What I liked

Packability

In February I did a Nordic skiing trip to Telluride and spent most of the trip skiing in the Lizard Head Pass wilderness. Up until this year I had always worn my Sorel Joan of Arctic boots on the plane because I needed snow boots at some point at the destination. Joan of Arctic boots, while great, are not wheelie-friendly, too clunky to wear traipsing through airports and checking a bag costs money I don’t want to spend.

Living in Minneapolis at the elevation of 500 feet above sea level and then traveling to an elevation of 10,800 feet means a full day of skiing will be painfully slow, with all the frequent stops to rest, hydrate, catch a breath, puke, etc. The Pakems Cortina packboots, with their convenient stuff sack, took up very little space and weight in my pack, and were convenient to slip on for warmth.

Traction

For such slight and petite boots, the Pakems Cortina packboots have a substantial patterned tread and provide decent traction when walking on packed snow. Much better traction in the snow, than, say, my ski boots.

Water-resistance

The waterproof membrane allows you to slog through inch-deep water or slush without getting soggy feet. However, these are not your Hunter rain boots. You will get wet feet if you walk through deep puddles or wade through streams.

Fit

If you’re a half-size, Pakems advises you to order down to the next full size. I’m a 7.5-ish and went with the sizes 7 and it was the right size. They accommodate everything from thick wool socks to no socks, thanks to the bungee cord lace’s wide range of adjustability.

Warm

If Grit and Gear had a legal team they would advise me to say this: “While the Pakems Cortina packboots are lined with a delightfully soft and supple faux-shearling fleece, and easily accommodate thick wool socks, they should not replace your LOWA Montreal GTX Mid‘s (or Steger Mukluks).”

We don’t have a legal team but common sense dictates I should say it anyway. Warmth is subjective because we all have differing tolerance levels. Personally, I found them to plenty warm for what I used them for. I wasn’t slipping them on my feet after a day of skiing across Antarctica in sub-zero temperatures or strolling the outdoor Farmer’s Markets of Oymyaken. The temperatures in Colorado (and at home in Minnesota when I used them) ranged from single digits to high-teens and the time I had them on my feet was limited to a couple hours or less.

Functionality

After wearing these boots for a few months this winter, I found that they have some great urban uses, such as commuting and stashing in your car as part of your winter emergency kit. If you live in the mountains, or drive icy roads in the winter, there is always the risk of ending up in a ditch and having to walk to get help or whatever.

For commuting, they’re strangely useful. I don’t work downtown but I did have to take the train downtown once for a conference. Snow was in the forecast in the afternoon and I threw the Pakem’s into my tote bag just in case the forecast was correct. The forecast and the Pakem Cortina packboot did not disappoint. Instead of walking through filthy downtown Minneapolis snow and slush in my Dansko’s I did it in the Pakems, which were warmer, had better traction, and were basically waterproof.

What I didn’t like What they aren’t

The Pakems Cortina packboots aren’t hiking boots and Pakems is clear about that on their website: Pakems are “A lightweight, packable boot designed to take with you after sports, to sit back and be comfortable.

So I’m just going to reiterate what they aren’t: They are not designed, nor intended, to be winter hiking boots. They are pack boots (they also are not snowing boots either because I tried that and it didn’t work so great). They are for packing into your pack to be a source of comfort to your feet after a day of skiing or hiking in cold weather.

Final Thoughts

After testing a pair for six weeks this winter in a variety of venues and conditions—urban, backcountry and travel and in snow, slush and single-digit temperatures—I have to say that they lived up to their purpose: “A lightweight, packable boot designed to take with you after sports, to sit back and be comfortable.

The post Pakems Cortina Packboots Review appeared first on gritandgearonline.com.

Poetic? Nah. Just bitter.

What I Liked

Versatility

Have you ever worn a pair of Sorel Joan of Arctic boots? If you have, you know that they’re a great boot. Their height and faux-fur trimmed tops are the shit when walking in knee-deep snow. But when driving and walking around town they’re clunky and heavy. When you wear them, there is no mistaking that you are wearing snow boots.

Snowshoe Compatible in Deep, Fluffy Snow

On their own, the LOWA Montreal GTXs feels like any LOWA boot. They are lithe, agile, stable, and comfortable for long days on the trail. In addition to the basic features that make LOWAs the best boot I have ever met, the LOWA Montreal GTX have a lovely GORE-TEX Partelana® lining that is made up of 80% polyester and 20% wool that provided much-needed insulation on all those cold-ass days (-2 degrees to upper teens) and hikes in snow. Add a pair of gaiters and snowshoes and there is no snow too deep for these boots. And yes, they are absolutely snowshoe-compatible.

Warmth

I touched on this above with the GORE-TEX Partelana® lining but I want to expand a bit more. Warm means something different for everyone. When the weather is cold, staying warm depends as much on staying dry. When you sweat, or if snow or water penetrate, the moisture stays trapped on or next to your skin, it becomes nearly impossible to stay warm. Moisture is the enemy of warmth – if your skin is wet, it’ll be more difficult to stay or get warm.

I wish I could honestly write that when my feet got wet in the LOWA Montreal GTXs they didn’t snap off in a fit of frostbite but they didn’t get wet at any time during my month-long testing period from mid-February to mid-March and they didn’t get cold. What also helped keep my feet warm? The synthetic uppers, minimal hardware and fabric lace loops.

Traction

LOWA named the outsole for this particular boot the “LOWA Winter Trac®”. In all honesty, the name means nothing to me. It’s marketing fluffery. When I evaluated the Montreal GTX’s traction, I looked for how well the outsole gripped onto snow or terrain, not necessarily if I could sprint across a sheet of ice and stop on a dime. Like all LOWA boots I’ve tested, traction is always excellent.

Consider the outsoles in the photo of the Sorel Joan of Arctic (honest-to-godess full-on winter snow boots) and the LOWA Montreal GTXs (full-on winter hiking boots). The LOWAs and the Sorels aren’t battling it out for any first place finish. I’m just giving you a perception of scale when it comes to winter walkig. Clearly, the Joan of Acrtics are made for walking in fluffy deep snow or flat terrain as they lack substantial lugs.

The Montreal GTXs have a serrated stud arrangement that works much better in resisting slips when walking on steep terrain covered with frozen snow. You know what else is awesome about the LOWAs? When I strapped on my Hillsound Trail Crampons I could (and did) spring across a sheet of ice and stopped on a dime because they are Hillsound Trail Crampon (and Kahtoola MicroSpike)-compatible. 

Outstanding Quality

They’re made in Europe (not China). LOWA is a German brand and Germans have pretty high standards for hiking boots. LOWA represents that national pride in the art of bootmaking. The Montreal GTX’s are no exception.

Fit

Runs true to size. Since it’s still a hiking boot be sure to always go a half-size up from your normal size. I wear a 7.5 shoe but a size 8 in boots.

Waterproof-ness

“GTX” is code for “Gortex”. The Montreal GTXs, therefore, are waterproof. Allow me to clarify what waterproof means in a hiking boot. Can you walk into a knee-deep lake or river and emerge on the other side with dry feet? No. But if you’re hiking in snow, slush, pouring, sheeting, pelting rain and wading through puddles your feet will stay dry.

Comfort

The LOWA Montreal GTX Mid are plenty flexible for a cold-weather hiking boot. After a day of hiking in snowshoes or on trails hard-packed with snow, kicking them off my feet when I home wasn’t Priority #1.

What Could be Better

I think this is the first time I have ever completed this section of the review for a LOWA. Normally I have nothing to complain about. Technically I still don’t have any complaints, just one itty-bitty request for future iterations of this boot: Add a little gaiter clip d-ring below the laces.

Final Thoughts

Gaiter-compatible, snowshoe-compatible, toasty warm, waterproof, comfortable, stable as the day is long with excellent traction for winter maneuvers and outstanding quality and craftsmanship. And they’re damn fine to wear about town and not the least bit clunky that they interfere with my car’s gas and brake pedals.

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