Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX will let you walk and walk and walk and walk and…

Walking boot know-how meets running shoe comfort and support to help you hike for miles in all weather

Duncan Bell
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Salomon is perhaps our favourite maker of walking boots and shoes. The French maestros of bog-trekking footwear consistently produce great products, with everything from fairly traditional-looking yomping shoes to cutting-edge excursions into laceless, waterproof future-chic.  

Its new Quest 4D 3 GTX boots fall more into the former, (literally) more down-to-earth category, but that's no bad thing. They're built to be so comfortable and fatigue-reducing, that hiking in them is actually less tiring than typing out their name in full.

Why does the Quest 4D 3 GTX have such a long name? To break it down, the Quest part is what you do whilst wearing them (specifically, it's for backpacking), the 4D refers to Salomon's sole and chassis tech, which is designed for maximum stability. Speaking as someone who recently tried to go up and down a very steep Welsh hill in 3 feet of snow, I can confirm having footwear that lacks stability is VERY BAD INDEED. 

Oh, and the 3 is because it's the 3rd iteration of this boot, and the GTX bit means it goes really fast. No, not really, it means it's made with Gore-tex. There's a nubuck upper with a membrane made of the waterproof-yet-breathable miracle fabric. 

There are models for men and women – very progressive – and the keyword here, other than stability, is comfort. The cushioning is adapted from running shoe technology, but with the extra support you need for backpacking.

The boots are light at 640g for men and 575g for women, in an average size, and  the updated 4D advanced chassis, "guides the foot and enables more forefoot flexion for a smoother ride that flows from step to step." 

Meanwhile, the outsole has also been improved with "redesigned lugs" and now boasts High Traction Contagrip for lizard-like grip on all surfaces. The cuff has also been redesigned to further improve comfort and fit. 

Meanwhile, "smaller details like the rubber heel and toe protection… and the gusseted tongue help to make life easier and more comfortable when exploring the outdoors." And finally, a Lace Locker should mean you never need to do up sopping wet laces with freezing cold hands in 3 feet of snow, not that I did or anything. 

Duncan Bell
Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."

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