A hiking boot under the Men's category, my Columbia Peakfreak Venture Mid LT finally retired from hiking. With its Techlite and OmniGrip technology, the pair is claimed to be lightweight with a better grip for challenging terrains. Did it live up to their claims? Let me tell you more about it below!
Brand: Columbia
Officially named as Columbia Sportswear Company, Columbia is an American outdoor brand founded in Portland, Oregon. Its main products are outerwear, sportswear, and footwear. Over the years, the product line has expanded to bags, outerwear accessories, camping equipment, and ski apparel.
Columbia in the UAE is pretty much established with its stores in malls and through Sun and Sands Sports as outlet distributors. Not all of the latest models are available though and most of the items in outlets are old models. Nonetheless, it's a fairly accessible and affordable brand.
To know more about the full range of Columbia's products, you may check the OFFICIAL COLUMBIA WEBSITE.
Model: Columbia Peakfreak Venture Mid LT
A pair of shoes under the men's category, Columbia Peakfreak Venture boasts its Techlite and OmniGrip technology. These two technology made the boots lightweight with comfortable cushioning along with all-terrain traction for rugged terrains.
According to Sun and Sands Sports, the product details are as follows:
- Sturdy, suede Shoe ideal for hiking and exploring
- Suede and textile upper with metal hardware
- Hiking-inspired laces
- Techlite™ lightweight, superior cushioning midsole
- Omni-Grip™ non-marking traction rubber for rugged terrain
Columbia Peakfreak Venture Mid LT Hiking Boot Review by a woman (if that even matters):
Despite being a pair under the men's category, I bought my Columbia Peakfreak Venture Mid LT Hiking Boot on my own accord. Long after I bought them, I realized I also bought the wrong size. It's so stupid of me to assume that a man's 8 is the same as a woman's 8 and no one from the store guided me (I take 100% of the blame).
When I was fitting them, I really couldn't tell if it was just enough or if there was still room so I asked for a bigger size than mine (which is a common practice). Not the first time it happened to me by the way (buying the wrong size) so off I went and just lived with it.
I can say that the Techlite technology lived up to its name. It's lighter than I expected it to be.
However, I've had a handful of incidents while hiking in this particular model which never happened during my previous pairs. I took different trails and terrains and for sure is another factor. Stumbled a few times, slipped, lost my footing, and even slid my way down. I blamed it on my fitness level at the beginning because I was in denial but I later realized that it was because of the wrong size of the shoes and my feet couldn't position itself properly. But eventually, I thought the grip was good but could be better.
It's not waterproof too and even when used on muds alone, the moisture gets absorbed quite easily. When used in snow with microspikes, it wasn't sturdy enough either to support the strength of the rubber attachment. The toecap and the mesh panels crumpled after some time and I felt some discomfort from the impact of the rubber attachment.
Final Verdict:
Despite not being the perfect hiking boot out there (is there even a perfect one) and even with the wrong size, I had loads of memories with this one. From exploration hikes, leisure hikes, and challenging ones like Stairway to Heaven Full Loop and RAKTRAV 2020 & 2021, this pair is with me. Not only that, I've taken my Columbia Peakfreak Venture Mid LT on my Kyrgyzstan hikes (Ala Archa to Ratsek Hut, Kol-Tor Lake, and Komsomolets Peak) as well as in the Philippines when I climbed Mount Apo via Santa Cruz Circuit Trail.
I'm still satisfied with how it fared in almost 3 years. I used the pair up to the best of its condition. I was about to bring them back but I couldn't remove the dry mud anymore and the outsole was pretty much worn out that my mom begged me to leave them behind.
After a few months of searching for a temporary replacement for my retired Columbia Peakfreak Venture Mid LT, I bought another pair from Columbia (I was eyeing a pair from Salomon but hello accessibility of Columbia). This time it's the Women's Peakfreak™ II Mid Outdry™ Hiking Boot and has been with me for quite some time. I still didn't get the chance to write my review about it, but it's time I should start working.
So that's all for now and if you have any suggestions on any hiking boots, feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
