Salomon XT Wings Shoe Review

You’ll forgive me if I used to consider Salomon primarily a ski company.

After all, most of its 60-year history has been dedicated to creating world-class gear for winter mounain sports. The brand was born in the heart of the French Alps, and Solomon would eventually become a worldwide leader in skis, boots, bindings, and high-tech apparel. Salomon’s own timeline traces their accomplishments and product developments through the years – a list that is essentially dominated by ski innovations for the first half-century. The first hiking shoe doesn’t appear until 1994; the first trail running shoe arrives in 2001.

However, whatever the company lacks in trail running experience, it more than makes up for with passionate involvement in all kinds of sports that don’t involve snow. They sponsor various race series all over the country, and support a team of ultra runners, Xterra triathletes, and adventure racers (including one guy whose apparent credentials are that he lives in a cabin and once rode a motorcycle to South America. Seriously.)

Just as they did for skiers, Salomon has created a very diverse product line for trail runners, from base layers and outerwear, to bags and packs, to a wide line of footwear. I’ve found the quality of their running apparel to be outstanding – in fact, I wore the same white Salomon shirt for both of my 100-mile races over the past year – so I guess it was only a matter of time before I took their shoes for a spin.


Chances are that you’ve already heard of the XT Wings: they’re something of the flagship model of the line, and they’ve been VERY heavily promoted in fitness magazines and running websites. (Anecdotally, Solomon also seems to be a brand that runners are very loyal towards: many people try this particular model and never go back to their previous shoes.) They’re billed as a balanced combination of cushioning and agility that perform equally well on roads and trails.

To accomplish this, the underside of the shoe is built with two integral components, called the Agile Chassis Skeleton and Agile Cell Muscle. The AC Skeleton is a plastic mold that controls lateral movement to improve stability on trails, and the AC Muscle provides cushioning for the road with a super-dense EVA foam that supposedly has twice the durability of average EVA material.


The upper is a combination of mesh nylon and synthetic leather that is fairly typical when it comes to ventilation; it didn’t feel as breezy as the La Sportivas (Wildcat and Crosslite) I reviewed, but about the same as the Montrail and Vasque models I frequently use. It also has thickened rubber for extra protection at vulnerable areas like the front toe cap.

One novel feature of the upper is the Quicklace system: a very thin, wire-like lacing mechanism that tightens the entire shoe in a single pull. The top of the wire can be quickly tucked away into a small flap on top of the tongue, so it doesn’t bounce around while running. Triathletes call these “speed laces”, and use them to get in and out of their shoes quickly in transition areas – I imagine the Xterra folks on Salomon’s roster had a lot of input into this aspect of the shoe.

Quicklace system

Given the intended duality of this shoe, I’ve used the XT Wings on both roads and trails, and wore them exclusively for all of my mountain running in the Sierras last month. From a comfort standpoint, they performed exactly as advertised – they felt just as nice during 90 minutes on asphalt as they did during two hours on single tracks. Overall weight of the shoe is 13 oz, which doesn’t feel particularly heavy on long runs. The fit and comfort are also enhanced by a feature called the Ortholite sockliner, which covers the forefoot and supports the heel in a thin, lightweight foam material.

The comfort aspect is probably what distinguishes the XT Wings from other brands of trail running shoes. These seem like a perfect shoe if you need to jog down the road a few miles to reach the trailhead, but still want a supportive ride on the dirt and rocks once you get there.

Some brief summary bullets:

Strengths
· Can be used comfortably as either a road or trail shoe.
· Quick lace system is perfect for triathletes - and everything else about this shoe makes it a great choice for Xterra races.

Drawbacks
· The outsole seems less “grippy” than other shoes I’ve reviewed, as I occasionally experienced some mild slipping on very steep, loose gravel sections of trail.
· The lacing system is great, but if you like to modify the tension of your laces asymmetrically, that might be hard with Quicklaces.
· Relatively high retail price -usually $120, but listed on some sites for as much as $130.

Let's be honest – it seems tough to justify spending 130 bucks on a shoe when there are plenty of equal or better quality trail models out there for under $100. One case where I could see spending this kind of money is if you don’t log a lot of weekly mileage and you’re looking for a single model to function as both your road and trail trainers.

A better alternative is to try finding a deal somewhere – and I can help in that regard as well. Between now and August 20th, Wilderness Running Company is selling the shoes at a $10 discount from their normal $120 list price – and if you enter coupon code R&R10, you’ll get an additional 10% off and a free pair of Bridgedale socks (normally $14-$16), plus free shipping. Your "out the door" price for everything dips below $100 - so if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to try Salomon shoes, or if you’re looking for a very solid all-purpose shoe, this gives you a great chance.

See previous gear reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.