boots with Goretex, though I have tried neither:

Chinese made Vasque:

http://www.rei.com/product/721359

Italian made Zamberlan:

http://www.rei.com/product/760218

Where do you live in Ohio?

http://www.thebackpacker.com/gear/stores.php?s=oh

have only tried the Tibet GTX but can recommend it without reservation (and we probably hunt pretty similar terrain). The tibet is an "over the ankle" hiker and quite stiff enough for sidehilling , is non insulated and feels much lighter than a "full length" boot.

Lowas do run small , order 1/2 size larger than usual.

djb,
FFIW, Shoebuy has a pretty good return policy, and usually good prices on Lowas.
Just a thought...

Thanks all for quick input. Shoebuy had the best prices initially ($259), but didn�t have my size. �Shopping� further I found Onlineshoes.com has free return shipping and price matches. The Tibet GTX were $289 but upon check out I noticed they are offering 25% off of boots when you order a wallet. So I ordered a $42 dollar wallet (mine was shredded) and got the boots and wallet for $259 total!!!! I love it when that happens.

Now I will have to see how the boots feel. I hope I don�t end up on a first name basis with the post office folks

make sure to report back

+1 on what Brad said about after narrowing your choice to boots of good quality, fit is very-very important and unique to you. Here is my boot fitting lecture:

I worked in a mountaineering-backpacking store years ago. Our policy was that we guaranteed the boot fit, if you had trouble with that boot for any reason we took the boots back and either tried to fit you in another pair or gave you your money back. Needless to say that could become quite expensive for the store if boot salesmen made fitting mistakes. It was a real honor and proof the the store manager trusted you, to be one of the few choosen to be a boot fitter.

Fitting boots goes way beyond trying them on and walking around the store. One thing that Brad alludes to above, and was certainly true back when I was fitting boots was the great difference between last shape from company to company and country to country. Back then we sold various models of Lowe - German, Pivetta- Italy and Vasque- Voyager boots USA. I know there were a few other companies to that I can,t remember right now. In general terms there was an German last, wide in the heel, medium overall, Italian last, narrow in the heel and overall and American last, medium overall. The point being that a fitters first job was to examine and determine the shape of that persons foot to point them in the direction of a partiqular last.

We would get someone with a wide foot come in absolutely sold on the Pivetta boot and it was our job to convince them that we needed to go in a different direction right of the start. It is human nature for some people to try to convince themselves that a boot fits when they really want it for other reasons. Maybe it's on a killer sale, you just like the looks, or it's the model that your best hunting buddy swears by. Mail ordering anything other than custom made boots was out of the question for most people.

Now I'm lucky, I wear a medium width, standard American shape 8D without any particular fitting problems. I'm lucky because 8 medium is the standard size for storefront displays, and when boots are discontinued they are usually the last pair on hand and I get them for half price. We even found an old maniken in the Kelty attic all dressed in lederhosen wearing an old pair of classic Voyager Dalles boots in my size that I got for free.

If you were going to mail order boots, I would recommend that you try to figure out if your foot is compatable with that companies last by trying on similar boots from that company at a local shop before ordering the boot. When they arrive put on your normal hiking sock, unlace the boot, slide your foot forward until the toes just touch the toe of the boot, then make sure you have at least a finger width behind your heel. This is to make sure that with your heel held back in the boot with the boot laced up snug, that your toes cannot hit the front of the boot while hiking down hill with a load on your back, high impact step after step for hours. If your toes even slightly touch the front that can be a disaster. We would test this by having the guy kick a special reinforced door jamb hard four or five times, then wiggle his toes to check for freedom of movement.

After that test we test for tightness in the heel area, the stiffer the boot the more important this is. Any looseness that allows the heel to shift up and down even slightly will cause a painful blister on the back of the the heel. This is a function of two things, the general shape and width of the heel cup and the ability of the boot to lace comfortably across the instep and hold your foot back in the boot without undue pressue across the instep.

Then we test to make sure the boot breaks under the ball of the foot. And that the ball of your foot matched up with this wide point at the front of the boot. Remember those old metal shoe sizing contraptions they have had in shoe stores for a hundred years? You know that little thing that slides fore and aft in the upper inside of the foot? It has a little scallop to it that fits against the ball, hopefull the number next to the little pointer will be the same as the number that coresponds to the length of the foot, if it doesn't that is a problem as you have to find a boot with a last that is forgiving in that regard, or one that by chance matches your foot.

Finally you need to lace the boots up snugly and wear them around the house or store for at least 15 minutes, walk around a lot and pay attention to any pressure point, sloppyness or anything that just feels strange. Do not try to talk yourself into believing that pressure point is minor and you can get used to it, or that it will go away after the boots are broken in. It won't, it will only amplify with each step over and over again to the point where it is at best a distraction and at worst completely debilitating.

I am a big believer in Cabella's and searching the internet for bargains, but finding and fitting a proper pair of boots is one area where I believe it is worth the extra money to do it in person with someone who is expert at it and guarantees their fit.

Good luck with your boots, I'm the Imelda Marcos of boots, I might start a thread to see who has the most boots.

That is great information and I thank you for taking the time to post it. It mirrors some of what I have read here before. I was not aware that there was characteristic fit for the different countries. Unfortunately, I was a poster child for a poorly fit boot 2 years ago. Had heal blisters (one compression ulser) and then lost 3 toe nails also.

Since you obviously have experience I'll ask you this. I have NEVER had on a boot or shoe that did not have heal movement when I wore it. My feet measures 11.5-12 (US) and on the wide side (E). My solution has been to buy boots large enough so that when my heal moves up and down, that the boots do not rub/contact my heal. Thick SmartWool socks with a pair of ankle high panty hose underneath and green Superfeet insoles complete my "package". If I wear a pair that are snug in the heal and fit "right", they tear my feet up. When I played basketball in school I literally shed a layer of skin on the ball of my foot everyday. Maybe my feet are just �soft�. I know this is like asking a physician to cure me over the phone, but any additional advise you could give would be appreciated.

The Meindl Ibex boots (size 11) were super comfortable and worked great for me last year fit wise, but again, my feet were soaked

I'm a little late, but I'll throw this out anyway. I sell both Lowa's and Vasque out of my store and am very familar with the different models. The tibet and the baffin are very similar boots. The tibet is a gortex boot with a cambrell type of a lining, the baffin is structurally the same boot as the tibet except it doesn't have gortex and has a glove leather lined interior. Lowa's seem to fit about a half size small compared to most other boots. They also have a little narrower heel fit than most companies. Both models are available in wide sizes. If you measure an 11.5 E, I would guess that a 12 wide would be a good fit considering the sizing of the Lowas.

Like you say, its hard to fit boots over the internet, but it sounds like your foot may be an E or EE in the forward part but narrower in the heel. You mention the Ibex which seem to fit well and worked well for you. Typically a company such as Meindl uses the same last for all of their boots only changing the weight, stiffness and construction through the various lines. I'd stick with what has worked for you in the past. Pick another boot in the Meindl line up that meets your needs. It doesn't sound right for your heel to move up and down regardless, maybe an after-fit heel cup would help.

Regarding my comment about generalizations of foot shape from country to country, that was thirty five years ago, and may have been stereotyping based on our perceptions of Italians as sleek hip guys versus Germans as blunt force Teutonic types, and the only examples we had were samples of one, Lowa-German, Pivetta-Italian. Now we have many more examples from different companies, I'd be interested in what guys who are selling today would say about this.


I forgot to mention that besides a snug, but not too tight heel cup, a good lacing system across the instep usually heep the heel snug in its pocket. After a while my boots break in, creating a crease just above the heel on the back of the boot that also holds the heel down.

Glacier John, Thank you for the further explanation. Maybe I had better luck with the Ibex because I swapped out the issued foot bed for the Superfeet???

Wildwyo, thank you for you input as well. It sounds like I made the right choice going with the Tibet. My only complaint with my last boots were the leaking factor. I know Goretex can be a topic of disagreement, but it has always worked well for me in the past. I am not going to say "money is not an option" with my decision, but I have had enough painful experiences to have learned that my boots and weapon are my first and second priorities in backpack hunting.

I will report back on my own findings so maybe others can benefit. This year I hope to avoid any unwelcome surprises while up in the mountains.

Follow up as requested by UtahLefty: I got the size 12 Tibet and they feel awesome!!! They appear to be very stout boots. I haven�t muddied them yet but they feel great walking around the house (I am trying them on carpet for a while in case I need to return them). They are stiff in the sole but very comfortable. They appear to be very well thought out, I have never been able to synch down a boot as tightly and not have painful spot where an eyelet digs in, or numbness in the top of my foot or toes. Now if they are just waterproof, I may have found my boot. My wife is mystified at my exhilaration �� you would think a woman would understand the happiness of a good pair of �shoes�.

I did experiment a little by wearing one boot with the provided insole and one with the green Superfeet. There was a noticeable difference. The Superfeet defiantly help fill out my heal area. There is no heal slip at all. It is annoying that a $300 pair of boots still comes with a wafer thin piece of spongy material that is called an �insole�. I'm sure that $$$$ is the reason but, you would think higher end products would be different.

I could buy quite a few really nice rifles for the money I spent on boots that did not fit.

Now I can eyeball a shoe/boot and know if it is even worth trying on.

glad the initial feel is good! ---gonna hafta scratch them up sooner or later though

FWIW, I've submerged mine (post condition) to (just shy of)the top of the tongue without wet socks on a number of occasions....