Salomon Men's Quest 4d 3 GTX Backpacking Boots

Let me start by saying this was originally a 5 star review, written with only 7-10 miles on these boots. First these boots are the most comfortable and stable boots I have ever had. HOWEVER after 30 days of very hard use these boots have begun to fall apart. After the first time getting wet in less than 2" of water, the rubber around the toe separated from the leather and the boots leaked. You cant even walk thru wet grass without the boots leaking. Like I said the boots are extremely comfortable BUT they are falling apart and leaking. $230 for 1 month of use is too high a cost in my opinion. Since I dont appear to have ANY recourse thru Amazon I will talk to Saloman and see what if anything can be done. These might be fine boots for someone walking 5-10 miles a year on groomed, dry trails BUT they will fall apart if used cross country in harsh mountain environment.

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After months of researching, reading on-line forum reviews and watching videos, I decided to bite the bullet and buy these boots for my up-coming Colorado Elk hunt in the fall of 2018. I picked them up from a local REI that had them for the same price as here on Amazon, however my particular store gave me an instant $50 store credit; effectively knocking these down from $230 to around $180. First of all, I would absolutely not classify these as trail running shoes. These are 100% backpacking boots all the way and are designed as such. The can certainly pull triple duty as hunting and hiking boots as well, but for day hikes with no packs to carry, they are way over kill. Everything about these is made for life off a beaten path. Quality is great, all the seems are tight and well finished. The tongue is really comfortable and lays very evenly and flat under the laces without bunching up. The feature I like best about these boots is the ankle lock lacing system which really pulls your heel in to the rear of the boot, keeps your foot immobile in the boot, and prevents your toes from smashing forward into the front of the toe box during steep descents. For those who are hunting in mountainous areas, this is a clutch feature. Padding is good, especially under the heel and Im sure could be very comfortable under heavy packs, but I have yet to carry a heavy load with these yet. Once I got them home, it was right out of the box, on my feet, and I was off for a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood which includes 2 moderately steep hills. They were a little bit stiff and actually sat higher above my ankle then I remember them in the REI store. After the second mile, I pretty much forgot I was wearing them, and just enjoyed the walk with the dog. These are very lite weight in my opinion, and would make excellent hunting boots for those who need to hoof it in and out a long way, and also would be excellent for thru hiking. I cant comment on how good the waterproofing is because I havent seen any rain yet, but I will update this review once I have a chance to put them through the paces. the tongue is gusseted and stitched fairly far up, so I am certain you would need to get water over the top of the boots to get wet. As I read in many other reviews and learned in videos, these tend to run about a half size small, so keep that in mind. I wear a 10.5 in both Red Wing and Danner boots, I wear a 10.5 Bellville combat boot in the Army, and I got an 11 for these Salomon boots, and Im glad I did. With sock liners and slightly heavier winter socks, it will be a perfect. UPDATE 01/19/2019: Okay, after wearing these boots for a few months now, I thought I would follow up. The boots are as I suspected absolutely fantastic. I wore these on a 10-day SW Colorado elk hunting trip. We hunted between 9,500 and 10,800 feet of elevation. We spent hours and hours each day side-hilling some of the steepest, most difficult terrain immaginable, navigating thick deadfall, rocks/boulders, dark timber, thick mud and drainages, all while carrying 40+ lb packs. These boots did not let me down. The ankle support is unmatched in any boot I have evet worn, which was absolutely clutch when side-hilling (some slopes we a measured 78 degree incline)! The tread was aggressive, and dug-in and held even in all but the most slippery mud and cleared easily to keep grip constant. I lost my footing one day, fell and started sliding down a very slick drainage; they only thing that stopped me from going over the edge was digging in these treads! Waterproofing was my only complaint about these boots. Transitioning from snow covered areas to Bare ground was always a drag, because the boots would quickly become wet. After about 20 to 40 minutes walking through snow, the boots would soak through, making for a pretty miserable afternoon once we stopped moving to set up for our hunt. This can probably be fixed with some spray-on silicone treatment, but I would suspect Solomon should do better given the price point of these boots. All things considered, these boots prooved their worth 100 times over and held up to the most nasty terrain I have ever hunted. If they can survive Southwest Colorado, and are now the issued boot for US Special Forces, they are probably good enough for anything you can put them through. Stop looking at reviews and buy these boots already.

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Im a surveyor. I walk all day trough woods and rivers and in the city as well. Trails arent really part of what I do so you can imagine I walk through uneven terrain of all kinds, woods, water, rock, concrete, etc.. My steel toe work boots were great, wore them for many years but boot after boot they jacked up my flat feet, gave me knee issues and foot pain. These Solomons have stood up so far through everything. Im a week into it. Grip is fantastic, nearly ripped the brake pedal off the truck when I caught it getting out. Walking on pine needles on the edge of a ditch slope and didnt slip. No more feet problems, knees feel good too. Breathability-. Feels like an angel blowing kisses through the boot in the 100° Texas heat. I like them so far! Update, been almost a year since I started using my boots. I use them 5 days at least out of every week. I very much approve these shoes/boots. I feel like the grip and bottom of the shoe has no wear at all, still looks brand new. The comfort is still there as well. Still no pain in knees or feet or anywhere. I would say get some leather treatment to put on once a month (if you use them every day). The only thing wrong so far is the tip fell off the shoe lace. For being through hell and back for a year Id say thats pretty good. Very much a 5 star shoe/boot.

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Amazing boots. I initially tried these on at a local REI store in order to figure out the correct fit. For myself, my Brooks GTS 17 tennis shoes (size 13) and these boots (size 13) were in sync with sizes. The boots were comfortable right out of the box, and I wore them around the house for a couple of days before wearing them on a 45 mile hike. I wore boot socks, no sock liner, and at the end of the first day, no blisters. I tried a couple of different lacing configurations before finding one that worked for me. Second day, we did another ten miles through some pretty rocky ground and heavy vegetation. The boots gripped well in almost all circumstances, with the exception of some pretty extreme angles. I crossed logs over a couple of streams, grip was great. No blisters the second day, either. The last day we walked 25 miles out, averaging about 19 minute miles. At the end of the day, I had a nickel shaped blister forming on the ball of my foot, that was it. Afterwards, I looked the boots over and there was some small (dime sized) gouging out of the soles, but nothing major. Fabric held up great, they are Gortex so theyre on the warm side, and they performed extremely well, in my opinion.

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I bought the boots with the intention to use them from day hikes to long back packing trips. I owned a pair of Merrell Moabs before and I wanted to upgrade a bit. The Salomon boot is well thought-out and looks rugged. I chose these boots because I like how secure it feels around the ankle. I also really liked the lace design and grippy soles. They feel solid. I have only had the boots for 11 days and today was the first day I used them. I planned on doing some day hiking in Switzerland in a few days and then going on some backpacking trips later in the season. . I wanted to break in the boots because I didnt want to risk blisters on longer hike. Today, I was walking on a nice, relaxing wood chip trail in the Netherlands and at the end of the short walk, I noticed one of the seams break loose which I am very disappointed about. Currently, this is Salomons flagship boot and it did not behave as such. I would expect this to happen after a grueling hike across a chossy, boulder field. Or at least in a setting with up/down hill hiking, not on a relaxing walking path. I am now concerned with how the rest of the boot will hold up and how long it will last since there are many more stitching seams that can become undone. Maybe I received a defective pair, maybe not. Unfortunately, I plan to return these boots after I return to Chicago from Switzerland. I am not sure if I will exchange for another pair or shop around again. Pros: - Really comfy. Once I found the right fit, my foot felt very secure. - Support is amazing around the ankles. I could not find a boot that really felt protective of this area. This is important when going through uneven terrain. The arch and rest of the foot felt very supportive as well. - The sole felt very stable and grippy. - Boot does let moisture vent out of the shoe very well however..... Cons: - Too much stitching. I am sure the boot was designed this way to vent moisture efficiently but it does not seem durable in the long run. For this reason, I am returning the boot as the stitching should stay intact for much, much longer than expected.

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