The German company Lowa is famous for the production of footwear, but also for the fact that it equips its footwear with many technologies and their combinations, which have highly functional outdoor and tactical use. In addition to its own technologies, it also adopts proven patented solutions from other manufacturers, which it licenses. Vibram or Gore-Tex, but also many others, are worth mentioning. We bring you their overview.
Gore-Tex membrane
What else to start with than the Gore-Tex membrane, which is a benchmark in its field. It is a high-performance and comfortable solution that increases the breathability of the shoe and at the same time protects the wearer's foot from moisture from the outside. But there are several types of Gore-Tex membrane. The more classic one is the "performance comfort", however Lowa also uses the "extended comfort" version in some models.
LOWA® Innox Pro GTX® MID TF boots with the Gore-Tex membrane
Gore-Tex Performance Comfort is a permanently waterproof membrane designed for various outdoor activities. As already mentioned, it is also breathable, so you can easily use it during intense activities and even during significant temperature changes. Your foot won't sweat in a shoe equipped with Gore-Tex Performance Comfort technology. In addition, thanks to this technology, the footwear will be more resistant to wind—which is definitely useful in the field as well.
While Performance Comfort is a more universal membrane intended for various environments, Extended Comfort is a specialized variant. Its full name is "Gore-Tex Extended Comfort for desert operations and other warm climate scenarios" and it is therefore primarily intended for desert conditions, i.e. for very warm and dry areas. And above all, it is a technology that is mainly used by tactical boots, for example the Lowa Zephyr MK2 GTX model.
Regardless of the specific type, Gore-Tex is built on the principle of billions of tiny vents that are many times smaller than a drop of water, but at the same time significantly larger than a moisture molecule. Which means that moisture will pass outward, but water has no chance inward. Simply brilliant.
Vibram rubber soles
Rubber soles have been produced by the Italian company Vibram for decades and they are licensed by almost all major manufacturers of outdoor footwear. The founder of the company, Vitale Bramani (who also gave it his name), was the inventor of the first ever rubber-soled climbing shoe.
Footwear equipped with Vibram technology is intended for the most extreme conditions, but it can easily be "just" comfortable light shoes for the city. In both cases, Vibram soles are of the same quality, just designed for different conditions.
The Vibram branding on the sole, which uses a traditional octagon, is a guarantee of quality, but not of how the shoes will perform in difficult terrain. However, due to the outdoor nature of the Lowa footwear, you can be sure that Vibram soles will provide excellent insulation from the bottom and provide your feet with support and stability. Among the products with this type of sole, you can find Lowa Nabucco GTX winter shoes, among others.
Two-zone lacing
Lowa shoes have one more specialty that the company has developed itself, namely two-zone lacing. Thanks to this solution, you can better adapt the shoe to the anatomy of your foot so that the shoe fits you as best as possible. The forefoot and upper have separate and at the same time separately adjustable lacing zones. Thanks to this, you can lace your shoes differently, for example for walking uphill and downhill. This type of lacing can be found, for example, on the Lowa Zephyr MK2 GTX MID model.
Monowrap frame
Another innovative Lowa shoe technology is Monowrap, a three-dimensional midsole design that Lowa developed back in 1995. The Monowrap frame perfectly hugs the foot and supports it when the wearer needs to walk over uneven surfaces. It is made of a plastic called polyurethane, which is very light. Overall, this solution increases the comfort of the foot in the shoe and its comfortable position during walking.
If you are interested in the Monowrap technology, you can purchase the Lowa Zephyr GTX MID TF model, for example.
Lowa Zephyr boots with the Monowrap technology
Poron
The technology called Poron is again one of those that Lowa took over from the outside… because in short, it was a technology that works and trying to repeat it would sound like trying to reinvent the wheel. Poron is actually a material that is flexible and can adapt to the shape of the object of which it is a part. Its main purpose is to absorb impacts, shocks and vibrations. Thanks to this, it offers a very wide range of uses.
It is naturally a synthetic material, specifically a microporous polyurethane foam with excellent cushioning properties. Even though its thickness is only four millimeters. In Lowa shoes, Poron mainly protects the ankles, which are exposed to excessive stress in extreme situations. Thanks to this, the footwear is suitable for use in the military sector as well as for work in demanding terrain.
Shoes equipped in this way include, among others, the Lowa Combat Elite Evo N GTX boots.
Minimal seams
Another revolutionary solution, this time directly from the Lowa workshop. When forming the upper, the largest possible pieces of material were used so that there were as few seams as possible in the shoe. In addition, the manufacturer made sure that the overlaps of the individual pieces were as small as possible. This means fewer pressure points on the shoe, which further increases wearing comfort, especially when you need to spend some time in an unnatural position and put pressure on your feet, including the shoes.
The Lowa R-8 GTX Thermo boots offer a minimum of seams.
Insulated high winter boots Lowa R-8 GTX Thermo with a minimum of seams
X-Trac Military sole and others
Some Lowa shoes use the innovative X-Trac Military sole, which has excellent anti-slip properties. And at the same time it insulates very well against extreme temperatures, be it hot or cold. A shoe equipped with such a sole provides optimal protection against slipping, even on slippery, greasy and wet surfaces.
Another Lowa sole, the Lowa Rubber Outsole is made from an optimized rubber compound and is designed to provide better traction even off the hiking trails. The Lowa Cross midsole / sole has a specially designed profile with excellent grip on various surfaces. The sole equipped with Lowa Cross technology has a self-cleaning profile that is designed for both paved and unpaved types of terrain.
The X-Trac Miitary sole is offered, among others, by the Lowa Zephyr MK2 GTX HI model.
Textile lining
Some Lowa shoes are equipped with a textile lining. What are the benefits? Such footwear is above all very robust and easy to care for, but at the same time remains very light. Footwear with a textile lining is especially popular in the summer, because that's when it provides the wearer with the most comfort. Their wide-mesh texture ensures a high level of breathability.
You can use the advantages of the textile lining, for example, in the Lowa Innox Pro GTX MID TF boots.
Orthopedic certification
Many Lowa shoes have orthopedic certification - they are equipped with a replaceable insole that ensures optimal individual adaptation of the shoe to the foot. In addition, you can combine such shoes with Bauerfeind orthopedic insoles, namely ErgoPad work:x and ErgoPad work:h+. In this case, the footwear is certified and approved for use as work footwear according to DIN EN ISO 20347:2012.
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