Salomon Malamute Snowboard Boot Evaluation

Howdy and welcome to my Salomon Malamute snowboard boot evaluation.

On this evaluation I’ll check out the Malamute as freeride snowboard boots.

As per custom right here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I’ll give the Malamute a rating out of 100 (based mostly on a number of components) and see how they examine with different freeride boots.

General Score

Boots: Salomon Malamute

Worth: $449 (USD really useful retail)

Type: Freeride 

Flex Score: Stiff

Flex Really feel: Stiff (8.5/10)

Score Rating: 83.5/100

In comparison with different Freeride Boots

Overview of the Malamute’ Specs

Try the tables for the Malamute’ specs.

Specs

Who’re the Malamute Most Suited to?

The Malamute are finest suited to riders with slender to mid-narrow ft who prefer to bomb and carve and want their boots to be good and supportive and capable of deal with being pushed to the boundaries. 

Not for novices – means too stiff for that, IMO. And never for many intermediate riders, except your notably robust/athletic or a much bigger rider. 

Greatest matched to boards within the 6/10 to 9/10 flex vary, and even higher suited to boards within the 7.5/10 to eight.5/10 vary, IMO. 

O.ok. let’s take a extra detailed have a look at what the Malamuteare able to.

Demo Information

Boots: DC Malamute 2025

Measurement: 10 (US Males’s Sizing)

Date: January 15, 2025

Entry/Exit

I discovered it very easy to get my ft into the Malamutes. Really easy, I used to be involved they might be a bit massive – and when my ft had been in it did really feel somewhat on the free aspect initially, with none tightening.

Liner

The liner is tightened with a typical lacing harness. A fairly low-cost trying/feeling toggle factor to tighten it with. Heel maintain with simply the liner lacing harness achieved up was not good in any respect. Far more heel elevate than my management boots with simply their liner tightened.

There isn’t any Velcro or any type of strap for prime of liner and it’s feeling fairly free at prime of liner round shins as nicely. Across the ankles additionally felt free with simply the liner tightened too. To attempt to enhance that heel maintain/ankle looseness/shin looseness I went again  and bought issues as tight as potential. Re-tightening that a lot left a minor hotspot on my decrease shin, simply the place it connects with ankle.

Shell

The shell has this sort of half pace lace/ half conventional lace factor happening. The laces really feel like pace lace materials, and there’s the toggle puller like pace lace – so simply the one finish. However there are eyelets that the laces can come out of for the highest part of the boot. There’s just one puller (in contrast to most pace lace that has one for decrease part, one for higher) however you’ll be able to set the decrease part first (it locks in down there), earlier than beginning to get the higher part behind the eyelets – so you’ll be able to alter them individually, simply works somewhat otherwise. You then lock the laces right into a clip that’s on the tongue of the boot. Extra like Nitro/Experience’s liner lacing system with the clip, than typical pace lace. However it’s good within the sense you’ll be able to lock it in there and pull tight, then let go and it holds it in place, then pull tight once more, and so on till you’ve got it to your required tightness.

Even after giving it an excellent few tightens, like I did on the liner lacing, it nonetheless feels fairly free across the ankles and nonetheless a number of heel elevate. I did depart the decrease part pretty free, so I may check independence/adjustabiliilty of tightening. 

After re-tightening decrease part it improved the looseness a bit however nonetheless extra heel elevate than I’d like and def nonetheless greater than my management boots. And that created a little bit of a hotspot on the ankle, with very minimal heel maintain enchancment.

Like with pace lace there’s the factor you’ve bought to wrap the surplus lace round and tuck within the aspect. Which is an additional step. And also you wish to take your time and do it proper or else it comes out as your using and is usually a ache in the event you don’t get it proper in there. There’s just one to do in comparison with to the same old pace lace, in order that a minimum of makes it faster. 

J Bars

This was all earlier than I found that there have been J-Bars within the field. After placing within the j bars, heel maintain was miles higher. Like went from being noticeably worse than my management boots to being a contact higher. Minimal heel elevate total after placing J-Bars in. Made a large distinction. Simply want they’d have pockets for them. 

Foot to Boot Match

Size Match: 

My toes weren’t fairly reaching the ends of the boots, which made me suppose, together with the looseness, as described above, that the 9.5 could be higher. That was earlier than the J-bars, however they in fact did not make the size match higher. 

The tops of my toes had loads of wiggle room – which I like. 

Width: 

My forefeet weren’t capable of transfer aspect to aspect in any respect and I I may really feel my interior forefoot simply touching the aspect. It wasn’t uncomfortable and did not really feel like my forefoot was being squeezed or something,  however extra slender than typical. My pinky toe was additionally noticeable touching, however once more not squished, the perimeters too and my massive toe pushed into my 2nd toe. So I’d name them a slender match, however labored advantageous for my common width ft. Going to 9.5 although would doubtlessly make them uncomfortably slender, although. 

High of Foot (Instep):

There was some stress there after re-tightening the decrease part, but it surely wasn’y something main or too uncomfortable.

Round Ankles: 

Regardless of it total feeling free across the ankle/heels, there’s some stress on prime a part of interior ankle bone.

On Snow: They total felt similar to after I first tried them on, which is typical. I’d say any instep stress was gone in a short time and the interior ankle stress was much more minimal. They nonetheless total felt a bit free however the J-Bars did make massive distinction for match for me, notably for heel maintain.

True to Measurement?: I really feel just like the 9.5 could be higher length-wise. However I’d be involved that it could get too slender for my fore-feet and toes. However would doubtless be higher for heel maintain. It is like they’re slender on the entrance finish of the boot however extensive across the ankles – which makes the J-Bars type of mandatory – although these with massive ankles could not want them. So, I would say it runs half a dimension massive, however to downsize by half a dimension out of your regular dimension you may have to have ft narrower than common. 

Boot to Binding Match

Heel width: They match into the heelcup of my management bindings no points, with none squeeze and there’s somewhat little bit of room there. Not fairly as a lot room as my management boots, however lots that there is no effort wanted to get them to the again of the heel cup. 

Toe width: A number of house right here. More room than my management boots. This is not too stunning, given how they really feel slender on the within on the toe finish. 

Ankle Strap: To suit optimally and the identical as my management boots, I needed to lengthen the ankle straps by 2 holes.

Toe Strap: Once more wanted to elongate by 2 holes – which was on the longest level the toe strap may go. So these simply slot in Medium Burton Malavitas. You may have the toe strap 1 gap shorter and it could work, however probably the most optimum match was at it is longest level. 

Carving and Gradual Pace Response

As you’d count on with stiffer boots like these, they carried out higher for carving than my management boots and never as nicely for gradual pace turns (my management boots have a 6/10 flex). 

So, what you’d count on there, however not fairly nearly as good for laborious charging carves as I’d have anticipated, given their flex, and I feel a part of that was down to suit. I feel within the 9.5s they’d have been achieved somewhat higher – and perhaps have been somewhat higher for gradual pace turning too. 

I discovered that it wasn’t nearly as good because the Thraxis or Phantom, which I additionally examined that day, for carving – and whereas I did want them for gradual pace using over the Thraxis, I most well-liked the Phantom over these for gradual pace.  

Heel Maintain

Once I first tried these on, I believed they had been going to be a nightmare for heel elevate. Fortunately, I discovered J-Bars within the field. After inserting them, I believed they had been going to have high-end heel maintain. Ultimately, they settled into having good heel maintain, with out being wonderful. I think the 9.5 could be actually good with the J-Bars, however my guess is that the entrance finish of the boot could be too slender for me in a 9.5. 

Adjustability

They’ve good total adjustability. You’ll be able to tighten the decrease and higher sections independently, which is sweet. 

It is advisable to open up the shell to re-tighten the liner, if wanted (which is commonly the case, I discover, early in a boots life), so there is no means to try this simply with out opening the shell, however that is actually not a deal-breaker, a minimum of not for me. 

Additionally not a deal-breaker, however one thing that I like that it did not have, that a number of boots have nowadays, is Velcro on the prime of the liner to assist in getting a safer/cloes liner to shin match.  

However what it did have that basically helped, and on this case was mandatory for me, was J-Bars. Sure, you would get these aftermarket, but it surely’s good having them come within the field, so you do not have to make a separate buy and the effort and time concerned in having to try this. 

Consolation

I discovered these boots good and comfy. Sadly I feel that consolation, to some extent, got here at the price of some efficiency. However purely specializing in consolation, they weren’t stress level free, however what was there was minor and had been fading as I rode in them and I did not discover that except I used to be specializing in it. I may have ridden in these all day and night time proper out of the field with them. 

Shock Absorption

Stomp Take a look at: I discovered them to not take in shock throughout the in-house stomp check in addition to my management boots. Not that far off, however not fairly as nicely. 

On-Snow: On snow I discovered them to be rather less shock/chatter absorbing versus my management boots and vs the Thraxis and notably the Phantom. 

Traction/Sole High quality

The soles felt like they had been rubber throughout and appeared to be good and grippy. Pretty minimal sample selection and pretty minimal when it comes to total studs. Tread depth was common. General they appeared like good high quality soles. 

Decreased Footprint

They weren’t overly lengthy or cumbersome but additionally not an excellent low profile. Proper round common. If I may get within the 9.5, then that may imply decrease profile than the typical dimension 10 that I often slot in, and whereas I feel I may go 9.5 length-wise, I do not suppose I may width-wise. 

Rating Breakdown and Last Verdict

Try the breakdown of the rating within the desk beneath.