new boot goofin'

In honor of one of my favorite TV characters ever, Reno 911!'s Lt. Jim Dangle, I did some new boot goofin' this weekend along the lines of hiking nine miles in Mt. Monadnock State Park in New Hampshire, as you can see under the Day Hikes section.  I did the trek with Bill and Mark, and two of Bill's buddies, and it was a blast.  I got to try out my new Salomon Quest 4D hiking boots (and some Keen, Asolo, and Merrell hiking boots were put to their first real test, too, on this trip) and I can away pleasantly surprised.  They offer incredible ankle support despite their light weight, and the support under foot is miles beyond that of my old hiking boot, the Keen Targhee.  Due to Salomon's success with trail runners, these boot incorporate a lot of the same features and essentially feel like you're hiking in a larger, heavier running shoes (which is a good thing).  After none long miles (with minimal weight on my back) of rocky, root-y terrain, my feet felt terrific and comparable to what they felt like after 4-5 miles in my Keens.  Now that I know comfort is second to none, it'll be fun and interesting to see how durable these boots are.  The one-piece Gore-Tex lining should offer more waterproof-ness than the eVent in my Keens did (failed <1 year), and the proprietary sole (not a Vibram sole) looks promising.  Though they only come with an EVA midsole (good for only 200-300 miles) versus a PU (polyurethane) midsole, my frequency (or infrequency, now) of hiking should allow me to get 3-4 years out of these boots.  For more info on the actual hike itself, visit the Day Hikes section and peruse the short trail report, Picasa slideshow and Google map.