Salomon

QST Pro 130 Ski Boot

You left your race days behind you along with speed suits, keg beer, and dorm life, but even as you've relaxed your GS turns enough to enjoy a little off-piste smearing, you can't shake the need to ski with an uncompromisingly rigid boot. Fortunately, a stiff boot doesn't have to mean crunched up toes and a lack of circulation anymore. Power and performance no longer exist exclusively alongside pain, and the Salomon QST Pro 130 Boot is evidence of it. With a fully customizable shell and a flex your old race crew would approve of, QST Pro brings comfort without sacrificing the ability to back you up in the big stuff.

Salomon uses its Twinframe 2 shell construction on the QST Pro 130, giving it full, 360-degree customization from the cuff to the shell. Your bony lumps and bumps can all be accommodated when the material is heated up without having to jump to punching and grinding right off the bat. Once you dial in the fit of the shell, do the same for the My Custom Fit 3D Race liners; being able to mold both a liner and shell around the contours of your foot results in a serious advantage once you're opening it up on the steep stuff. A boot free of slippage and hot spots means you'll be able to drive your skis without lag time or exaggerated movements from within the boot. Because achieving a perfect boot fit out of the box is nothing short of miraculous, Salomon purposely made the buckles, Oversized Pivot, and straps able to be dismantled by a bootfitter, improving your options for zeroing in on the precise fit that will work best for you.

The QST Pro 130 was made with above-the-lift traverses and backcountry hikes in mind, and its walk mode makes a big difference when you're shedding layers and shouldering your skis to get to a hidden stash. The extended rubber sole helps you hang on when the wind turns a straightforward skate into a sketchier scramble, and the micro-adjustable buckles and 50mm power strap give you the ability to crank your feet down even further when you're trying to stay afloat in windblown chop.

To accommodate the expanding waistlines of modern skis, Salomon adds its Oversized Pivot, a burly, 24mm design, to the QST Pro line. Sitting at the critical intersection of the shell and cuff, the pivot lends the boot lateral stiffness when you're tipping your skis on edge, making sure you can drive power where you need it when you can't help carving up a big arc to remember the glory days. At the end of a big day, thank the Endofit tongue and its waterproof gusset for making life easier when you stumble back to the car. Though the rest of you might be soaked through, your toes will be dry, and the flexible tongue will make slipping your boots off an effort that doesn't require your last reserves of strength for the day.