La Sportiva Men's Pamir Hiking Boot

These boots are great as long as the path that you are walking is is dry! These boots can be scary if you are going into a store or walking on a wet trail bridge.Even wet rocks can get you slipping around. I like the fit and great workmanship of the boot but the rubber soles hate wet surfaces. That is the only issue that I have with these boots.So if it is a rainy day and you are going to be on any flat surface be extremely careful! I wish that La Sportiva would remake this boot so it handles better on wet surfaces!

Really comfortable solid boot so far we'll see how they hold up overtime

Before discussing the quality build / construction of the Pamir, let me say it - these boots just look sexy! Every time I wear these boots, I get questions like "... what kind of boots are those?" and "...where did you get them?" Then it usually goes something like "those are nice looking boots!" Most people have not had exposure to the Pamirs, and most will never buy them due to their size / weight and the fact they don't have GoreTex. Well, I gotta say, it's their loss. Most hiking boot buyers have been brainwashed to think GoreTex HAS to be part of the boot, or it is not waterproof. The first mistake with that thinking is that GoreTex is waterPROOF - it is merely water resistant. What most don't know is that a high quality, thick leather boot can also be highly water resistant if you maintain it. (what do you think folks did many years ago before GoreTex?)Next, most buyers of packing / hiking boots are being inundated with the notion that backpacking boots need to be "light" - really? The marketing / sales push for lightweight, high margin and "temporary" shoes has put a lot of pressure on the tried and tested hiking / packing boot, and has led many to believe that they can carry 40 lbs with lightweight slippers on... until they try it and limp into camp with sore feet. Let's be sensible and separate marketing and sales from carrying 40-50 lbs for 10 miles over rock terrain before buying those trail runners for backpacking.I have owned a pair of Pamirs for going on three years now, and currently shopping for my second pair. These are simply well built, high quality boots that I don't mind using for even day hiking. I just enjoy wearing them! OK, they are definitely overkill for most of my day hikes - but sometimes I take hikes through mud, rocks, bushes and that is where these shine. I just enjoy wearing these boots!The leather interiors are just simply exquisite - it is top quality leather and really holds up well. La Sportiva recommends maintaining the interiors with Lexol leather conditioner - and it works well. I use both the Lexol Cleaner and Conditioner to maintain the interiors, and do this every few months, or when I notice the leather starting to look dirty or getting to dry.The exteriors are just plain built like tanks! The rand is very tough, and has never come unglued from the leather. The Vibram soles can take a beating and have held up after hundreds of miles over every type of terrain. The Perwanger leather exterior is VERY thick, and very durable. And with proper treatment, can hold back water VERY well. Again, the boots are not waterproof, but then again, no shoes really are unless they are made of rubber! I own GoreTex boots also - namely the Zamberlan Vioz Plus, Salomon Quest. I also own a Kayland Contact with Event lining - and two other leather lined boots - Lowa Renegade and Trekker. Comparing the water resistance to the GoreTex and Event lined shoes, the Pamirs perform on par with these. Plus, the GoreTex seems to dry slower once they get wet. (The Lowa leather lined shoes do not perform well in water). The biggest advantage is I find leather interiors breathe better than GoreTex boots, especially in the warmer climates...Note that La Sportiva recommends Nikwax Waterproofing for Leather (formerly Aqueous Wax) for maintaining the Perwanger leather exteriors. I found it works well if used correctly. I still have some Nikwax Aqueous Wax left over before they changed the name to Nikwax Waterproofing, and I find it works very well. Realize the Nikwax Waterproofing for Leather used to be called Nikwax Aqueous - Nikwax claims it was just a name change, and the formula is the same, but I am skeptical and still like the older Aqueous better. I also use the Nikwax Leather Conditioner once a year when the leather starts to dry out.Bottom line - if you like heavy backpacking / mountaineering boots, don't require Gore Tex, and the Pamirs fit you foot type - I would recommend giving them a try. They are top quality, hand made Italian boots that look sexy too!!Thanks for reading.

Out of the box these were amazing feeling boots. A good amount of support without being to stiff or heavy. After the first use however the rubber rand around the toe started to peel back. After the second use the sole started delaminating from one boot and the rand was peeling back on both boots. I called LaSportiva and got no support, they said to take them back to where I bought them. Lucky for me I bought them on Amazon Prime and was able to send them back without any issue. I have since spoken with other people in my field (public lands management) who had similar problems with this boot. I was really disappointed in the quality for such an expensive boot.

Had to send back after nylon lace loop began to tear after tying them up 3 or 4 times. Hard to find leather lined boots these days under three hundred dollars. These were a bit narrow probably would have broken in and widen out some. I liked the height and look but I thought La Sportiva would have made a more durable boot-rubber rand began sliding around exposing glue under it on both boots-all this from wearing in my apartment for a couple hours. I might have considered keeping boot if the price was more like $150 I would have bi-passed the nylon lace loop and wore them wet for a while to break in.

Really nice boots but they did not fit my wide foot 😞Overall experience: good service, fast shipping and nice quality product

The quality of the materials in this boot are second to none. The tough outer leather is waterproof and easy to clean, while the inner lambskin liner is soft, breathable, and most importantly, comfortable. I've noticed that the boots do not smell bad at all after wearing for 8+ hours. They are pretty stiff out of the box but they required a very small amount of break in-time, in which i just wore them out to run errands and things for a couple of weeks. At first the sole did not seem to give any traction at all but after a few miles they began to work really well. These boots should last about 15 years I think. The insoles they come with aren't great, so I replaced them with some super feet greens and am now in heaven. My feet long for these boots whenever I wear anything else, including my running shoes!