Salomon Quest Max 130 28.5
£150
These have been my tighter fitting, more responsive ‘plug’ boots that I’ve always grabbed when I plan on lapping Nevis Range’s Back Corries or skiing on the front side of the mountain, they still have a walk-mode, but are considerably heavier and have less cuff rotation than that of the Mercury (which is hard to beat, to be fair!). The boots have a 130 flex rating, so are pretty stiff & will suit advanced heavier/taller skiers that are after a super responsive boot with the addition of a walk mode for the hikes out. The boots have seen around 30 days use, purely within resorts, with minimal rock hopping so there’s massive amounts of life left with these soles.
“The Quest Max 130 is for big strong skiers who want to take maximum downhill performance beyond the resort. As part of the Quest max series, the 130 benefits from all of Salomon’s experience and the latest technology. Third generation 360 Custom Shell is used to completely wrap your foot for improved comfort and power transmission, whilst Twin frame technology provides direct power into the areas where it is needed most. Oversized Pivot technology is the cherry on the cake as Salomon have increased the circumference of the pivot point between the upper cuff and lower clog ensuring an amazing power transfer and a noticeably different kind of feeling compared to more traditional constructions.
Heel Width: Narrow - Medium
Forefoot: Narrow - Medium
Instep Height: Medium – High
Dynafit Mercury 29.5
£200
These boots have been a fantastic boot for all my touring, steep skiing and sidecountry needs. They're a fantastic boot with an approximate (yet not definite due to Alpine Touring boots not having a set out flex rating) flex of 110 which is pretty impressive for an Alpine Touring boot. This boot has a fairly narrow last (102mm) but still slightly wider than the typical Dynafit last - I have a narrow foot with high instep and found this boot a great comfort fit for all day tours. I bought this boot in a 29.5 with my alpine boot size being a 28.5 which gave me the additional comfort for long tours - I also felt that the boots came up a little short.
The boots have the fantastic ability to remove the stiffener tongue for increased cuff movement whilst in walk mode and add the tongue back in for increased stiffness in downhill mode which is fantastic for those long tours, also the top buckle is also the ski/walk mode level so when the buckle is open, the boot is in walk mode and when you lock in down, the boots in downhill mode, saving further time and energy. The boots have been used lots this season (around 70 days) with a little wear to the sole of the boot, but nothing that hampers performance (see photos) and also quite a few scratches on the boot - which is to be expected, once again, all of these scratches are cosmetic and in no way effect the performance of the boot. The price represents the wear and tear - this is an extremely high end, stiff and lightweight boot that gives fantastic performance both during the uphill and downhill.
See more at:
http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/Tiernan2/media/Ski%20Gear%20Clearance%202...
PM me if you would like higher definition photos.
