Owner Review By Bob Dorenfeld
October 12, 2014
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Tester Bio |
Name:
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Bob
Dorenfeld
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I'm an active hiker, snowshoer, skier, and
backpacker. Home base is the Southern
Colorado Rockies, where I'll hike from 7000 ft
(2100 m) to alpine tundra, with desert trips at lower
altitudes. Six to 12 miles (10 to 20 km) daily is
my norm, with elevation gains up to 4000 ft (1200
m). Many of my backpack trips are two or three
nights, other trips are longer, and I usually
carry about 30 lb (14 kg). My style is
lightweight but not obsessively so - extras like
binoculars, camera, and notebook make my trips
more enjoyable.
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Email: |
geartest(at)sageandspruce(dot)net
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Age: |
56
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Location: |
Salida, Colorado, USA
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Gender: |
M
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Height: |
5' 6" (1.68 m) |
Weight: |
140 lb (64 kg) |
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Product Overview
Manufacturer: La
Sportiva S.p.A.
Website: www.sportiva.com
MSRP: US$289.00 Intended Use:
Backpacking and hiking in technical
and difficult terrain Stated Weight (pair):
62.0 oz (1764 g) Measured
Weight (pair): 60 oz (1700 g)
Materials -
upper: 2.8 mm greased
Idro-Perwanger leather
- insole: 7mm Trangoflex
- midsole: PU Lite/EVA
- outsole: Vibram PU Lite with
Impact Brake System
- lining: Leather Sizes
Available (EUR): Men's:
38 - 48 (half sizes)
Women's: 36 - 43 (half sizes)
Size Reviewed:
42 Color: Men's:
Brown/Orange
Women's: Grey/Lime
Crampon compatible: Yes
Replaceable outsoles: Yes
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New pair of Pamirs
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The La Sportiva Pamir boots are a heavy-duty
all-leather boot designed for more difficult trail
and off-trail terrain. A protective rubber
strip
wraps across the toe and lower sides to protect the
exterior leather, and stitching is kept to a
minimum on the uppers. The toe box is very
stiff. A generous tongue gusset double-folds
for its entire length to keep water and snow out.
The boots are hinged at the ankle to provide
comfort while the foot bends. The 60 in (152
cm) laces extend from the top of toe to the top of
the boot, and include a lace lock at the hinge to
control tightness on top of the foot independently
from the lower shin. The top of the boots
stand 8 in (20 cm) from the bottom of the outsole,
and is raked back for comfort when laced up.
The full-grain leather uppers are pre-treated
at the factory for water repellence. The
interior leather lining is not pre-treated.
Set inside are thin foot liners protecting the raw
leather insole top; the liners are easily removed
and are replaceable. Vibram outsoles provide
grip on the ground, and are replaceable when they
become too worn.
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Why Leather Boots?
In my hiking world one size does not fit all, so I
choose the right boot for the job. And sometimes an
old-fashioned heavy full-grain leather boot is just the
ticket. I like leather boots (heavy or light) because
they've proven to be comfortable, durable, and suited to the kinds of trails and
backcountry hiking that I enjoy. And in
particularly steep and challenging terrain heavier
leather boots give
me better control and more confidence that I won't be
limping back to the trailhead at the end of the day.
This is also the case when I
carry heavier loads while backpacking or while doing
trail maintenance with heavy tools. Although the
market is increasingly dominated by boots in non-leather
and leather-fabric combinations, in 2013 I found the La
Sportiva Pamirs. Getting a new style and brand of boot
is always a gamble - will they still be comfortable
after break-in and after lots of trail use? Since I
didn't have access to a retail store to try them on, I
took a risk and mail-ordered them.
Field Performance
Feeling great in the house, I decided to keep them and hope for
the best! I had ordered a Euro size 42, which is
equivalent to an American men's 9. Although I
normally wear a thick wool sock over a thin liner (and
this is still my usual hiking combination) I've had to
make some adjustments, as I'll detail below under
Comfort.
Since beginning intensive use of
the Pamirs in the spring of 2013, I've put 260 miles
(420 km)
on them in
all kinds of terrain: smooth trails, rocky trails, mud,
sand, steep talus slopes, boulders, snow and ice.
I've hiked with no pack, a day pack averaging 16 lb (7
kg), and backpacks up to 35 lb (16 kg). The boots
have seen rain, both wet and dry snow, and I've used
them in temperatures as hot as 90 F (32 C) and as cold
as -20 F (-29 C). Relative humidity ranged from
single digits in cold weather to about 60 percent in the
warm season.
Comfort
Leather boots have a reputation for requiring a
break-in period - and over the years and many boots
later I can say that's true only sometimes. So I
wasn't surprised that given their tougher leather the Pamirs needed
about 50 mi (80 km) to get flexed and soft in the
necessary places - around the front and sides of my
feet - and I was pleased at the result. Leather is good at
adapting since it molds itself to bumps and curves very
well during use. A good test of boot fit is steep
up and down walks, since that tells me how my foot moves
(or doesn't move) inside the boot. The Pamir has
an excellent lace arrangement, as they extend far out
over the toe; and the generously long 60 in (152 cm)
laces give me options. I found it was easy to pull them to
the tightness I needed over the top of my foot, and
using the lace-locks keep the lower laces where I left
them while completing the rest of the laces up over the
ankle. Lately I've been wrapping the leftover ends
of the laces around the boot top before tying the knot,
adding some additional tight fit their when I need it.
Otherwise there is some extra lace that tends to dangle
towards the ground, which I usually take care of by
double-knotting.
I've found the tongue
gusset to be comfortable and excellent at keeping water
out of the boot. After the break-in period the
leather folds where it wants to and now lies mostly flat under the
laces, where I rarely have to readjust the gusset while
tying up the boot.
These boots are very
waterproof, as many stream crossings and snowshoe trips
have demonstrated. Any water I've found inside the boot arrived there over
the top, either from stepping too deep in the water or
from melting snow. The Pamirs do
not have Gore-Tex linings. I don't miss this
feature at all, and find that all-leather boots let my
feet breathe just fine in the conditions I use them in
(medium to low relative humidity, temperatures usually
below 75 F (24 C).
The Euro size 9 has mostly
worked out for me, although with experience I now know
that a half-size smaller would probably have fit me even
better. I have added some padding inside both
boots: a foam insole on top of the original thin
removable insole layer,
and some thin foam padding above the toe and at the heel
counter. Using my usual thin-thick sock
combination the boots seem to fit just a bit better for
me this way, especially after getting tired near the end of a long hike, and on
extreme slope conditions.
As for weight, that's
what I got them for. At about 8-12 oz (230-340 g)
heavier, per boot, than most other leather or
leather-synthetic hiking boots found on the market
today, I certainly notice their heft. If I'm just
strolling down a well-trod trail with no obstacles then
they can feel like anchors holding me back. But as
soon as I hit more challenging trail, or go off-trail
with trees, rocks, and steep slope I'm grateful to have
the Pamirs protecting my feet. The thick leather
keeps me from bruising anywhere on the foot or ankle
area,
the very stiff toe box repels all dings I've experienced
so far. Standing tall at 8 in (20 cm), the tops of
the Pamirs give me great bottom-leg protection from
sharp and hard objects, as well as letting me ford
deeper creeks than I otherwise would be able to. The
soft calfskin leather at the top cuff is comfortable
and has held up well.
Durability and Wear
The
uppers have worn well so far. I'm impressed with
La Sportiva's choice of leather because it's been very
durable, showing only superficial scratches and scuffs
despite my subjecting them to some very rough country.
The black rubber layer covering the lower part of the
boots is also tough, and I'm glad it's there to protect the leather underneath. So far, the
only separation of the rubber edge from the leather has
been at the toe, but I keep that edge glued down
regularly so that it won't separate even more.
I'm still using the original laces, which are showing
some wear now, especially at the toe. I keep an
eye on them, and have a backup set with which to replace
the originals if they break on the trail.
The lace loops and eyelets are still in fine condition
and securely attached to the boot. When the boots
were new, I did have one issue with the fabric loops located
at the hinge near the ankle. I noticed that the
stitching holding these loops in the leather had some
loose ends, as if they were sloppily sewed at the
factory. Rather than returning the boots for
replacement, I found I could use my leather-stitching
tool (with beeswax thread) to add a new layer of
stitching, and so far this has
held very well. All of the other boot stitching is
excellent, and shows no signs of loose thread or of
coming apart. At the ankle hinge area some of the
stitching has been abraded, but so far has not broken or
come loose.
I
really like the soft leather linings in the Pamirs.
Not only do they keep smelling like leather and not
like my feet, they tend to mold to the irregularities
of my feet, contributing to the boot's great fit over
time.
The outsoles have also worn well over
all the mileage and rough terrain that they've been
through. Comparing some spot measurements I've
recorded since the boots were new, I estimate that the
Vibram has worn down an average of 1-2 millimeter, some places a
mm more than that, and the lugs' originally sharp
corners are more rounded now. But traction is
still excellent. It could be another 200 mi (320
km) before I need get them resoled. As for La
Sportiva's "Impact Brake System", I can't specifically
evaluate that feature. Nonetheless, I have great
confidence in the Vibram outsoles on steep rock and
gravel. One feature I do like very much is bigger
spaces between lugs, and lugs that are not
too deep. This tends to keep mud and small gravel from
getting stuck between the lugs, and I've found that in
most situations the mud and gravel dislodges
while walking; only in the worst mud do I have to stop and pick
out the outsoles with a stick.
Since I don't use
crampons I am unable to evaluate the crampon-compatible
feature of the boot.
Leather Care
Like any
leather product, my Pamir boots need occasional cleaning
and treatment on both outside and inside. La
Sportiva recommends using Nikwax Waterproofing Wax For
Leather on the outside surfaces, which I've done three
times since they were new. It's important to clean
leather after it's been exposed to mud and dirt - just
wiping or washing with clear water will remove the
moisture-sucking dirt that can harm leather over the
long term. For the soft leather lining on the Pamirs'
inside I use Lexol Conditioner, wiping down with a cloth
every 1-2 months, depending on how often the boots get
used. La Sportiva also recommends this product,
and in fact states that the warranty will be voided by
not properly caring for the linings this way (salts from
sweat can be absorbed by the leather, causing problems
later on). |
Concluding Thoughts
These are a great pair of heavy all-leather boots.
Using good materials that are well assembled, my La
Sportiva Pamir hiking boots have given me excellent
wear, comfort and durability over the many miles of
trail I've trekked in them. I like the dark brown
color that the men's come in. I expect to be
hiking in these boots for many years to come, and am
confident they'll last through at least several outsole
replacements when they're needed.
Pros
- durable, stiff leather uppers buffer hard impacts to
rocks, trees, etc. - very stiff
midsoles protect bottoms of feet from rocks
- Vibram outsole lasts a long time, is replaceable
- excellent waterproofing in uppers, tongue gusset, and
midsole/outsole attachment - very
good foot and ankle support on extreme terrain
- laces are easily adjustable from the toe up to the
boot collar
Cons -
sometimes boot weight is too much for easy trail
- one pair of fabric lace loops (per boot) needed extra
stitching when new
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Reviewed By
Bob
Dorenfeld
Southern Colorado Mountains
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