Salomon Quest 400g Winter Climbing Boot Evaluate

Salomon’s Quest Winter Climbing Boots are insulated with 400g Thinsulate and have a really massive toe field making them a very good choice for hikers who want extra room for his or her toes or toe heaters which require some further quantity house for comfy use. They’ve a well-protected toe kick which is an asset in winter with aggressive lugs and a barely flared heel like a lot of Salmon’s path trainers. The soles are arched which makes them simpler to make use of with gaiters, they’ve a entrance gaiter ring, and ridges on the again of the heel that stop snowshoe straps from sliding off your boots. Whereas they’ve 400g insulation, they’re sized like most “decrease” 200g insulated boots making them a bit simpler to stroll in than the calf-high 400g boots offered by most different boot producers.

Specs at a look

• Gender: Unisex
• Insulation: 400g Thinsulate
• Temperature Ranking: -20F (assuming lively use, not standing round)
• Weight: 2 lbs 15.2 oz in measurement 11 males’s
• Waterproof: Sure
• Peak: 8″
• Gaiter Hook: Sure
• Heel Ridges: Sure
• Sole: Contragrip

The Salomon Quest Winter Climbing Boot is a winter model of Salomon’s bestselling 3-season Quest Climbing boot. Whereas it’s a chunky boot with a giant and inflexible toe field and glorious facet safety, it’s nimble compared to the 400g boots supplied by different winter climbing boot producers, with a flared heel, arched insole, and smooth rubber Contragrip lugs generally discovered of Salomon path runners and heat climate climbing boots.

The Quest Winter additionally has an outsized toe field by way of width and peak, which hikers preferring further toe house will respect. The toe field is well-protected and made with inflexible rubber which is beneficial in winter when kicking steps to achieve traction on frozen uphills, when snowshoeing with pivot-style snowshoes, or when worn with microspikes as a result of it resists collapsing beneath an elastomer harness.

Nevertheless, the Quest Winter shouldn’t be as heat as most taller winter boots although it’s insulated with 400g Thinsulate. This denotes the thickness of the insulation within the boot and never the burden of the particular insulation within the boot. As an illustration, Salomon charges the Quest Winter as being heat all the way down to -10-20F, which is considerably lower than the -40F temperature rankings supplied by different manufacturers. In my expertise, they’re colder boots than their different 400g counterparts, partly as a result of they’re decrease and don’t present as a lot decrease leg, calf, and shin insulation.

That peak distinction additionally makes a giant distinction in how they really feel if you hike in them. Within the Quest Winter, your ahead movement emanates from the ankle like an everyday pair of 3-season climbing boots as a substitute of the shin or calf, which is what you’d expertise in a ten″ boot just like the Oboz Bridger.

One other distinction between the Quest Winter and different boots is that they’ve unisex sizing and don’t are available distinct males’s and ladies’s variations. Girls run colder than males as a result of on common, they’ve much less physique mass, so it’s a bit disingenuous for Salomon to anticipate or promote that each women and men will expertise the identical diploma of heat carrying these boots. Should you’re feminine, I’d suggest shopping for a ladies’s particular boot as a substitute.

Whereas the Quest Winter Boots have smooth Contragrip lugs, the boots themselves are fairly inflexible which is a plus for winter use. The uppers are a mixture of leather-based and artificial materials and with a fake fur inside and ankle which is sort of comfy and heat.

Suggestion

Salomon’s Quest Winter Climbing Boots are a very good 400g insulated boot though they’re not as heat because the taller, calf-high 400g boots offered by different producers as a result of they supply much less decrease leg and calf protection. They’ve an outsized toe field which is sweet in the event you desire extra space or want the additional quantity to insert toe heaters if you hike. Should you usually hike in three-season climbing boots or mids, they take little or no time to regulate to by way of your gait in comparison with a lot increased winter climbing boots. All in all, they’re a very good choice in the event you don’t want a winter climbing or mountaineering boot rated to -40F otherwise you just like the Contragrip sole and lugs utilized by Salomon all through their product line.

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