Skiing in Tahoe consists of a lot of resort days and a lot of backcountry and side country days.Alpine Meadows offers some of the best side country access in the country and that is where I find myself most of the time.Some of my favorite zones require a fairly decent hike in and skin out.The Quest Max 120 gives me the ability to get the hiking capabilities of a touring boot with the downhill performance of an alpine boot.The downhill performance of a boot is something I pay very close attention to given that a lot of the lines in-bounds and in the backcountry in Tahoe are high speed lines.

The Quest Max has a last of 98mm but has a custom shell option that can accommodate a last up to 104mm.This feature makes an ideal fit a reality for feet of all different shapes and sizes.The walk mode on the Quest Max makes hiking a lot easier and more comfortable.Being able to straighten the cuff of the boot allows for longer and more consistent strides while skinning or hiking.The walk mode feature makes the skin out of Little Alaska and back to the Sherwood chair much more enjoyable.Another feature of this boot I am a huge fan of is the ability to swap out the DIN soles for Dynafit compatible Tech soles.It’s an easy swap that only takes a couple minutes and gives me the ability to have a boot that I can use with my touring set up or with my alpine set up. The Quest Max comes with a full thermo liner that keeps the weight of the boot down but does not sacrifice any downhill performance.I would recommend this boot for anyone that does a good amount of hiking and touring.I couldn’t be happier with the Quest Max’s versatility and will be riding this boot for a very long time.It’s the perfect match for anyone who likes to earn their turns and open the throttle on the decent.