Lowa Tibet GTX leakage?

[Elite]

Hey everyone, I have bought some Tibet GTX after reading a lot of good reviews. I have owned them for about 14 months and they have been a very good boot but the last 2 trips they have been letting a lot of water in. I am wondering if anyone else has had this issue? I have used the wax and cream lowa recommend and it made no difference. I spoke to lowa and they didn’t offer much help at all. Kinda disappointed in that. I would expect a higher level of help with a high end boot like this


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[gelton]

I have had Renegades, Tibets and Hunters all start leaking at some point...and I would go so far to say that I dont think its brand specific, however I switched to the German-made Meindles this year and hope to have better results.

I am still waiting for someone to try out the Gore-Tex "lifetime warranty" and see if it applies to boots. They do have a sentence in there about "useful life" of a product.

Guarantee & Returns

Most GORE-TEX products carry a GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY promise, which ensures that our products are made with the highest quality waterproof materials.

www.gore-tex.com

 

[CodyB]

I’m on my second pair of Tibet Hi boots and both pairs have started leaking while the boot uppers and soles still had a lot of life left. The boot holds up well but however the goretex liner is built into those boots must be a poor design.

 

[BBob]

My last pair Lowa (don't remember the model but it's a lightweight) leaked the first week on an elk hunt. They replaced them. Replacement pair leaked not as fast but almost. Whoever they source the GTX booties from fail. I wrote to GORE but they were no help at all. All they said is they stand by their "keep you dry" promise and to talk to the manufacturer. Wore Lowa for years without problems but not anymore. What's interesting is I had a pair of non-gore tex leather Camino's years ago and they never leaked. Go figure?

The feeling I get from GORE is they don't make many of the products (fabric, boot liners) and don't actually supply them to the manufacturers anymore, I bet they license the tech with no controls and some of the suppliers suck.

 

[Elite]

Well it seems like a very common issue with the boots, What’s the best product used to make them water proof now? I tried the nikwax for gore Tex but it lets water in still


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[BBob]

Once the liners leak I think you are SOL.

 

[Jn78]

I had a pair of Lowas leak after a few years and I clicked on a link on their website and initiated a claim. I sent the boots back and they tested the goretex, verified that it leaked, and eventhough the boots were very well worn, they gave me a 50 percent off code good for up to 2 new boots. You might want to give their warranty department another shot.

Also, I don't think I have ever had a pair of waterproof boots remain waterproof for more than a couple of years.

 

[gelton]

Well it seems like a very common issue with the boots, What’s the best product used to make them water proof now? I tried the nikwax for gore Tex but it lets water in still


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I like Zamberlan hydrobloc because it seems like the leather likes it, really soaks it up. Forget Nikwax for sure...Montana pitch blend isnt that bad, obenhaufs is okay too but its petroleum based and can soften the glue that holds the rand on. None of them seems to last more than 4-7 days of hard hunting though.

 

[Dwnorton1]

Lowa tibet in 2016 leaked first year on second hunt. Lowa replaced boots. They leaked the following year.

Comfortable boot for desert climate. When liner fails even wet grass will cause soak through. Not a good $400 investment.

 

[titus383]

I have had Renegades, Tibets and Hunters all start leaking at some point...and I would go so far to say that I dont think its brand specific, however I switched to the German-made Meindles this year and hope to have better results.

I am still waiting for someone to try out the Gore-Tex "lifetime warranty" and see if it applies to boots. They do have a sentence in there about "useful life" of a product.

Guarantee & Returns

Most GORE-TEX products carry a GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY promise, which ensures that our products are made with the highest quality waterproof materials.

www.gore-tex.com

I had a pair of Salomons replaced under salomon warranty. After the new pair leaked salomon wouldn’t warranty them. Their warranty starts when the original boot was purchased. They were helpful in suggesting that I contact Gore. I did just that and they had me send in the boots for verification. Not long after a check was sent to me from Gore Tex. It is worth a shot if you are having issues.


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[RJC]

It's a little concerning to see all of these posts about leakage- I'm going on season 3 on my Tibets with no issues.

I clean and wax at least monthly and after every long trip. The kenetrek wax has been good to me- I wax my boots the way Janis does in this video.

 

[wapitibob]

Gore will put them on their centrifuge and water test them. If they leak they will/should warrantee them.

I buy from rei for their 12 month return, water testing after every hunt; makes it easier than dealing with Gore.

 

[Dwnorton1]

I religiously treated leather. You cannot treat leather to point that it will not soak up water, unless you coat them in rubber or some other non breathable material. If you could treat leather and seams to point that they did not leak, then what would be point of gore tex liner. Leather treatment prevents cracking from rot and absolutely makes boots last longer, but please do not think it will stop once liner leaks.

I thought thing same or at least convinced myself it would. 3 days in high country with damp feet sucked. Merino socks only thing that allowed me to stay on mountain. Miserably but at least in game

I suspect issue with both pair of my boots is the stitching through the liner. Some of the holes seem overly large as all of seep point are along seams.

In may case (size 16 boot) I may have gotten boots from same production run even thought received a year apart so may have been with just that run. They only fire up production to make the bigfoot sizes one month a year as I had to wait on first pair to be made.

When I finally draw a tag in AZ you will likely see these on my feet. I still will wear them. Comfortable boot, never rolled an ankle in nasty blowdowns. Just leak......


I am going to try Gore tex warranty out and see what reaction is from them.


I recommend simple test, a few weeks before hunt. Take out you boot insole and fill boot with water. If your leather shows any damp spots then you are at risk of leaky boot on hunt.

Lose your feet on high country hunt, blister, wet feet etc and see what happens. You will not want to go uphill.

Boots are one the most critical piece of gear you have. Don't believe me have failure. Horrible.

 

[gelton]

I had a pair of Salomons replaced under salomon warranty. After the new pair leaked salomon wouldn’t warranty them. Their warranty starts when the original boot was purchased. They were helpful in suggesting that I contact Gore. I did just that and they had me send in the boots for verification. Not long after a check was sent to me from Gore Tex. It is worth a shot if you are having issues.


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Curious if they refunded the total cost of the boot or a percentage based on use/wear?

 

[gelton]

I religiously treated leather. You cannot treat leather to point that it will not soak up water, unless you coat them in rubber or some other non breathable material. If you could treat leather and seams to point that they did not leak, then what would be point of gore tex liner. Leather treatment prevents cracking from rot and absolutely makes boots last longer, but please do not think it will stop once liner leaks.

I thought thing same or at least convinced myself it would. 3 days in high country with damp feet sucked. Merino socks only thing that allowed me to stay on mountain. Miserably but at least in game

I suspect issue with both pair of my boots is the stitching through the liner. Some of the holes seem overly large as all of seep point are along seams.

In may case (size 16 boot) I may have gotten boots from same production run even thought received a year apart so may have been with just that run. They only fire up production to make the bigfoot sizes one month a year as I had to wait on first pair to be made.

When I finally draw a tag in AZ you will likely see these on my feet. I still will wear them. Comfortable boot, never rolled an ankle in nasty blowdowns. Just leak......


I am going to try Gore tex warranty out and see what reaction is from them.


I recommend simple test, a few weeks before hunt. Take out you boot insole and fill boot with water. If your leather shows any damp spots then you are at risk of leaky boot on hunt.

Lose your feet on high country hunt, blister, wet feet etc and see what happens. You will not want to go uphill.

Boots are one the most critical piece of gear you have. Don't believe me have failure. Horrible.

Good advice here...Jesus size 16!!!!

 

[kyleds8]

I've been wearing the Tibets for five years, as my only pair of hiking/hunting boots, wore em through two fire seasons as well, sole and uppers still good, great boots, however waterproof they are not.. and they take an age to dry out once wet.

 

[MattB]

Well it seems like a very common issue with the boots, What’s the best product used to make them water proof now? I tried the nikwax for gore Tex but it lets water in still


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It is a common issue with Goretex boots.

 

[PathFinder]

I've had my Lowa Tibet GTX Hi for five years now. To date, they're the most waterproof boots I've ever owned in terms of exposure to moisture without significant leakage. At any given time I have/use 5+ pairs of boots and these have really impressed me. They've done lots of creek crossings, long days in the snow lion hunting, and lots of snowy late season hunts.
Any solid leather upper boot has to rely on waterproof treatment to handle lots of moisture. I only use SnoSeal or Granger's. In bad conditions, I clean and reapply at least two coats after every single trip. That means after every single weekend during lion season. It sucks, but my feet are dry and my uppers on all of my leather boots look brand new. Anyone who thinks GoreTex liners are going to hold up to 100-400+ miles of friction against your feet and not leak is living under a rock. It's never going to happen, no matter what guarantee they stamp on it (insert Tommy Boy clip here).

 

[titus383]

Curious if they refunded the total cost of the boot or a percentage based on use/wear?

They refunded the total cost in my case. Keep in mind the boots that they covered were basically brand new with under 5 miles on them. I had to provide a receipt and pictures before sending the boots back.


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[TexasHTR]

I had Tibets leak on the second year. I only wore them for backpack hunts in CO and mountain turkey Hunts in NM. So basically only about 20 days of use as I don't wear goretex boots here in TX. They sent me a brand new pair. It was actually one of the better customer service experiences I've had. I haven't tested the new pair out yet as I've decided those suckers are super heavy. I've gone to lighter boots. I know on my pair i could feel the liner had detached from the roof of the toe box. It kind felt like a sock had bunched up on top of my toes.