User Review: Salomon Men's Quest 4D GTX

Summary

Good fit, comfortable right out of the box.

I bought a pair of these last year and did a few local hikes with them. I replaced the insoles with my custom orthotics, but other than that used my regular setup of double layered socks with a sock liner.

Perfect right out of the box. Very light, and quite comfortable.I figured I'd found the Holy Grail — a perfect hiking boot!

At the beginning of June I wore them on an overnight camping trip. It was drizzling when I left,  but it was supposed to clear up. Sat around in the rain until dusk, then it began to snow! My feet were warm, so I went for a short walk, them went to bed. I noticed at the time that my feet were a bit damp, but I didn't worry about it.

I woke up the next morning to an inch or two of snow. I put on dry socks but checked the inside of the boots and discovered they were damp! Did a nice hike anyway after breaking camp, and by the end my feet were soggy again!

I headed straight back to Mountain Equipment Co-op. Like REI it has a 100% guarantee, and I complained the my cool new boots weren't actually waterproof! Their return policy is TOO liberal — they took them back without question and refunded my money.

I figured out later that when the fabric on the outside of the boot gets wet, it forms an airtight barrier that doesn't let the Gore-tex breathe. The moisture was sweat, not leakage. I guess I didn't really give the boots a fair chance.

I went and bought another pair of boots (leather Salomons) but also bought a second pair of Quest 4D in the trunk of my car while breaking them in, just in case the new ones didn't work out. When they turned out to be okay, I returned the Quest 4Ds to the store. However, if I have to grab a new pair, I will be looking at them again.

Comment: I have yet to meet someone who was unhappy with their Quest 4D boots. Women especially like them because of the light weight.