Salomon Wildcross

Salomon Wildcross

I've been running regularly in Salomon shoes ever since I started running trail ultras. I've gone through a few different styles and models over those years. The one thing that I always love about putting on a Salomon shoe is the grip will always be the best and generally that the upper of the shoe will wear out before anything else. When the new Wildcross came out, I was sold on it before ever seeing it in person. I didn't need to read any reviews, but then after I had a chance to run in them, I knew they would be one of my favorite shoes for a long time.

Salomon Wildcross

I live in Western North Carolina where the trails are steep, rocky, and can be wet from either rain, early morning fog, or snow. You can run in pretty much any shoe you want, but for me, I want to feel stuck to the ground as much as possible. When going up or down the climbs, I want to know I'm not going anywhere, even if it is over 1000 feet of elevation change in a mile. I've worn the Wildcross on dry days, muddy days, and even snowy days where there are patches of ice on the trail. In every condition, I have the same running experience and feel glued to the ground. This is why I purchased this shoe - so that when the weather may change the trail surfaces, I can still have the same kind of running and don't have to change too much.

Salomon Wildcross

Now, when looking at the shoe and even trying it on, it will have the feel of a cleat, like a soccer or baseball cleat. This gave me some caution about using them on harder surfaces like gravel roads or even asphalt. I can attest that yes, there is a bit of shock when running on hard surfaces, but I don't use these shoes for road runs. So they are not going to be a city to trail shoe, but when doing a run that involves a little bit of sidewalk or hard gravel surfaces - the shoe is not going to beat you up too much. It's just something to be aware of. I think because of its grip in the soft surfaces, it all evens out.

Salomon Wildcross

Now, how comfortable can this shoe be? Salomon did a great job with this one and made it a wider fit than usual. I usually don't wear a Salomon shoe for anything longer than 15-20 hours because my feet swell too much, but this one is definitely an excption. I've worn it for 20 mile runs and 60 mile runs and my feet are probably beat up more than if I was in a comfy Hoka or Altra, but I rather take that beating over wearing one of those shoes when it comes to the trails near me. So if you have some really gnarly terrain to get through, then this shoe needs to be part of yoru collection.

Disclaimer: I have recieved none of this gear for free or work for any of these companies. These are my opinions and mine only.

Happy Trails
Ryan

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Posted by Ryan James on 2020-12-22

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