Salomon Authentic 7

Bought a pair of the Salomon XMountain hiking boots with contragrip. Looked great but didn't get a chance to wear them for over a year. When I did finally wear them, they FELL APART WITHIN A WEEK. They had never even touched water. The foam sandwiched between the rubber sole and boot completely broke up. Looked like crumbled sponge cake.

Of course, though they had no wear on them, Salomon and the store refused to warranty them because it was over a year. Even though it was their obvious manufacturing defect.

DO NOT BUY ANY SALOMON PRODUCT, or you may be very sorry. When I took these back to the store where I got them, the customer right next to me said the same thing happened to her boots. Un-frickin-believable. They must have made millions of these defective boots, and now can't afford to back up their product.

I have had these as my pair of ordinary hiking boots for 3 years. They are absolutely great if you stay out of wetter areas. Wintertime these are good since they are somewhat insulated and keep the snow from melting and soaking your boot. A wet summer day though, thanks to all seems in this boot, you will not survive for too long. The good thing is that I have hiked in a pair of totally soaked boots for well over two days in a row without getting any blisters. But my feet are probably made out of a "standard" mold, I have rarely problems finding a boot that fit well. Salomon is new on boots but they make good suff.

If I would buy today, I'd probably go for the Authentic 8 which is supposed to be somewhat heavier and also sport a gore-tex liner (even though I think a gore-tex sock might be better in the long run).

My first pair lasted about 18 months of almost non-use, before the seams, which I believed were defective in manufacture, blew out. I took them back to the local dealer where I purchased them from a very close friend who was a buyer for the store. I showed her the obvious defect, and the lack of any real wear anywhere on them, and asked what could be done, as they were out of waranty. She called Salomon, and after a long hassle they let her send them back. Finally they grudgingly sent me a replacement pair, which after about 2 years hard use are blowing the soles. All the other seams are fine. Salomon should get better customer service, should listen to the pros in the shops and hire more help in quality control. I had one pair of Asolo 530s that lasted longer in harder use than the two pair of Salomons.

These boots were comfortable right out of the box. The traction they give is exceptional. They shelter your feet well, even though there is no Gore-Tex. My only complaint is that the sole split and a traction lug tore off only after 10 hikes. Salomon Inc. would not help me out with my problem. I was disapointed with their lack of backing of their product. This will be the last Salomon product I will ever purchase.

After a 1 week moderate backpack trip, these began to fall apart. In particular, the leather uppers began coming unglued from the sole. I was disgusted at Salomon and will avoid them in the future. These were made in Romania.

Very comfortable boots and supportive. Waterproofing the seams helps. The Contra-grip sole has good traction and is tough and durable.