Thread: Lowa repair

Anyone know a cobbler who could make a new “hard insert” (the part under the insole that is glued on the sole) for my Lowa?

It cracked into pieces and the boots now got too much flex. I have been in touch with Lowa they don’t have replacements for this in the country.

The sole and leather still have heaps of life so it would be a shame to throw them in the bin…

Otherwise I will just layup few layers of carbon under an insole

Id never heard of this untill my low mileage but several years old Lowas fell apart in the midsole. Apparently its a thing,and ironically lack of use accelerates it!
Same deal,cannot be fixed without returning it to the lowa factory.
I bit the bullet and got a new pair.
They now live in a sealed plastic box with a gunsafe dehumidifier in it if not likely to be worn for awhile.

You could try Shanes shoes in tauranga.

Originally Posted by 2ndSouthCanterbury

Id never heard of this untill my low mileage but several years old Lowas fell apart in the midsole. Apparently its a thing,and ironically lack of use accelerates it!
Same deal,cannot be fixed without returning it to the lowa factory.
I bit the bullet and got a new pair.
They now live in a sealed plastic box with a gunsafe dehumidifier in it if not likely to be worn for awhile.

Yep heard the soles are prone to hydrolysis happened to a mates one. In my case it’s a load failure by the look. I will contact Shane shoes thanks

Oh crap, I just got a pair and I'm a very infrequent wearer of boots.
I think Ill try 2ndSouths storage idea

Yip - hydrolysis of the EP midsole is a problem. THey require to be "walked" in every month to push the moisture out.

I have some non-NZ available Lowas that I bought in Europe whilst on holiday 10 odd years ago with hydrolysis problem, I contacted the importer here in NZ, they recommended Gemmels on Symonds street Auckland. Around $200 for the midsole replacement and effectively I have a broken in pair of uppers on new sole and midsole as a result. Far cheaper than a $650+ new boot purchase.

I enquired about the Rand being replaced at the time and this was unavailable but the machine to do the job was being "looked into" - I would re-rand at the same time as the re-sole if it was available at the time.

From what I understand this part that broke in mine is what they call the "Medium Flex stabiliser (5mm nylon heel/3mm forefoot), full length and width, provides support underfoot"
I'm just going to mold a carbon plate and give it a go, plenty of carbon in the garage...

Originally Posted by stumpys

Yip - hydrolysis of the EP midsole is a problem. THey require to be "walked" in every month to push the moisture out.

Good excuse for the missus hey, I have to go or my shoes will break down and that's another 700bucks...

That boot problem is why I will never buy Lowa again. Salewa is my go to brand now.

Originally Posted by Ingrid 51

That boot problem is why I will never buy Lowa again. Salewa is my go to brand now.

I don’t really blame the boots they have 600km/2year old, not sure really what mileage to expect. Just a shame you can’t get spare part to get the most out of it. How old were your ones?

Originally Posted by tibo

I don’t really blame the boots they have 600km/2year old, not sure really what mileage to expect. Just a shame you can’t get spare part to get the most out of it. How old were your ones?

About 18 months from memory. The welt area broke into chunky bits like chocolate segments. Took them back to vendor who said damage due to lack of use. I was quite pissed off at the time.

It’s rubbish
Lowa use PU as it’s cheap in the manufacturing process
It falls to bits

Eva mid sole lasts forever in comparison

I got a quote from gemmels
In Auckland and is $360 for mid sole and sole
Plus freight

Got local to do it in Eva and was $180 all up
Really pleased and no more hydrolysis BS ��

Its not just Lowa's you will find its an industry wide thing.
customers want a degree of cushioning and other materials don't perform.
I'm had 2 sets do it at around the 10 year mark. At least with lowa you can get them resoled as long as you have not damaged the Rand. I'm looking to send the latest set back but the rand may be too far gone.
https://lowa.co.nz/pages/resole

https://youtu.be/DSB2kIkwri8

Originally Posted by Echo

It’s rubbish
Lowa use PU as it’s cheap in the manufacturing process
It falls to bits

Eva mid sole lasts forever in comparison

I got a quote from gemmels
In Auckland and is $360 for mid sole and sole
Plus freight

Got local to do it in Eva and was $180 all up
Really pleased and no more hydrolysis BS ��

Ok that might give some a headache… I’m involved with material in marine environments and PU actually are not a bad choice or a cheap option as long as well selected and tested. There is different grade of PU and it’s a trade off between hydrolysis resistance and UV resistance. For hydrolysis resistance you need a polyether PU rather than a polyester however it is pretty hard to find UV stabilised polyether. Then it can be subject to bacterial attack in damp and warm environments which can be mistaken as hydrolysis yet different thing. In my case Lowa state this hard midsole piece that failed is nylon.
Standard Nylon is prone to water absorption and loose a lot of resistance however there is some grade of Nylon developed to be fine even in marine environments. There is so many options on the market with different materials that it all comes down to field testing, some things we observed on the field we couldn’t reproduced with lab testing and field longevity testing is key. If these issue with sole an midsole have been reported years ago I’m just struggling to understand nothing has been done yet

Just get them resoled with Eva and job done