Salomon Super Mountain 9

The fit, and the possibilities to adjust the shoe to your feet is very good, the best i've seen.

But there standing workless in the closed. Why? The sole is to soft, for walking on trails and some steeper terrain they are great. But when using crampons the sole is flattened and hurting my feet.

After half a year the sole is damaged severely. pieces are ripped out.

On dry rock they stick very good but on muddy or snow/icy conditions there very slippery. So slippery that i didn't trust my feet placements any more. especially with a two-year-old kid in a carrier on my back.

I've bought La Sportiva Nepal Extremes. Stiffer sole, makes walking on flats not a joy, but i trust my feet again in every terrain and for climbing there simply are better wich is my main consern.

It's typical that my findings are oposite from Shawn Readenour who is very happy with the softer and more bendable sole.

So it's again what are you're priorities. I would say, Climbing No, snow or Icy conditions No, Normal trails with steep parts Yes.

Shawn Readenour says in his review:

The biggest difference between Salomon and all others is the Contragrip outsole. The La Sportiva has that USELESS Vibram outsole. Vibram is hard and slippery and does not grip AT ALL. But the Contragrip sole on (most) Salomons is sticky like gum so when you jump between boulders you are less prone to slide right over the top of it. If you were to wear out the sole on the Super Mountain it can be replaced, but I'm not really worried about that for a decade or so.

All in all, this is a high technology boot that is very forgiving to wear. It is not the best for park trails and it may be a little much for the summer.

An exceptional boot that is built to last. I am using this boot for heavy back-country excursions and have not had a chance to get up a mountain in it yet, but it is extremely comfortable right out of the box (especially after it's broken-in) and would hold a crampon very solidly. I went to the store to purchase the La Sportiva Makalu (which is more "comfy" in the store), but the La Sportiva sloshed around all over my foot and I could not get it to hold my foot to keep my heel from lifting (when the laces were cranked, it would, but this cut off all blood to my feet).

The Salomon has an awesome internal "boot" made of neoprene that holds your foot and protects it from the bent leather under the laces that all one-piece leather boots have. The insole (comes with two sets) is shaped just like the Super Feet insole with deep cups for the heels and nice arches. And don't forget the Memofit lacing system that allows you to tension the ankle and foot sections of lace differently, try it you'll love it!

The biggest difference between Salomon and all others is the Contragrip outsole. The La Sportiva has that USELESS Vibram outsole. Vibram is hard and slippery and does not grip AT ALL. But the Contragrip sole on (most) Salomons is sticky like gum so when you jump between boulders you are less prone to slide right over the top of it. If you were to wear out the sole on the Super Mountain it can be replaced, but I'm not really worried about that for a decade or so.

All in all, this is a high technology boot that is very forgiving to wear. It is not the best for park trails and it may be a little much for the summer.

I bought these boots cause they were the cheapest ones. I can't talk for the other boots cause they are all so expensive. I like these boots and chicks dig em'. It is important if chicks dig em'. The colors are good. I don't like pastels and gay colors...so, the color tan is good.

I would not backpack in these, I have tennis shoes for that. However, they look cool. So, if you like cool looking stuff, wear em'. I am planning on going to Bolivia and doing camera work so, I might use them then. I'll let you know. Did I mention how cool they look? And chicks dig em'. I think girls like manly man boots? What do you think?

They are stiff, but if you are climbing that is what you want. These are not boots for walking around in. It's like walking in ski boots (maybe not that stiff). But, they were cheep enough. I got them at Sierra Trading Post. That is my plug for SierraTradingpost.com. Hopefully someone for the Sierra Trading Post will read this, and write me a little check for my time spent promoting their company. You are more than welcome you know. Yea, go try em on at the store, find your size, then order them. The ones I bought online actually fit better than the ones I tried on at the store. But, you never know.

Um, lets see....oh yea. They are good boots. I like them. I think you might too. Especially if you like the cheapest price like I do. Maybe you will get a better deal? Hey...you never know. Well, I better go. Take care my friends and feel free to email me with questions or comments.

I bought these boots to do a mountain climb in the Andes-Ausangate (21,000 ft) but because of conditions on the mountain we only made it to our base camp at 12,000. I bought them so I would only need one pair of boots for the three day approach and the technical part or the climb. These are the ones without the bootie inside. The boots were increadibly confortable on the three day approach (8 miles/day)in temperatures from 50-0 degrees F. (medieum snow) My feet never sweat and were never cold--not even first thing in the morning. No blisters/hot spots. I was even inclined to wear them around Cusco instead of a pair of light hiking boots, they felt so good. Because of the plastic bottoms they take step in crampons (Black Diamonds/Sabretooths fit very well) and wet conditions well.

I needed a boot that was suitable for alpine mountaineering, yet soft enough for long approach hikes. The S9 fills both needs nicely. The boot is plenty stiff enough yet the uppers have enough flexibility to allow you to hike. I modified the boots with custom Superfeet insoles and some small Dr. Scholl's pads to tighten up the heel cup. The S9's perform superbly on easy rock, scree, talus and with crampons. I have hiked up to 8 miles on trails with a 45lb pack and had no problems. Though I've only used them for a few trips, they have developed no leaks and so have been durable so far. My feet are medium to high volume with a fairly high arch. I highly recommend the S9, especially if you can find them on sale.