Peak District, Lakes, North Wales and trekking in the Himalaya, so how did Salomon's all round walking boot shape up?
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Salomon Adventure Trek 7 - First
Look
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Price:
£110.00
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Weight: 1530 grammes (men's size
43)
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Features: Nubuck
leather with Gore-Tex liner, Contragrip 2 outsole, Advanced
Chassis System, rubber toe cap protector, external Sensifit,
wingsole construction, locking lace cleats at
ankle.
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The
Concept Replacement for the faithful X-Adventure 7, the Adventure
Trek 7 is intended as an all-round, three season walking and trekking
boot. And since we published our
first
impressions of the boot, we've used it both for UK hill and
mountain walking and for extended trekking in Nepal.
As we said before, it's a do anything, all-round trekking and
walking boot for below the snowline and has been subtly refined along
the way. The key XA7 features like the Contragrip sole - a new dual
compound version - and the external Sensifit forefoot system are
still present and correct, but there are some useful refinements too.
Plus extra internal padding makes the boot significantly more
comfortable straight out of the box.
Ideally then this is a boot which should combine lightness -
around 80 grammes per pair less than its successor with walking
comfort and good torsional rigidity and be useable for pretty much
anything below the snow line.
Features
The external Sensifit System which holds the forefoot securely
and adds to stability is present and correct - plus it no longer
creaks like on the old boot - and is extended around the heel as
well. Also recognisable is the uprated Contragrip sole, which now has
a dual compound - soft in the middle for grip, hard at the edges for
'bite'.
That's just the beginning though - the construction has been
updated with the Advanced Chassis System placing a stiffening plate
directly above the outsole and closer to the ground for better
lateral support. There's now a waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex liner
to replace the old Climadry one that could get sweaty in hot
conditions, a protective rubber toe cap to minimise scree scratching
and gouges plus a set of locking eyelets, as used on last year's
Supertrek 6, to allow differential lacing of forefoot and ankle for
comfort and support.
The lasting - shape and volume of the boot - feels about the same
to us, maybe a little more generous, though visually the old one
looks squatter with a stubbier toe.
In
Action We feel quite familiar with the Adventure Trek 7 now after
a fair bit of use in both the UK and abroad. Where the old XA7s were
light and a little hard-edged even with a confident, tough feel, the
Adventure Treks feel softer, wider, more padded and significantly
less stiff in the sole unit.
Some of this may be an illusion due to all that forgiving, instant
fit internal padding, making for more give on the foot, but the sole
unit is definitely more flexible, even if torsional stiffness is
still good. The uppers too use soft, luxurious nubuck.
The end result was a sort of 'teddy bear feet' sensation, almost
too soft. They're comfortable for sure, and we never had a problem
with blistters or hot spots on our typically British test foot, but
they also lacked a little precision and stiffness on rough ground. If
you're the sort of person who hops from rock to rock, you may find
that disconcerting, if you're more, erm, pedestrian in your walking
you'll simply savour the cush.
We
used the boots with a medium-sized pack in Nepal and they felt fine
thanks to the decent torsional rigidity and stable Sensifit external
brace, but again a little remote and clumsy on the foot. Other than
that slightly soft feel, we can't really complain. The lacing system
with its locking ankle cleat makes it easy to lace and adjust tension
and despite some horror stories, we haven't trashed the locking cleat
yet.
The well-cushioned sole performed decently as well, with good grip
on dry rock and trails, though as we observed when we first tried the
boot, the lugs can clog on muddy terrain, though it was never a
serious problem.
The Gore-tex lining was a little sweaty in very hot conditions,
but performed well the rest of the time and was a welcome guest
during wet moorland walking parties....
Soft luxurious comfort, decent build quality and a more flexible sole
than its predecessor makes for great initital comfort, which stays
along for the ride over the rest of the day. The pay-off though is a
slightly soft, imprecise woolly feel on the foot, which may make
these boots feel clumsy for rock-hopping fast movers and low down the
pecking order for scrambling..
We really noticed the difference when we swapped to approach shoes
for sections of the Annapurna Trail, though the torsional rigidity of
the sole though means that walking on rocky uneven ground is no
problem even with a medium-sized pack. The
Fit is medium broad and will suit a lot of British feet, but the
bottom line is that comfort has taken precedence over technical
performance. That's not necessarily a bad thing and anyone looking
for a soft, comfortable boot should take a look, but will disappoint
those in search of another XA7
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time:
Luxury comfort feel is great, but it's at the expense of
some precision and we expect fast movers will want a neater,
less paded paw container. Gore liner works well except in
very warm conditions. Good choice for luxury lovers.
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Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
