I was down in Houston for work this past week and had some time to kill, so I stopped by REI to try on everything they had. I tried a few sizes of the Salomon quest 4d gtx. Nice boot and fit great, but the more reviews I've read on them, the farther I'm staying away from them. Apparently they are on the "version 3" currently, which is not holding up near as well as version 2. The soles are coming unglued and the rest of the boot seems to deteriorate fairly quickly. Unfortunately there were more bad reviews than good ones, because I liked the way they fit.

I still have a couple of places to go try on boots, but at least at REI I've narrowed it down to 2 there. Oboz Sawtooth 2 and the Keen Targhee 3. I'm scared the Keens may be a little bit of a too soft footed boot, but I bet those would be great for every day wear. The Sawtooths may be the ones I end up with, depending what else I find at Bass Pro or Cabelas.

As an overall hiking and packing boot, without needing one really stiff for extreme country, you be hard pressed to find a better boot than the Salomon quest 4d gtx. Look them up and read reviews. Probably one of the best reviewed boots you will find.