What is it about hot pink highlights on a navy blue boot that works so well? It may simply be that the light weight and fit and performance of the Dalbello Quantum Free W was so good that testers felt compelled to compliment its looks too. Regardless, Dalbello brought a complete Backcountry package to the table at this year's boot test and our team was impressed.
The package itself on the Quantum Free W is a minimalist, well-engineered affair, testers agreed--small and lithe, like a closely fitted hiking shoe, testers said it was astoundingly light with a stupid-long range of motion forward and back in touring mode. They were surprised by how tall against the shin this little two-buckle felt, and they said that combined with a solidly locked fore-aft position for skiing that offered a stable platform for launching all-terrain descents through a variety of different conditions.
The composite polyamide shell and cuff paired well to create a light and stiff build, and the thin, sock-like liner allowed for a direct and just-padded-enough connection with the shell for crisp and immediate edging response. Testers said this boot was quick to turn and accurate in steering moves, enabling a technical terrain attack they hadn't expected. They found that the Quantum Free W's strong skiing skills only got taxed on the iciest of surfaces, where they felt some lack of grip and stability, but outside of icy boilerplate they couldn't say enough about this micro-unit's skiing gumption. Its highest scores were found in the performance parameters of Edge Power, Quickness and Steering, and Dynamic Balance.
Testers liked the straightforward entry and closure offered offered by the lower cable-routing Freebuckle and a single cuff buckle with a touring keeper--one said getting the boot done up didn't require an engineering degree, which is a refreshing thing in the current Backcountry boot market. Testers approved of a simple, Velcro power strap--a nice, luddite element on a BC boot, and they dug how aggressively lugged the touring norm outsole was--and it was pink too!
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