Salomon Men's Speedcross 3 127612 Trail Running Shoe

I've owned 2 sets of Speedcross 3's. You can find plenty totally rockin reviews on how great these things are for trail running. I hope I can share some new thoughts on these shoes since I use them for a slightly different purpose - mountaineering, peak bagging, long-distance hiking with a heavy pack, and of course, a bit of trail running, too.I can say I was brutally destructive with my first pair of Speedcross 3's. The toughest 3 days I ever put them through was during my summit attempt on Wyoming's high point - Mt Gannett, via the ~55 mile long Glacier Trail. Over those 3 days of 90+degree heat, I put my Salomon's through a bit over 55 miles and ~10,000 feet of elevation gain while wearing a 50 pound pack. I covered dirt, mud, rock, grass, snow, and ice. I wore the Salomon's through cold, fast-moving stream crossings and then kept plowing ahead for mile after mile as they dried on my feet. I scrambled over a solid mile of giant, ankle-snapping boulders to make it to the glacier field below the peak. Then, ice axe in hand, I hiked straight up snow and ice steep enough to warrant strapping my 10-point crampons onto the Salomons. Finally, some high class-3 rock scrambling followed by more snow and ice.I finished this peak with scars on my shoulders and hips that I still bear a year later from covering that kind of distance with so much weight in my pack, and some well earned respect for these shoes!Conclusions:1) The Speedcross is designed as a nicely cushioned runner meant to take a pounding while covering distance on a tough trail. I personally think this trait makes it wonderfully suited to hiking with a heavy pack over long distance. I've covered exactly 23.5 miles and about 5,000 feet of elevation change in 15 hour hike, all with a 50lb pack, and the Salomon's left my feet feeling ready for more the next day. Due to the lighter weight compared to boots, and the support and cushioning of the Salomon's, I no longer even own hiking boots.2) Traction in snow - on several different peaks, I've learned I can confidently scramble up 40-degree angle snow as I'm moving up a snowy peak. I *cannot* do that in any other shoe or non-mountaineering boot that I've owned. I can strap on crampons at a later point, or leave them behind entirely sometimes, with these shoes. I've even used these shoes to kick steps into the soft snow as I'm moving back down these snow fields. If you're getting them with sufficient room in the toe box (a must for trail runners if you don't want to kill your toes on the downhill portions), these shoes work OK kicking steps.3) Scrambling. I can say right off that these are not comparable in way to approach shoes, so you won't do any real climbing in them. However, considering that these shoes are not intended for climbers, I'm nicely pleased with the grip they do give on boulders and steep, dirty, slippery slopes and trails. The way the sole wraps up around to the top of the toe area makes a nice impact on this aspect.4) As a heavier person - I'm 6'4 and 225 lbs, and very lean and athletic, but I'm still *way* heavy for a trail runner, I find the grip on these shoes is a godsend for me. I'll never be nimble, but when I'm chasing smaller, more agile runners down a steep trail, pivoting and changing direction is a lot tougher for me. I can have more confidence in my grip. I really can't say enough about how much I like the very aggressive tread pattern on these shoes based on my use of them.5) The lugs flex a bit, which is good for traction but will cause them to wear eventually. The sole, where it wraps around the front of the shoe where your toes are, came loose on me eventually. Some shoe glue kept it back in place until I finally tossed my first pair out.I probably got around 250 miles total out of these. Remember, though, that's with a lot of weight and some serious abuse being put on them. I bought my second pair, happily, I highly recommend these shoes!

ABSOLUTE BEST outdoor all terrain shoe out there!! I have tried the Reebok shoe specifically designed for rope climbing and wet sports and all things Spartan. Those are thin and uncomfortable and give no support or protection. All the opposite for these shoes. Support, protection, light weight, cleans up easy. I took these out of the box and used them immediately on the 13 miles Spartan Beast in SC. There was no breaking in process. These immediately molded to my feet and were comfortable through all 13 miles, 12.5 of which these shoes were covered in mud. The mud did not stick too bad, and washed out just fine if I splashed in a puddle for a second. The water drains super fast and these are super comfortable. The ribs on the bottom are great for mud and inclines and perform great on all forms of obstacles. From rope climbs, to wall climbs, these shoes dominate. I have used them in 5 obstacles races and they still look BRAND NEW. Take out the insole, throw them in the washer and they are pristine. There is not one negative about this shoe. This is not a minimalist shoe, but it is not bulky or heavy at all. These shoes provide more than adequate protection and comfort, with performance matched only by the sweet lacing system. I was skeptical of this when ordering it blind on line, but WOW. Better than standard. No way to explain it to someone who has not tried it. It works, trust me. At least 50% of the people in the groups I train with in Miami wear these shoes. I will definitely buy another pair, and may be hooked for life.

I am now on my fourth copy of the goretex (gtx) version of this shoe. This was the first non-goretex version that I ever got and I did so only because of a combination of amazon offers that I got it very cheaply (maybe because I chose the yellow version which seems to be unpopular but i like). As most of my runs are (or are likely to include) the possibility of runs over wet ground, the gore-tex to me has always been a no-brainer, and i have never found the supposed downside of goretex, that "your feet get too hot" to be an actual issue with these shoes (i wear thin socks).The 'lacing' system that these shoes use in my experience works perfectly. Honestly, I'm not even sure how it works - it just does.So far, I have found that this non-goretex vesion fits pretty much just like the goretex. In fact, I don't see any appreciable difference in overall weight or feel.on the foot. I've taken them for a run on a path (as opposed to off-path / on trail) where they were fine (the speedcross 3 will always feel spongy when new, especially if you try them on harder surfaces). However, I don't know how these will hold up to the wet conditions that i will normally face, so i will keep these for a trip to, say, mallorca where trail running can be done in guaranteed dry conditions. maybe i'm being paranoid here, but as I've had such good success with the goretex version i'm not particularly wont to change this.As others have mentioned, these fit small. I normally wear a 10.5 US - for these it's an 11 or suffer more black toenails (as I did when I ordered my first pair of these, an 10.5 online). Don't even think about no getting the next half size up.One thing: once the tread wears out, it becomes a very hard shoe indeed. If you hear your feet "slamming", it's time to retire the shoe for the sake of your back, even if the rest of the shoe seems in good condition. As i said - i run these mostly on muddy trails and even so the tread goes before the rest of the shoe.