Gore-Tex product reviews

Gear Review: Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX Boots

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Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX
Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX

Backpacking Boots
Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX
$240, 2 lbs. 11 oz. (men’s 7)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s 5-12
backcountry.com

On a five-day, family backpacking trip down Paria Canyon on the Utah-Arizona border, these boots helped my teenage son safely negotiate a riverbed of shifting mud, ankle-turning stones, and the occasional plunge into quicksand (where, to be honest, your boots don’t matter); and when we weren’t in the river, he nimbly hiked the trail over rocky, loose ground, with occasional boulder scrambling. Salomon’s Quest 4D GTX stands out for having better-than-average support and protection from the earth and the elements for a midweight.

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Review: Arc’teryx Zeta LT Rain Jacket

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Arc’teryx Zeta LT Jacket
Arc’teryx Zeta LT Jacket

Rain Jacket
Arc’teryx Zeta LT Jacket
$475, 12 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

Pulling the trigger on buying a high-end piece of outdoor apparel like a rain jacket can be a tough decision, but it really comes down to a very basic question: Why do you need it? Beyond personal issues regarding budget and priorities, and certainly comparing similar products based on performance and price, consider whether you will use the jacket in ways that take advantage of those aspects of the jacket that justify its price. The Zeta LT seemed like a good example to use to demonstrate how to evaluate those questions, so I took it out hiking and backpacking in wet weather from Idaho’s White Cloud Mountains to Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies, to contemplate the value of a rain shell. And it more than demonstrated its value.

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Gear Review: Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX Boots

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Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX
Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX

Backpacking Boots
Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX
$239, 2 lbs. 9 oz. (US men’s 9)
Sizes: US men’s 7-13, women’s 5-11
backcountry.com

In a continuing quest to find boots that handle any kind of terrain and conditions without baking my feet, I took the Alp Flow Mid GTX—which sport Gore’s newest, most-breathable technology, Surround—on a pair of hikes that push footwear to extremes: a mostly off-trail, two-day backpacking trip in early October in Idaho’s White Cloud Mountains, and a late-May dayhike up Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park, slogging through a lot of soft, wet snow.

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Gear Review: Scarpa R-evolution GTX Boots

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Scarpa R-evolution GTX
Scarpa R-evolution GTX

Backpacking Boots
Scarpa R-evolution GTX
$239, 2 lb. 14 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 40-47, 48, women’s 37-42
backcountry.com

Boot makers are trying harder to design footwear that bridges the divide between lightweight, nimble shoes and heavier boots that have traditionally delivered more support and protection, but have also been stiffer and less sensitive. I personally applaud that trend, and based on what I hear from readers, I suspect consumers will like it, too. Scarpa’s new R-evolution GTX represents a step in this direction. Curious about how well they achieve this lofty goal, I wore them on a four-day, 86-mile backpacking trip in northern Yosemite National Park last September, and for three days on the 37-mile Kepler Track in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park in March.

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Gear Review: Arc’teryx Acrux2 FL GTX and Acrux FL Hiking Shoes

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Arc’teryx Acrux2 FL GTX Approach Shoe
Arc’teryx Acrux2 FL GTX Approach Shoe

Hiking/Approach Shoes
Arc’teryx Acrux2 FL GTX Approach Shoe
$280, 2 lbs. 3 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s (Acrux FL GTX, $230) 5-12
moosejaw.com

Arc’teryx Acrux FL
$200, 1 lb. 14 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s 5-12
moosejaw.com

Is it possible for a shoe to be everything you need in backcountry footwear—and if so, what’s that worth? Those are the questions raised by Arc’teryx’s new Acrux2 FL GTX Approach Shoe and Acrux FL—both very “Arc’teryx” in their shoot-for-the-moon design and price. In pursuit of answers to those questions, I took both out on hikes intended to put the claims about these shoes to the test: ultralight backpacking the very rugged Royal Arch Loop in the Grand Canyon in the Acrux2 FL GTX, and dayhiking 17 miles through New Hampshire’s Northern Presidential Range, and Zion’s steep and scrambly Angels Landing, in the Acrux FL.

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