Great day hiking boot. NO break in required. Have hike 50 to 100 miles this season carrying pack up to 20/25 lbs with no blisters and it is holding up well. Sole is extra sticky and can walk up steep granite rocks, eg. acadia national park, with a firm footing. Walking through shallow streams and boots held up and no water got into the shoe. Sole is not as stiff as my last pair of hiking boots so i do feel some of the rougher rock edges when i skip from rock to rock up a trail. Not a real problem though. When i know i am doing elevation and heading down hill i can definitely adjust the boots and tighten the bottom 4 eyelets to ensure my foot doesnt move at all and hit the toe box. Otherwise i keep it a little looser for comfort. Spent a lifetime playing basketball and sprained my ankles numerous times. I sometimes tweek my ankle walking down a city street in business shoes when i hit uneven pavement/sidewalk. These boots definitely provide enough ankle support and I havent come close to hurting my ankles on the rough trails. One of the reasons i bought these shoes is because lowa is one of the few brands that goes above size 14. Seems my feet have grown in my old age and i have gone from 13 to 14 in most shoes and generally most hiking boots are too short in a 14 and i have to now buy size 15. Thankfully Lowa offers larger sizes.
UPDATE- 10 Months later
Doing day hikes, not rock scrambling, not trekking through snow, not leavings in front of fire to dry… Rubber started separating from leather in front of boot on top. both boots around the entire toe box. Unacceptable in my mind for $200+ boots. Wrote to lowa and their customer server had me ship me the boots and they reviewed and shipped me back a new pair in 2 weeks or less. New boot look and feel great and again no break in. Wonder how long these boots will hold up. Buy a pair of boot with a rubber toe guard in the front like most hiking boot have and this will avoid separation problems. Hopefully new pair holds up better but based on the other reviews I dont have high hopes.
