Lowa Zephyr Boots – Review After 7 Years of Use

In the last 25 years, we have all seen an incredible transformation in military footwear. In the late 1990s, military-style boots were the cream of the crop, but over time, special units, and the entire tactical community started to move toward trekking/hiking boots. By the early 2010s, it was already hard to imagine a Navy Seal wearing classic military boots on a mission – it was all about Salomons, Oakleys, Merrels… Few tactical boots obtained legendary status, and Lowa Zephyr is one of them.

I got mine in 2015, and they were already insanely popular, especially in the SF community in the US and the UK, as well as in Eastern Europe, especially in Ukraine and Russia. Later on, I’ve seen Zephyrs all over the world, including unlikely places like Congo and Somalia.

The popularity of Zephyr boots started to create funny situations – once I worked as a consultant and actor on a movie about the Syrian war, and we had to equip an entire team of actors, including myself, who were supposed to play the CIA GRS team. We were planning to wear Lowa Zephyr boots, but the costume department explicitly banned Zephyrs for us, because actors who played Russian special forces, our archenemies in the movie, wore exactly the same Zephyr boots.

Lowa brand has been around since 1923 but was mostly known for hiking and work boots, only in the 2000s they started their expansion in the military and tactical market with Lowa Desert Elite, Lowa Combat, Lowa Patrol, and a few other models. But Zephyr is perhaps the most successful one. This model has some truly innovative features, such as the Monowrap technology, which essentially creates a protective frame that is connected to the sole of the boot, giving Zephyr its unique look.

The boot comes in 6 and 8 inches in height, there is a Gore-tex version and the version without a membrane, for hotter climates. I personally used two pairs of Lowa Zephyr, grey and black, and while I gave the black pair to a friend years ago, my grey Lowas been with me everywhere, from the mountains of Pakistan to Las Vegas casino floors.

After using them for 7 years, I would say that Lowa Zephyr is indeed very comfortable, has a great lacing system, and is relatively waterproof (as waterproof as hiking boots can be), but most importantly, they look really good.  Many people still like to pretend it doesn’t matter, but anyone who worked in the outdoor industry knows how important it is.

Pros:

1. The great lacing system, which I think should be the standard for all hiking boots at that point. You can just jump in your boots, if you’re in hurry, and tie them later when you have time and opportunity. After you wake up in the middle of the night because of the mortar attack siren, you start to appreciate the speed lacing system.
2. Comfort. Almost everyone who wears Lowa claims they are as comfortable as sneakers. Personally, I cannot attest to that, since I never wear sneakers and just wear Zephyrs everywhere.
3. The sole is essentially fused to the upper boot, which is by far the most durable way to attach a sole to any footwear. It is very unlikely that you’ll ever see the sole separating from the upper boot on Lowa Zephyr.
4. The GTX version is reasonably waterproof, especially if you regularly reapply water repellent.

Cons:

1. Lowa Zephyr is a lightweight boot, so don’t expect them to last forever. My pair lasted 7 years, but at this point, I wouldn’t wear them to any serious hike. Many users experienced the same problem – the boot would crack on the right or left side where your boot normally bends. Personally, I haven’t experienced that, but the problem is pretty common, and actually happened with a few of my close friends.
2. Zephyr is great for many environments, but a lot of people don’t realize that lightweight tactical boots are not the jack of all trades. While Zephyr is great for mountain hikes, deserts, urban environments, in heavy mud, Zephyr definitely isn’t the best choice. Mud covers up the booth, it is hard to clean it off, harder than leather boots, and you simply end up with two bricks of mud on your feet. Pick the right tool for the job.
3. The lacing system is good, but the laces are not exactly heavy-duty. After a few years, I replaced my laces with grey paracord and was very happy with the results.
4. You can’t replace a worn-out outsole. It is pretty typical for modern hiking boots, but still something to think about if you’re used to replacing outsoles every couple of years.

Even though Lowa Zephyr has been around for over 12 years, it doesn’t look like these boots are going anywhere. Newer tactical and hiking boots don’t really offer any overwhelming advantages, and it looks like Zephyrs will be around for a long time, being a benchmark other boots are measured against.

Vladimir Onokoy

Vladimir Onokoy is a small arms subject matter expert and firearms instructor. Over the years he worked in 16 different countries as a security contractor, armorer, instructor, analyst, firearms industry sales representative, product manager, and consultant.
His articles were published in TheFirearmBlog, the Recoil magazine, Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defense Journal, and Silah Report, he contributed to the Vickers Guide: Kalashnikov parts 1 and 2.
If you need to contact him, you can email [email protected]