The Contragrip outsole has deep lugs, tons of grip, and can take a beating. This is pretty impressive because I’ve been known to complain about my feet while waiting in line to check out at Costco. Despite hiking for hours on loose boulders and terrain so crumbly there wasn’t an easy, level, step, my dogs were not barking. This was the first real hike I had taken the Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX’s on, so they were fresh out of the box. When we returned to the trailhead after five hours of hiking, I’m not sure if it was the urgency in which I had to relieve myself, but, remarkably, my feet felt pretty damn good. The only thing I haven’t tested them on has been a nice bed of pine needles that you’ll find in lower elevation forests, but if they handle the rock and scree with aplomb, you can bet they’ll be great on the softer stuff too. And my inability to balance, especially on such loose terrain, was not an issue for the soles. I found the Quest 4D 3 GTX boots to excel in all of these conditions, especially with a heavy pack. The boot, a mix of nubuck leather, nylon, and the rugged Contragrip outsole. A good portion of the hiking involves class two scrambling and unstable rock, with a slight chance of mountain goats. The air is thin, the terrain crumbly and loose. That is hiker speak for Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross, all giant chossy rock piles that soar well over 14,000 feet. So, you may be asking yourself, “Well golly gee Jon, where might you take a fresh pair of boots to test if you have so many places to chose from? I must know!”Īn hour away from our home there’s a wonderful circuit commonly referred to as the Decalibron. Living in the high Rockies of Colorado, I truly am spoiled when it comes to trails, terrain, altitude, and climate. Gear Review of the Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX Origins: Easing You In Users love the deep eyelet at the ankle as it helps to secure the boot.ħ-14 for Men, 5-12 for Women, with half sizesĪ premium price for one of the best backpacking boots on the market. One of the stickiest, grippiest outsoles on the market. The classic, tried-and-true waterproofing for boots. It’s mixed with nylon mesh and fabric for breathability. High quality boots use Nubuck leather, or full-grain leather. Salomon is known for a narrow fit, and this is true for the Quest 4D 3 GTX. We categorize boots in three classes, and the Quest 4D 3 GTX are technically the upper range of Midweight. If you’re used to light trail runners or even light boots, you’ll want to warm your feet (and calves) up to these. Moderately heavy, though not the upper range. Product Name Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX Feature Type They’re also waterproof and feature a thoughtful lacing system that works well on steep incline and under stormy skies. Yet these boots feel comfortable right out of the box and required a zero break-in period. We recorded an astounding 126% increase in stiffness compared to room temperature! Therefore we don’t recommend them to those who want a flexible boot for cold-weather hiking.The Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX’s are burly, big, and built to take you far under a heavy load. We double-checked in the lab by placing them in the freezer for 20 minutes and then testing the flexibility with a force gauge. On our winter hikes, we noticed these boots stiffened up a lot until they warmed up. At 13.8 oz (390g), these boots are an unbelievable 29% lighter than the average for the waterproof hiking boots we have tested! We could really tell the difference after long days on the hill, and our feet still had energy to spare! When we put these on the scales, we could hardly believe our eyes. This was good news for our hikes, as it supported our feet over long distances. We measured the stiffness of the midsole with a durometer and found it’s on the stiff side: 54 HA compared to the average 32.9 HA. Our ankle was well-supported by the collar, and the shank in the midsole kept our foot from rolling on uneven terrain. We experienced excellent lockdown from the traditional lacing - rather unusual to find in a Salomon shoe these days, and it does the job perfectly in the X Ultra 4 Mid GTX. These boots exhibit stellar stability, and on closer inspection, we found this was due to several factors. The fully gusseted tongue and mid-height collar are a bonus in deeper puddles. Not a drop of water made it through the faultless Gore-Tex membrane. In the name of science, we gave them a good dunking, submerging them in water for over a minute. It’s impeccably waterproof, supportive, and insanely lightweight, making it the perfect companion for our long-distance hikes. Both in our lab tests and on hikes, the Salomon X Ultra 4 Mid GTX came out on top as the best overall hiking boot from Salomon.
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