Lowa Renegade GTX Mid Hiking Boot Review

Product: Lowa Renegade GTX Mid Hiking Boot
Available at: Cotswold Outdoor
Design: Day Hiking Boot
Sizes: Men 7.5 to 16 UK, Women 5.5 to 11 UK
Width: Narrow, Regular, Wide
Weight: 1.1kg
My Rating: 9.1 out of 10

One could argue that the most important piece of equipment to have for a hike is the footwear.

Hiking can take you over all types of terrain – from flat ground to steep slippery rocks.

Your hiking boots need to perform like a complex piece of engineering… they need to properly support you, but also allow for some movement… it’s useful if they’re waterproof, but they also need to allow moisture out… they need to give good traction when walking on different types of terrain, but also give cushioning while doing this.

As you can imagine, achieving this is no small feat and requires complex technology.

Hiking boots come in a variety of styles for different situations, but generally speaking they can be classed into three main types:

• Hiking shoes
• Day Hiking Boots
• Backpacking Boots

You can read my post on the different types of hiking boots and what they are used for here.

Overview

Lowa is a well-established German company, with over 90 years of experience – specializing in hiking, walking and casual shoes.

The Lowa Renegade GTX Mid Hiking Boot is a day hiking boot that can be used for hiking with light loads over difficult terrain.

I’ve had a pair of these boots for over 3 years now and used them on many camping trips and hikes in summer and winter.

First Impressions

The Boots look very stylish and I wouldn’t be averse to wearing them casually.

The upper is made of a water-resistant nubuck, which looks and feels very premium, while it has a Vibram Evo outsole and a polyurethane midsole.

Vibram is an Italian company that manufactures soles, designed to provide excellent traction on a wide range of surfaces and have a high degree of abrasion resistance.

The Renegades have a derby cut lacing system, comprised of open and closed hooks with a locking ankle hook – this allows the boots to fit a variety of different foot shapes.

Comfort

I wore my Lowa Renegades, when I first got them, virtually straight out of the box to winter camp as I didn’t have time to break them in – I was a little concerned that I would end up with hot spots or blisters, but this wasn’t the case and they felt comfortable straight away.

There’s lots of padding around the ankle and they feel very soft and comfortable, even with the laces cinched tightly.

The tongue is padded and gusseted to offer extra comfort and to keep sand, pebbles and water out, while the polyurethane midsoles offer a lot of shock absorption and cushioning.

Stability and Support

When hiking, you get a real sense of your feet being locked in and properly supported by these boots – this is mainly due to the Monowrap frame, that locks your foot in and prevents it moving laterally from side to side and from the full length nylon shank.

Monowrap is a construction process, unique to Lowa, in which rubber is moulded into a polyurethane stability frame (TPU frame) – Lowa says that this allows for flexibility in the design of the TPU frame and also allows for a longer life span and softer sole in addition to providing the ability to resist rolling and twisting for better ankle and foot protection.

I have quite weak ankles and have often twisted them while playing sports, but I didn’t even get a feeling that this would happen while wearing these in over 3 years.

Traction

As mentioned above, the Lowa Renegades have Vibram Evo outsoles – these offer fantastic traction all over, even at the tip and back end.

This is important in hiking situations, where often you might not have a great deal of footing and, therefore, you need to have traction with whichever part of the sole you are able to use in a particular situation.

I’ve used the boots while hiking in a variety of different terrains and weathers and I’ve almost always felt sure-footed, even when I’ve used them in snow.

I would say that the one time when I felt less confident that I wouldn’t slip was when I was walking with them on snow that had turned to ice… but perhaps that is to be expected and in these types of situations, it would be better to use ice spikes or snow hiking boots.

Waterproofing And Breathability

The Lowa Renegades have a water-resistant nubuck outer and a waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex lining.

There is a nylon mesh around the ankle area and tongue that adds to the breathability.

Lowa say that it’s important to regularly clean and waterproof the boots to maintain their waterproofness and breathability – I have to say that I’m a little lazy when it comes to this… having said that, I’ve used them in torrential downpours, having not re-waterproofed them and my feet have always stayed dry.

But following Lowa’s instructions on regular maintenance should keep the boots more breathable, so I think it’s a good idea to follow this advice.

Durability

After many hikes and camps in different seasons over different terrains over a period of more than 3 years, the Lowa Renegades are still holding up strong and show no sign of any major wear and tear.

The uppers are still completely intact and the soles have no significant wear.

Fit

There are so many different foot shapes and so the importance of having a variety of options can’t be overemphasized.

The Renegades fit my feet superbly – the heel feels snug and stays securely in place and the toe area has enough room for the toes to be able to spread.

The lacing system, comprised off four lower eyelets, one central lock, and two upper hook eyelets aid in being able to get a comfortable fit.

What really sets Lowa apart here is the options of narrow, regular and wide widths – these along with size ranges of 7.5 to 16 in men’s and 5.5 to 11 in women’s mean there really should be an option to fit virtually any foot.

Conclusion

I love these boots – I feel totally protected and supported in them and I can see them lasting me for many more years to come.

The one area where I felt they did not perform that well was while walking on ice, and I’m not talking about a proper slab of ice – even snow that had an element of ice in it… for this situation ice spikes or snow hiking boots would be a better option – but apart from this, they performed very well in all other situations.

There are a lot of very good hiking boots on the market… and for me the Lowa Renegade GTX Mid Hiking Boot is up there with the best.

They are available from

Cotswold Outdoor UK

Cotswold Outdoor US

I hope you’ve found this review useful.

If you have any questions or comments, then please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Mohammad