New pair of shoes (Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra)
By Julien on Monday, March 1 2010, 14:55 - Equipment - Permalink
With such a name, these shoes can only be good (although there are also the "Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra GTX", which must be amazing) :) . I bought these trail running shoes on Saturday and tried them straight away on a 29km run the next day. That might not have been a brilliant idea, as I came back with a massive blister under my left arch. I hope this is only a first-use issue...
I needed something intermediate between my road running shoes and the Flyroc in order to replace my beloved Asics Gel Orient that carried me on 3 UTMB. The Flyroc are a bit too hard on the concrete (and get worn out pretty quickly on hard surfaces). The Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra is a classic trail running shoe, pretty lightweight, without too much cushioning. As for the grip, it's not too bad on wet grass (although I was expecting a bit better), but not so good in deep mud. I can now wear the following:
Ultra Salomon XA Pro 3D
- New Balance M1062 for the road and hard paths (next: Vienna Marathon)
- Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra for the easy trails (next: Cambridge Boundary Run)
- Inov8 Flyroc for the mud, technical trails and off-path (next: Hardmoors55)
- Vibram Five Fingers for the fun
Ultra Salomon XA Pro 3D
Comments
Great name! Salomon shoe, let it judge your feet! You could also have the Moses shoe that parts the road, the Jesus shoe that goes on water, and the Methuselah shoe that you can keep for centuries :)
Julien
I have used this shoe on Mds, Jungle Marathon, West Highland way and train with them all the time. I think as you say, 29km on a new shoe, blisters to be expected!
Peter
excellent shoes. i like these and the salomon wings, also using the salomon speedcross at the moment for fell use