We come home exhausted, dusty, abraided.

These boots were purchased to support my climbing addiction. Bouldering to be specific, no ropes are used. I have long used light weight approach shoes with sticky climbing rubber, occasionally switching to some heavier gor-tex Asolo boots in snowy winter months. These new boots filled the roles of both very well. I climb every week around my home mountains averaging at least one weekend day and one or two weekday nights (night climbing throughout winter). The climbing I participate in is not the norm, the majority I do is first ascents with an emphasis on development of new areas. This means I am exploring off trail for hours to find never climbed boulders, then I have to prep them by removing moss, loose rock, and also work on the landing zone so that it is more safe. Hauling heavy loads of gear, hanging on a rope to clean and assess boulders, and moving logs and rocks under landings are where these have been put through the paces. We come home exhausted, dusty, abraided. During the non-climbing times, I wear these almost every day for the standard household/outdoor chores, and family ventures. My job as a teacher provides me with two casual days a week, which I exploit to also get more wear time. I have also taken three climbing trips in the boots, which included a high altitude venture at 12,000 feet in Telluride, Colorado, a desert trip into New Mexico, and recently an Ozarks journey in Missouri.

The leather is thick and has only one main stich so I hoped it would survive. Initially, it's beauty and soft and supple feel lead me to worry it might not be tough enough for the razor-sharp quartz crystals that are present in my local geology. Rock nor stick could penetrate and neither did water. Scuffs disappeared or lessened with a good brushing, which I was religious about. The leather does scuff easily. Unfortunately, I do not know the specific tannage used but it behaves a lot like CXL. Break-in was quick and easy going. I used shoe trees after wear except for when on climbing trips. I conditioned lightly in December before a dry desert trip and came back to enough snow to just go ahead and re-grease them fully. The dubbin brought them back to looking almost new...so I began the patina process a second time. For the final 6 month pictures I waxed the sole edges, but the leather was only brushed; boy did I brush forever to build the best luster and blend the scuffs in to the fullest. Overall, the leather started with beautiful red undertones, and has developed wonderfully, amidst the abuse, to an entirely different looking boot. The new light color of the leather's core shows itself most beautifully.

Giuseppe Valli opened his shop and fit me for these and I was walking out in under 15 minutes. He was closed for a friend's funeral but the restaurant owner where we ate lunch called him and he came anyways. Both of my feet were traced, then he brought me boots that I quickly recognized as too big. I went a whole size less, basically getting the smallest I could until width became too cramped. Being a climber, I am use to tighter fits and it is necessary in my opinion for rough terrain where the foot's movement will lead to blisters and uncomfort. I never had any major discomfort, only a hint of left heel slip (typical issue for me), and a bit of cramped pinky toe with some thick socks. My toes never hit the front of the boots kicking things or going downhill. The stock last shape is pretty darn good, but I would definitely need minor tweaks to the width in the toebox and to the left heel volume to really feel perfect. As for the insoles, a thin removable one was over the actual thick leather insole. I eventually took these out and only used the boot insoles, which have a low instep, but this matches my feet. On them I found a surprise, a stamping of what appears to be an Italian shoe factory, so Valli isn't "handcrafting" these himself, which I assumed at the price.

No delamination, no ripped out speed hooks, no liner dye bleeding into my socks and the stitches are all well aligned and tight. I am so impressed with quality for the price point. I did find one issue hiding in the norwegian welt on both boots oddly. If you bend the leather upper away from the welt a few holes appear that seem to have been punched in the wrong locations for handwelting and they are in between the holes actually used. I assume these could lead to water leakage or leather ripping but they are near the heel where there is less movement and I haven't had any issues. Finally, I really like the low number of eyelets. I switch out laces constantly to dress them up a little for the days I wear them to work or other nicer outings and then switch to the Guarded Goods red leather ones for climbing and other labor. I take these boots off and put them on maybe 10 times in every climbing session to switch into climbing shoes; it is fast to do and never has a lace broken, nor have my speed hooks shown any concern.

The vibram sole is thick and I cannot believe I wore into it as far as I did, but it should still go for a long time. It was better gripping on rock than I thought it would be, which is a big concern as I am always scrambling and going on top of boulders to brush the tops of where I will climb up. I actually did a few climbs in them and they worked well enough when I rappelled to clean boulders that I could also practice the tops in them most of the time. If you can climb something in boots, you shouldn't have problems in actual climbing shoes! Their traction and support was so much better in the forest than lightweight approach shoes and I might not be returning to approach shoes now that I have seen how capable these are. Two notable slips were had and they have become fun memories. Slipped on a steep frozen tundra hillside and started sliding down towards a cliff back in October in the alpine, stopped luckily. The other was a full starfish chest slam into the road that happened so quickly on some ice. I probably would have broken ribs but my climbing gear bag I wear on my chest broke the fall and I didn't spill my beverage. I fell less overall, and never had any bad ankle rolls.

I was introduced to my love for the outdoors by my father who wore his similarly styled Lowa's from the 70s until he gave them to me when I was in college. Their iconic style might be getting trendy, but I hope that people can realize through my experience that a quality made pair goes beyond fashion and should be able to handle heavy loads and abuse far beyond most outdoor adventurers needs. My feet survived freezing temperatures that I was exposed to every week throughout winter along with snow, ice, mud, and the brutality of off-trail bushwacking. I camped in them, hung from ropes, carried massive loads of gear (bouldering pads are bulky and heavy), drove thousands of miles comfortably, and just lived life without noticing them on my feet much of the time. I plan to continue wearing these and hope that I will get many more years from them. Who knows maybe one of my children will be wearing them one day.