LOWA: Cevedale II GTX Boot review

Boots! I've tried a lot of them over the years. Some I've loved, and others have been borderline terrible. One thing is certain, you have to get them right. No matter what you're doing, whether you're out in the hills, on a big face, or just walking around the garden, if they don't fit well, keep your toes warm, and perform at the level you expect, they will make your life scary, miserable, or realistically, both.

I was lucky enough to be given a pair of the LOWA Cevedale II GTX boots to use right before heading to Greenland with the team, marking the end of my mentee period. To be honest, the timing was perfect. At the time, the only boots I owned were winter-weight, super-stiff, supergaiter mountaineering boots. Why? Because after years of battling blisters and wet feet, my previous go-to general all-rounders had finally died.

A previous boot not preforming as it should. We ran out of gas so it resulted in a make shift burner we fueld with items from the first aid kit.

When deciding whether a boot is good or bad, there are a few key things I look for. Comfort is number one, I'm completely over having miserable feet. We also all know how climbers can be when it comes to cash, so for me, durability is a close second for an all around mountaineering boot. Following those dealbreakers are weight, waterproofing, breathability, and warmth.

But before diving into those points, it's crucial to acknowledge that all of these factors are relative to the specific category a boot is trying to fill. Is this boot warm enough to take up a long, damp, cold New Zealand south face in mid-July? No, obviously not. For that, you’d want to look at something like the Lowa Alpine Expert, or perhaps something even warmer. At the same time, it isn't light or breathable enough to be the boot you'd choose for running through the heart of the Darrans in mid-summer, carrying nothing but microspikes and a lightweight ice axe with the leash left at home to save weight.

It sits squarely in the "all-rounder" class, the type of boot that can comfortably carry you up a valley to the base of a big route with multiple days of food and gear on your back. If you need to cross a glacier or a steep snow slope under a heavy pack, it’s no worries; just chuck your semi-automatic crampons on and you'll feel completely locked in. The boots an allrounder to cover the times when you need something reliable, and it's pretty decent at covering that.

So is the boot comfortable? Yes, I wore this boot for the first time in Greenland, no break in no worries. We jumped off the boat psyched and ready to go. Mason, Jacob and I set up the tent and got base camp squared away with the rest of the team. We looked at the faces around and spied something up that looked exciting and maybe unclimbed. We decided while Jacob masked up with his covid and cooked dinner. Mason and I should lace up and load the haul bags to hump some gear up the hill that evening. I was worried, should I have broken them in? Starting off the trip carrying heavy loads in new boots could really mess my feet up. Was it an issue? no would I do it again yes. No hot spots they worked well under heavy loads and not a blister on the whole trip. Because of how comfortable they are I now use them as a daily driver for field work and sampling trips in my day to day life.

The LOWA Cevedales' putting in some work under Big Kumara, (Tasermuit Fijord, Greenland)

Durability! The rock in Greenland is rough! Coarse sharp granite, Thumb sized feldspar crystals that love to eat rubber soles, rubber rands and anything else that they touch. This includes finger tips! After 30 days of abuse in Greenland they came back with loads of life in them. They got used in ladders on a big wall, slaby approaches, boulder moraines and abseils. At the end of it, they still had life in them for trips and daily field work when they made it home. I was surprised, I took them over expecting to bin them when I got back, but other than a few nicks in the rand and soles. They looked good and had heaps of life left in them. The split leather upper, and full rand is the reason for this. These have massively out preforms other boots I've used in the past.

Rapping of Honey Buttress in the cavedales' (Tasermuit Fijord, Greenland)

So, what about the rest of the specs people like to talk about?

When it comes to warmth, I reckon they're a solid three-season option. They handle snow and cold alpine days just fine, but I wouldn't rely on them when the temperature drops to a point where the cold has real consequences.

As for weight, they are essentially a "heavy lightweight" boot. At 1,650 grams per pair, they aren't the lightest in this category, but they certainly aren't heavy either. That extra weight, however, is exactly what makes them so durable. Swap the split-leather upper out for a synthetic alternative and you’d end up with something lighter, but you'd sacrifice a massive amount of durability. How you view that trade-off ultimately depends on what you're looking to get out of a boot.

Breathability is another strong suit; they breathe remarkably well. I found they worked across a huge range of temperatures, from 20-degree days in the baking sun right down into the negatives toward the end of our Greenland trip. They've become my go-to for work for this exact reason. Spending multiple back-to-back days in the field is a surefire way to end up with sweaty, wet feet, but these stay impressively dry for a boot that is built tough

Now for the gripe, and what might be a dealbreaker for some. Are these boots waterproof? Yes, they are... but wet grass seems to be their kryptonite. I've had them out in the snow and they've been good. I've worn them through heavy rain and they performed pretty well too. I've even had success doing that stupid run-and-skip thing across rivers where the water just tops your boot, and I still managed to keep my feet dry. But for some reason, walking through long, wet grass seems to soak through faster than other boots I've used. Don't get me wrong, it's not instant, and it could definitely be worse. I suspect the culprit is the fabric tongue, which seems to readily catch and hold the water brushing off the grass. To be fair, I haven't applied any aftermarket waterproofing treatments to them yet, and doing that would likely help a lot.

So the verdict. They are a good allrounder.

They do what they say the do well and I still use them today on a regular basis. Pretty simple really. You can find them at the link below and at the time of writing they are on sale for what seems to me, a reasonable price.

https://lowa.co.nz/products/cevedale-ii-gtx%C2%AE