Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 Trail-Running Shoes - Men's
3.8 (based on 48 reviews)
72%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Trail running (33)
Mixed terrain (29)
Walking (19)
Road running (8)
Work (7)
By negu
From Denver, CO
About Me Gym Rat
Apr/6/2013
2.0 5th pair of Salomons - declining quality
(2 of 4 customers found this review helpful)
Pros
Comfortable
Good Arch Support
Good Traction
Lightweight
Cons
Incompatible Wsuperfeet
Poor Cushioning
Poor Design Causes Wear
Poor Quality Adhesive
Wears Quickly
Best Uses
All Weather Conditions
Trail Running
The pros are this is a very lightweight, comfortable shoe, agile shoe for everyday wearing as well as light hiking, biking, running and exercise. In terms of what you get, it's not unlike the great comfort experience of this shoe's Salomon predecessors.
But my main gripes about this particular shoe are the:
Squeaking shoes: The superfeet support insert does not fit properly because of this Salomon's excessively protruding footwell seam which causes the superfeet to compete for that space, and the ill fit causes really loud squeaking in this shoe upon every footfall. I have 2 pair and it happens in both, and tried a 3rd at REI and had the same thing happen, with 2 different sets of superfeet, so that's what led me to the design flaw conclusion.
Eyelet attrition: The Z-lace eyelets are not made of solid nylon or metal, instead they are made out of a thin turn of nylon cordage, which means that the Z-lace itself will slowly cut through those eyelets like a saw (via abrasion) over time. This essentially means that this shoe was designed to fail early and often by design. For such an expensive shoe, this is unacceptable.
Having said that, the eyelets that end up wearing the most are an indicator of the most stressed areas of the foot during your gait / activity. So having that as a metric is the silver lining; too bad you have to sacrifice your shoe to get that data.
Heelsaw : the heelcup is a nylon shield draped in some cheapish foam and covered by a fragile thin mesh of their webbing material. This wears excessively early in the heel like so many others (go to a garage sale and you'll see this flaw glaring at you from so many sad dead salomons). So it's a trend now, to make things bad on purpose so the wear early and have you buying another. This shoe is bad and salomon is bad because of bad shoe.
Other things to mention- if you run on concrete or asphalt, the tread wears very quickly. A good cobbler can actually trim and replace the bottom with a sturdy vibram sole intended for a hiking boot at less than half the cost of a new pair of salomons so it's worth it.
Although this will significantly increase the weight, the shoe still works way better than most shoes and will last much much longer (years versus months). For hiking, it's still a very comfortable shoe while it lasts.
By whoa boy
From San Francisco, CA
About Me Avid Athlete
Mar/7/2013
5.0 On my 7th pair
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Pros
Comfortable
Cushions Impact
Durable
Good Arch Support
Good Traction
Lightweight
Rugged
Best Uses
Mixed Terrain
Trail Running
Walking
I wear these shoes every day until they wear out then I buy a new pair. Going on 7 years now. I walk in them, I run on and off trail with them, and I hike with them.
The laces used to break after about a year of constant use, but they seem to have improved that with the last iteration.
They are definitely not true to size, no matter what the description says. They run small. I take at least 1/2 size larger than my normal shoe size.
BOTTOM LINE Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
By idahooutdoorsman
From Boise, ID
About Me Avid Athlete
Mar/4/2013
5.0 Great Shoe
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Pros
Comfortable
Durable
Good Traction
Rugged
Best Uses
All Weather Conditions
Mixed Terrain
Trail Running
Walking
Wet Weather
Work
After wearing my first pair thoroughly out I chose to get a second pair. After years of hiking and working in these shoes they finally needed replacing, they just got too loose. I replaced the laces and they still worked fine though. I have worn these shoes everywhere; I never got blisters or hot spots, even the new pair fit/feel great from day 1. Will continue to support salomon as long as they keep making great footwear like these.
BOTTOM LINE Yes, I would recommend this to a friend