This review is going to have a bit of a twist to it as I have nto actually worn the boots Im going to write it on!!! They have been worn by a good friend of mine who is also a serving soldier and the points Im going to bring out have come directly from him. The boots in question are a pair of trial desert boots from Lowa, they are nearly an exact copy of the Lowa jungle boots in look and style.
These are not available to buy yet as they are still in the trial phase but all I can say is in all honesty that Lowa are on to a right winner with them. They have been worn for the last 2 weeks nonstop, and have done no less than ten 2 milers, since my mate is quite sick when it comes to that and runs to work in them every morning!!!! In his words they are the most comfortable desert boot he has worn and miles better than anything of similar design.
The boots are very basic as far as features go and there are no gimmicks on them and they do exactly what it says on the tin. They have 2 drainage holes/ vents on either side of them ( like the ones on issue jungle boots ) I think on this desert boot they are more there for ventilation although for people using them in the green zone in Afghan the ability to shed some of the water collected when in drainage ditches would be a godsend.
The boots have an excellent lacing system on them which starts quite low down on the front of the boot, it has metal loops all the way up opposed to the hooks that must boots have which mean you have to re-lace the boot in affect every time you put it on. And for those of us that descend from the sky by parachute it means gone are the days of having to wrap black and nasty around the tops of your boots to stop the rigging lines getting caught on the hooks!!!
Unlike most Lowa boots these ones are extremely light, so it wont feel like you have a pair of moon boots on your feet when you have them on!!!! But they still offer good support around the ankles. The workmanship is to Lowas normal high standard and the boots have no sign of stitching coming loose or the sole dropping off.
The two of us put together couldnt think of a way these boots could be improved as they are near as damn it perfect, so we let a couple of others take as look at them and they came up with a few suggestions. The first was to maybe produce a gore-tex version for use during the winter months in colder conditions. The other was to bring the rubber of the sole over the front of the toe cap area a bit more (much like the toe cap on the issue Lowa desert boot) to protect the front of the boot from damage. I think the latter idea should especially be looked into as I think it would improve an already perfect set of boots.
Overall these boots get a massive thumbs up and should most definitely go in to production properly, and I would be chuffed to bits if I was issued these when I next go to the sandy place. As far as selling them goes if they are priced along the same lines as the jungle boot I think they would be a good seller, if they werent issued I would be buying a pair and that goes for everyone at my end who has seen them to.
These are not available to buy yet as they are still in the trial phase but all I can say is in all honesty that Lowa are on to a right winner with them. They have been worn for the last 2 weeks nonstop, and have done no less than ten 2 milers, since my mate is quite sick when it comes to that and runs to work in them every morning!!!! In his words they are the most comfortable desert boot he has worn and miles better than anything of similar design.
The boots are very basic as far as features go and there are no gimmicks on them and they do exactly what it says on the tin. They have 2 drainage holes/ vents on either side of them ( like the ones on issue jungle boots ) I think on this desert boot they are more there for ventilation although for people using them in the green zone in Afghan the ability to shed some of the water collected when in drainage ditches would be a godsend.
The boots have an excellent lacing system on them which starts quite low down on the front of the boot, it has metal loops all the way up opposed to the hooks that must boots have which mean you have to re-lace the boot in affect every time you put it on. And for those of us that descend from the sky by parachute it means gone are the days of having to wrap black and nasty around the tops of your boots to stop the rigging lines getting caught on the hooks!!!
Unlike most Lowa boots these ones are extremely light, so it wont feel like you have a pair of moon boots on your feet when you have them on!!!! But they still offer good support around the ankles. The workmanship is to Lowas normal high standard and the boots have no sign of stitching coming loose or the sole dropping off.
The two of us put together couldnt think of a way these boots could be improved as they are near as damn it perfect, so we let a couple of others take as look at them and they came up with a few suggestions. The first was to maybe produce a gore-tex version for use during the winter months in colder conditions. The other was to bring the rubber of the sole over the front of the toe cap area a bit more (much like the toe cap on the issue Lowa desert boot) to protect the front of the boot from damage. I think the latter idea should especially be looked into as I think it would improve an already perfect set of boots.
Overall these boots get a massive thumbs up and should most definitely go in to production properly, and I would be chuffed to bits if I was issued these when I next go to the sandy place. As far as selling them goes if they are priced along the same lines as the jungle boot I think they would be a good seller, if they werent issued I would be buying a pair and that goes for everyone at my end who has seen them to.
