Salomon XALP MTN GTX | Performance

Salmon’s XALP MTN is the milder-mannered alternative to the innovative S-LAB Carbon 2 GTX and uses similar chassis technology to combine walking comfort with impressive scrambling and mountaineering performance.

On the surface it’s a lightweight leather trekking or hiking boot, albeit with some added reinforcement to the uppers and that’s pretty much how it feels. Where it turns from Clark Kent into Superman however, is when you get onto a mountaineering or scrambling route, when suddenly you discover that edge on, the boot’s sole is impressively rigid and you can happily stand on quite small edge holds.

It’s all down to the hidden 3D Edging Chassic, a series of interlocking plates within the sole unit that flex longitudinally for walking comfort, but are still laterally sold and lock together under sideways loads.

It sounds unlikely, but it really does work and the boot perches happily on half-inch holds where conventional hikers simply flex and squirm. That makes it a brilliant scrambling companion, though you need to adjust your technique if you’re used to using toe holds.

Comfort And Fit

Like we said, the boot is pretty close to being as comfortable for walking use as classic Salomon hiking boots like the well-regarded Quest. Fit is classic Salomon with good heel hold and a medium wide / volume forefoot.

There’s plenty of internal padding, but not too much and the high ankle cut feels reassuringly protective, but not remotely restrictive. Looking lace-hooks at the ankle mean you can adjust lacing tension for the forefoot and ankle to suit preferences and precision.

Tough As Old Boots?

The X ALP MTN gets reinforced heel and toe caps plus an all-round ‘Mud Guard’ lightweight rand, but not surprisingly, a boot weighing less than 1300g per pair isn’t going to be as tough as a full-on traditional leather mountain boot and we suspect the split suede leather upper will suffer with, for example, repeated kicking into crystalline snow.

The other compromise is with the High Traction Contragrip outsole, which is fairly lightly treaded. It works well on rock and has blocked out toe zones for technical use, but is less happy on really soft stuff. Not bad though.