Patrik Orcutt 01.06.23
In the final decade, the Special Forces neighborhood has shifted from carrying combat-oriented boots to climbing boots, and for some good causes. Hiking boots can supply higher assist and sometimes weigh lower than most fight boots. Special forces troopers usually discover themselves climbing for miles in austere environments with heavy packs so having a great climbing boot over a fight boot is sensible. Enter Salomon, an organization that has been within the out of doors sphere since 1947 discovering its roots in France. Aside from making a few of the greatest footwear available on the market for all out of doors actions, they’ve a subdivision often called Soloman “Forces” the place they craft boots and footwear for all navy mission units. So, on this evaluation at present we are going to check out the Salomon Quest 4D GTX after 500+ miles of use.
In my 3.5 years of working as a photographer with U.S. and multi-national Special Forces, I couldn’t stroll 5 ft with out seeing an operator sporting a pair of Salomons. This is generally as a result of they’ve change into an issued boot for Army Rangers and Green Berets at this level, but in addition lots of the guys select to put on Salomons for his or her light-weight design and capabilities. Below I’ll embrace a number of pictures of a few of the operators I snapped sporting Salomons.
This mini-review is extra of a companion piece to TRAVIS OLANDER’s evaluation he posted final month. One main distinction between my evaluation and his are that he had a pair of the Gen 2’s Quests; whereas, mine had been Gen 1’s so there might be some aesthetic variations between the boots. A number of key factors to remember for this mini-review are that I might be going over extra of the long-term elements of the boots. If you’re in search of extra information on the boots, basically, try Travis’s evaluation HERE.
Salomon Quest 4D GTX – How Have They Held Up?
I wore my pair of shoes over the course of the final 3 years for every little thing from obligation assignments to in a single day hikes within the mountains. I took them to the Arctic circle of Finland within the winter and the Italian Dolomites in the summertime.
First, of I’ve to speak in regards to the Gore-Tex liner in these boots as a result of it’s just about nonexistent at this level, I’m undecided if my pair of shoes was faulty however the entire waterproofing is gone. I did topic them to numerous snow and dust however I might have thought they might have stayed waterproof. It’s even stranger as a result of I’ve a pal who purchased the non Gore-Tex model and after a 15-mile hike in Germany within the fall, my boots had been comparatively moist whereas his had been nonetheless dry. I’m assuming it’s simply my pair of shoes and this isn’t a widespread problem as I’ve not seen anybody else have this problem.
I’ve included a picture of the treads from a model new pair after which my pair of gen 1’s (Image Courtesy of Speartacticalreviews). The tread sample is totally different on the gen 2’s vs the gen 1’s. I are likely to put on my footwear out on the inside sole as a result of I stroll like a duck in all places I am going however you possibly can see a big put on sample when evaluating the 2 pictures. The tread is certainly nonetheless serviceable however I might estimate it to solely final one other 200 miles at this level.
Overall, the stitching on the boots has held up extremely properly with only a few frays.
The chassis of the boots additionally look to nonetheless be in fairly good situation whereas attaching crampons a number of occasions for icier situations.
These boots had been good hikers within the snow whereas the Gore-Tex lasted.
The place that has probably the most put on apart from the soles is certainly the tongue of the boot. Over time the laces appear to have chewed away on the material alongside the robust. Still not a giant deal however in a number of hundred extra miles, this might pose an issue. About 9 months in the past I changed the footpad with a brand new one because it was properly previous its prime and was providing little cushion for my ft.
Salomon Quest 4D GTX – Wrap Up
Overall, I’ve been actually impressed with the Salomon Quest 4D GTX apart from how they misplaced their waterproofing. I like to recommend these boots to all of my fronds who’re in search of good hikers that may also be worn for obligation use. They are a bit costly coming in at $240, however I’ve actually gotten my cash’s price out of them and would even go so far as to say they provide first rate worth. At the time of this text, Salomon doesn’t supply resoling of any of their boots however you possibly can undergo your native cobbler for blended outcomes. I’m nonetheless going to put on mine till the soles are worn out after which I’m going to purchase one other pair as a result of so far these have been the most effective pairs of shoes I’ve ever worn.
