Salomon possesses a corporate parts bin loaded with winning technology. So to fulfill this backcountry design Quest, it took what works for so many Alpine skiers—its 100mm Pro series lower boot shape—and fashioned it from lighter polyolefin plastic.
It teamed the featherweight lower with a releasable, one-buckle Quest-style upper cuff. It loaded a fully thermoformable liner inside and bolted on a set of tech-compatible Walk Soles Plus toe and heel modules below.
Testers ranged far and wide at Mt. Bachelor and savored this new Salomon recipe, finding it fit comfortably and cruised reliably everywhere.
While the Quest TR's 110 flex was a notch softer that most of its Backcountry group competitors, the upright cuff angle and 50mm powerstrap gave it the horsepower to turn solid descent scores. Testers said it had an active, precise-steering feel from edge-to-edge. That made for confident off-piste exploration through a variety of snow conditions.
The highly-defined, pre-molded thermo liner impressed our testers with its snug, anatomically-sculpted ankle pockets that provided firm rearfoot control while leaving the rest of the medium-wide last relaxed enough for all-day skiing or hiking.
Testers said the TR's touring range of motion fell a little short of the category toppers but noted that it was functional, adequate and easy to access.
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