Well, it looks like I ended up picking up a pair of Salomon Quest 4D GTX boots for my next pair, seeing as though my Lowa Renegades self destructed at the seams and I needed an intact pair for my impending Borneo excursion.
I was considering many boots - Vasque Breeze, Lowa Zephyr, Keen Oregon PCT, Asolo Flame and the Adidas Trek GTX, I really wanted the Adidas Trek GTX, because I like the proportion of nylon mesh uppers, I like the styling and it looks like what I have been looking for - a good balance betwwen lightweight and ruggedness. But, alas shopadidas.ca didn't stock any soon enough for me to take on my trip - I would think they would have some in stock for the season by now. It's mid April. I wanted a boot similar to the Lowa Renegades I have been using for the past 8 yrs or so, but I didn't want one that had all leather uppers. Ideally it would be lighter, still have a mid cut for some ankle support over rough terrain and still have a Goretex liner to make sure they are all season and all terrain. I have been moving my gear towards and ultralight style of backpacking, and many ultralighters will only wear trail running shoes, but that really isn't what I want at this point.
After reading many online comments and reviews about all of these boots, many had a lot of positive comments, but there are always some negative ones, no matter what boot you talk about. Common complaints are boots falling apart too soon, not being waterproof, and soles being too hard so they are slippery on logs and damp rocks.
To be honest, I didn't even try on a bunch of different brands at the store - I just picked the Salomon Quest 4D based on what I read online. Almost all comments I read were positive, and the user reviews on MEC gave it a a really high rating. They fit rather comfortable in the store, so I got them. Salomon calls them day hikers, but I certainly don't see the need to take anything heavier than these backpacking. Putting them side by side with my old Lowa Renegades, these Salomons look like they are actually in a different class of boot, more notch rugged. I would even call them heavy light hikers. the tread is more aggressive, the uppers are taller, almost full height, and at least brand new, the soles are much stiffer than the Renegades. I was hoping they would be lighter than my Renegades, but they are slightly heavier. In a size 10 1/2, my old Lowa Renegades are 1354 g for the pair, where my new Salomon 4Ds are 1420g. That said, it looks like there are quite a few better features in the Quest 4D over the Lowa Renegades - the higher upper, aggressive tread for muddy and loose dirt conditions, stiffer sole. Some other better features are the built in toe cap and heel protector as well to prevent the soles from delaminating from the uppers when scraped on rocks. Hopefully the integrity is better than the Lowa so they will last a while. Perhaps I could have went a little lighter with the Salomon 3D fastpacker boots, instead of the 4D, but I don't mind a little heavier weight for the ruggedness. After I get some good use out of these, I'll report back my final review, but at least so far, these look like they will do the trick in Borneo and much beyond..
Hello, and what are you think now about this boots? Very interesting late Impressions.
ReplyDeleteHi Sergey. I didn't use the boots, I returned them. They fit well, but the boots were too heavy and had too much support, I wanted something more lightweight. I am sure these would be good for trekking with heavy loads for many days, but would have been much too hot for the trip to Borneo I was going on. I wanted something lightweight and something that i could wear around town as well. These aren't that type of boots. I ended up getting some Salomon X-Ultra Mid GTX boots, much lighter.
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