Bought a pair of the Lowa Bighorn Hunter after much research on them. The following is from a full day of wear, afterwards that 10 days in the brooks range and some probably 40 miles walked overall.
I have a slightly wider forefoot and they advertised a wider than normal last from their other boots. The fit was right on for my size 9 foot, and they had very little break in period. The sole is a soft rubber with corked inner treads, provided excellent grip on damp rocks in the morning and evenings. The midsole itself is softer than the Lowa Sheep Hunter/Tibet GTX and provides more cushion and I could tell after each day of ascent and descent with a pack that my feet were felling much better than with my Lowa Sheep Hunters. There is still a stiff insert in the midsole so you dont feel rocks and such under foot.
The boots have a gripping and locking 4th lace eye from the toe which really helped with pulling the forefoot tight and keeping them tight, allowing to lace up from there to the top of the boot with equal pressure on all eyelets and no lace slip. This kept the boot snug all day with no adjusting at all. I was leery of the swiveling locking lace and afraid there might be a chance of breakage over time and scree contact but there was never an issue with them at all, the locking lace eye is just as robust as the other eyelets. This lacing system kept my toes from jamming into the front of the boot on descents and it also helped keep my heel locked in and kept from slipping.
Ascent, descents, side hilling, hills, tussocks, hard tundra, scree, large and small rock and everything in between I did not get a single blister with these boots at all and no even a hot spot.
They are about a full inch shorter than (give or take another 1/4'') than the Sheep Hunter/Tibet GTX but they actually wore better for me than my old Lowa's.
We charged hard on this trip and covered more ground than a lot of people would have so the boots did take a beating. Scree and other rock did cut some of the rand and leather which is to be expected of a leather boot in those conditions. The sole wore very well and there wasnt much damage at all to the tread, some cuts from sharp rock and scree. The boots provided enough support to sidehill with a full pack of meat, cape, horns, gear, rifle and handgun.
The boots have 200 gram Primaloft insulation which didnt really seem to be a problem with all the heavy hiking we did. We even had some warmer weather to boot. Gold Bond foot powder helped keep foot sweat down and my socks never got too damp from the extra insulation. The gore-tex liner breathed well, as to be expected. The boots werent too hot during the day and the extra insulation was nice when sitting and glassing in the evenings and into the night. Leaving the boots totally open each night, they pretty much dried out by morning.
The only downside I noticed was some of the rubber rand had started to peel away at flex points but only ever so slight, and only by the end of the trip. Whether it be improperly glued at the factory or the wrong kind of glue for the rubber rand to leather bonding, I dont know. Lowa guarantees their boots so there wont be an issue there later.
Overall, for my feet, the best leather boot I've had yet to date. If you have a slightly wider forefoot I'd suggest taking a serious look at these boots.
I'm not a Lowa pro or get any kickbacks from Lowa, they were just honestly the best leather boots I've worn in the mountains to date.
I have a slightly wider forefoot and they advertised a wider than normal last from their other boots. The fit was right on for my size 9 foot, and they had very little break in period. The sole is a soft rubber with corked inner treads, provided excellent grip on damp rocks in the morning and evenings. The midsole itself is softer than the Lowa Sheep Hunter/Tibet GTX and provides more cushion and I could tell after each day of ascent and descent with a pack that my feet were felling much better than with my Lowa Sheep Hunters. There is still a stiff insert in the midsole so you dont feel rocks and such under foot.
The boots have a gripping and locking 4th lace eye from the toe which really helped with pulling the forefoot tight and keeping them tight, allowing to lace up from there to the top of the boot with equal pressure on all eyelets and no lace slip. This kept the boot snug all day with no adjusting at all. I was leery of the swiveling locking lace and afraid there might be a chance of breakage over time and scree contact but there was never an issue with them at all, the locking lace eye is just as robust as the other eyelets. This lacing system kept my toes from jamming into the front of the boot on descents and it also helped keep my heel locked in and kept from slipping.
Ascent, descents, side hilling, hills, tussocks, hard tundra, scree, large and small rock and everything in between I did not get a single blister with these boots at all and no even a hot spot.
They are about a full inch shorter than (give or take another 1/4'') than the Sheep Hunter/Tibet GTX but they actually wore better for me than my old Lowa's.
We charged hard on this trip and covered more ground than a lot of people would have so the boots did take a beating. Scree and other rock did cut some of the rand and leather which is to be expected of a leather boot in those conditions. The sole wore very well and there wasnt much damage at all to the tread, some cuts from sharp rock and scree. The boots provided enough support to sidehill with a full pack of meat, cape, horns, gear, rifle and handgun.
The boots have 200 gram Primaloft insulation which didnt really seem to be a problem with all the heavy hiking we did. We even had some warmer weather to boot. Gold Bond foot powder helped keep foot sweat down and my socks never got too damp from the extra insulation. The gore-tex liner breathed well, as to be expected. The boots werent too hot during the day and the extra insulation was nice when sitting and glassing in the evenings and into the night. Leaving the boots totally open each night, they pretty much dried out by morning.
The only downside I noticed was some of the rubber rand had started to peel away at flex points but only ever so slight, and only by the end of the trip. Whether it be improperly glued at the factory or the wrong kind of glue for the rubber rand to leather bonding, I dont know. Lowa guarantees their boots so there wont be an issue there later.
Overall, for my feet, the best leather boot I've had yet to date. If you have a slightly wider forefoot I'd suggest taking a serious look at these boots.
I'm not a Lowa pro or get any kickbacks from Lowa, they were just honestly the best leather boots I've worn in the mountains to date.
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