We got pretty excited when we found out Salomon is making a special Splitboard boot. They do have a lot of experience in making shoes. And their normal snowboard boots are epic. 

The first impression of the boot was good, everything looked well manufactured. But when we got to try on the boot it got a little more complicated, there are quite a lot of different lacing systems. First there is the liner; the liner fits very well like with other Salomon boots. To support the heel there is a heel lock, which works very good. But if you get your liner out of the shell and you're trying to put it back, it is a nightmare. To tighten the lower zone there is a (to us) new system, which we figured out after a while. The BOA is pretty simple but all in all, it took us a little bit to find out how the different lacings work. 

The boot itself feels light and has a very comfortable fit. When riding it definitely feels like a normal snowboard boot. I find it quite hard to get the BOA tight, not only with this boot but in general. Closing the boot, the knee needs to be bent when tightening the BOA System several times, otherwise you work against the touring mode and you want be able to tighten it properly. The velcro on top of the boot helps a lot to stiffen the cuff. In general the boot has a medium to higher stiffness, making it very versatile. 

When in touring mode you loosen the BOA & the velcro, keeping the lower lacing tight. This creates a moving upper zone while the lower zone is tight. It works, we never felt loose in the boot.  

Unfortunately the boot is not specially made for crampons. The sole provides enough grip but is not as good like with other Splitboard boots.

Conclusion:

This boot is definitely a must have to complete your Splitboard quiver! The moving cuff works great, you can get a much wider stride than usual, saving a lot of energy on the way up. The boot feels light & rides like a Freeride boot. This for us, makes up for the missing mountaineering features like vibram sole & crampons ready if you are not climbing around on remote ridges constantly.  You can still use basket crampons & the sole still works in all conditions. The outside measurements of this boot are much smaller than other boots we have reviewed, making it a lot easier to find boards and bindings setup at bigger shoe sizes. If you're looking for an everyday splitboard boot, there is no way around the Salomon Trek.