Product
Description
The
Salomon XT Wings GTX is
a low cut, waterproof women's trail running shoe. These
shoes are a brand new addition to the Salomon trail
running shoe line. So new in fact that there is nothing
about them on the company web site yet.
I find the Salomon
XT Wings GTX shoes to be very appealing to the eye.
The shoes have a synthetic leather overlay and nylon
mesh for the upper portion. The upper blue nylon material
has a grid type pattern. The nylon
uppers use what is called a Sensifit synthetic leather
overlay used to secure the instep and to help lock the
heel of the foot in place. The tongue of the shoe is
attached to the shoe body with stitching to help decrease
water from entering the shoe.
The shoes came
in a visually appealing box of red, black and white
colors with the "XT WINGS by SALOMON" written
on every side of the box. One side of the box has the
words "Take flight". The shoes had three hang
tags attached and a GORE-TEX guarantee contact information
sheet.
The shoes have
an Agile Chassis System (ACS). This system is claimed
by the manufacturer to integrate 3 components to increase
runner efficiency: the skeleton, muscle and tendon.
The tendon is located on the bottom rubber outsole of
the shoe. The skeleton is located on the clear plastic
just above the rubber portion of the shoe. The muscle
is located on the upper rubber portion on the shoe body.
There
are several locations on the upper portion of the shoes
that the features are stamped or have tags. The shoes
have the words "GORE-TEX" in gray on the synthetic
leather located on the outer sides of the shoe. There
is also a black tag on the outside heel of the shoe
labeled "GORE-TEX" in yellow lettering. The
Salomon brand name is in gray on the outside of the
heel above the "GORE-TEX" label. On the synthetic
leather the word "sensifit" is stamped in
gray. On the tongue of the shoes there is a piece of
blue nylon with the words "XT WINGS" in white.
The Agile Chassis System (AC Skeleton and AC Muscle)
of the shoes are marked on the upper portion of shoes
as well.
The shoe lining
is a GORE-TEX waterproof breathable membrane with synthetic
materials. This GORE-TEX liner is designed to help let
the foot breathe and to protect the foot and the shoe
from water. The synthetic components of the lining are
designed to assist with wicking moisture away from the
foot.
The mid-sole
is a triple-density EVA, this is claimed by the manufacturer
to maximize comfort and responsiveness with twice the
durability of average EVA foam. The mid-soles are also
indicated to have pronation control.
The support of
the shoes is a thermoplastic urethane insert. This clear
thermoplastic insert and outsole heel wrap are claimed
by the manufacturer to act as the skeleton to facilitate
heel-to-toe transition and side-to-side stability.
The insoles are
what Salomon calls Ortholite. They have an antimicrobial
treatment to assist with odor control. The hangtag on
the shoes indicate Ortholite as "comfort from the
inside out, air flow for a cool foot, long-lasting comfort,
odor and fungus inhibiting, wicks away moisture".
The insoles are constructed of a thin foam type of material
measuring about 4 mm (0.16 in) in thickness with a textile
overlay. There are holes in the foam material to help
with moisture wicking. There is a dense foam that supports
the foot below the forefoot. This foam serves as the
heel cup, arch, and lateral support of the foot. There
is no rigid support with this foam to support the arch
of the foot. I can easily fold the entire footbed up
in my hand. This concerns me as I need support for the
arch of my foot.
Ortholite
insoles
The lacing system of the shoes is called
an asymmetrical Quicklace system. There is no tying
of laces. To tighten the shoes it is just a pull of
the laces and a pocket located on the tongue of the
shoes tucks the tab away. The shoes come pre-laced with
the laces running through six loops of nylon material
(four of which have a plastic reinforcement in the loop)
and one made of the synthetic leather. The laces also
pass though two metal grommet holes attached to the
shoes. The laces then pass through a plastic pull tab
with a rubber piece at the end of the lacing system.
This rubber piece is held onto with one hand while the
other hand moves the pull tab to cinch the laces to
get a tight fit.
Lace pull tab
|
Lace pocket |
The shoes have protective toe and heel
caps to help protect the toes and heels from abrasion.
The toe caps have more coverage where the big toe is
located when wearing the shoes. Where the protective
toe cap material ends there is a section of synthetic
leather that is then double-stitched to the nylon material
of the shoe body. There is also
a sidewall mudguard on the shoes.
The running Contagrip outsole tendon
is claimed by the manufacturer to act like a spring
to collect heel strike energy and transfer it to toe-off
for forward momentum The rubber outsoles have many different
colors of rubber (black, red, gray, medium blue, and
light blue). I find the bottoms to be very colorful
and attractive to look at. But, when the heck would
I be looking at the bottoms of the shoes. The outsoles
have many features or names debossed on the bottom ("SALOMON,
contagrip, AC TENDON, and Patent n").
On the Contagrip outsoles there are
forefoot flex grooves, self-cleaning multi directional
lugs, toe off and braking lugs. The outsoles are constructed
of several different hardness of the Contagrip. On the
upper section (toe and forefoot) of the sole the lugs
face towards the back of the shoe. On the heel section
the lugs face towards the front of the shoe.
On the hangtag attached
to the shoes the manufacturer recommends to remove dirt
and mud from the shoes using a soft, wet brush and clean
water. They should never be washed in a washing machine.
It states to dry the shoes at room temperature without
the aid of the sun.
Initial
Fit and Impressions
The shoes have a good
initial fit. I have found that the shoes are easy to
don and doff. I just slipped my feet into the shoes
and held the rubber piece at the end of the lacing system
and cinched the pull tab until the shoes were at my
desired tightness. I wore the shoes on a short 1 mi
(1.61 km) walk in my neighborhood and there were no
pressure points or discomfort.
Field
Report
February
10, 2009 |
Testing
Locations
The
Salomon shoes were worn for a total of 103 mi (166 km)
and 31 days during the field testing period. This does
not include days I wore the shoes around town or to
work.
Newport Beach,
California: The temperature was recorded at
55 to 57 F (13 to 14 C) with heavy rain over a course
of two days. During one of these days I wore the XP
Wings on a day hike in the Newport Beach area totaling
4 mi (6 km). I also visited this area for another day
hike and hiked another 4 mi (6 km).
Red Rocks, Nevada:
This was a three-day climbing/camping trip. The highs
were around 55 F (13 C). The lows at night were around
30 F (-1 C). I wore the Salomon XT Wings GTX shoes while
approaching the climbs and on the hiking trails in the
park. We hiked about 10 mi (16 km) over the course of
the trip.
Crystal Cove State
Park, California: This was a day hike for a
total of 5 mi (8 km). The temperature was recorded at
53 F (12 C) with light rain in the early morning. The
elevation here is just above sea level.
Cleveland National
Forest, California (San Mateo Wilderness): This
was a two day backpacking trip on the Tenaja Trail to
Fisherman's Camp then to Tenaja Falls. From Tenaja Falls
we went back to Fisherman's Camp to spend the night.
We hiked 9 mi (14 km) on the first day and 3.5 mi (6
km) on the second day, all up-hill. It hit 75 F (24
C) for a high and got down to 28 F (-2 C) at night.
The high elevation was 2,000 ft (610 m) with a total
of 1,300 ft (396 m) of elevation gain and loss.
Orange County,
California: The shoes were worn for a total
of 23 days on local walks for exercise on the river
trail, beach trails, and on concrete. I also wore them
for a light jog. The shoes were worn for an average
4 mi (6 km) each day. The weather varied from sunny,
cloudy, to steady rain.
Performance
in the Field
Over the past two months
I have really enjoyed wearing the Salomon XT Wings GTX
shoes. They were comfortable right out of the box with
no break in time needed.
I noticed that there is
no irritation on my feet from the inner lining of the
shoes. The lining has two seams from what I can tell,
one on the heel area and one on the tongue. Even when
water entered the top of the shoes from water crossings
my feet were comfortable (as they could be) with no
irritation or hot spots. I also do not get any irritation
from the tongue of the shoes.
I have been able to wear
the XT Wings GTX shoes with many different types of
socks (synthetic and wool) with various thicknesses.
I have even worn them with a heavier weight type of
backpacking socks on one of my trips. I think the Quicklace
system of these shoes allows me to wear them with a
larger selection of sock types. When the tension of
the Quicklace is released to open the shoes to put them
on my feet they seem roomier than traditional shoes.
Plus I do not have to struggle and take time to loosen
my laces near the toe area of the shoes. I did notice
that if I tighten the pull tab in a seated position
I almost always have to make it tighter when I am standing.
On the trail I only had to tighten the laces from time
to time after climbing, but it only took a few seconds.
The stability of the shoes
is excellent. I believe this comes from the combination
of the pronation control and the compounds of the Agile
Chassis System (ACS)/thermoplastic
urethane insert. There is no need for me to wear
custom footbeds or aftermarket footbeds in these shoes.
In most shoes I have to wear a footbed or orthotic to
achieve my desired support and proper foot positioning.
I have worn the shoes with a pack weight of up to 27
lb (12 kg) and there was no lack of support. I actually
enjoyed wearing them on backpacking trip because they
are lighter in weight than my low cut hiking shoes.
The XT Wings GTX shoes
breathe well. I have yet to wear them in scorching hot
temperatures, but in temperatures below 75 F (24 C)
my feet did not excessively perspire. I thought my feet
would have perspired more with the GORE-TEX lining.
However, when water enters the tops of the shoes it
stays inside and it has to be dumped out.
These shoes are definitely
waterproof. I have worn them in down pours of rain and
in stream crossings. Just as long as the water does
not enter the tops of the shoes my feet stay dry. I
am very impressed with how waterproof they are.
During my trip to Red
Rocks I had to carry a pack full of climbing gear with
the weight being approximately 22 lb (10 kg). I had
to scramble up rocks and even had to take off my pack
at times and hand it up to my friend while scrambling
to reach the climbing areas. The toe areas of the shoes
developed scuff marks on the black toe protector material.
These scuff marks appear to have worn away the black
toe protector (toe rand) material and some gray is showing.
It appears that in one area a hole in the black toe
rand goes through to the shoe fabric. The black toe
rand material is very thin from what I can tell. I did
not use the shoes in any extreme way on this trip. Even
prior to my trip to Red Rocks there were some small
scuff marks on the toe rand, but now there are many
more. My toe rands on my other trail running shoes seem
to be thicker and more durable. I can say that because
they have been worn for over 150 mi (242 km) and the
toe rands look like new.
Toe
scuff marks
The Quicklace system tab
pocket on the shoe I feel is on the small side. When
I have the pull tab and the remaining lacing stored
in the pocket it bulges out. Maybe if the pocket was
recessed it would help with the bulging. Sometimes my
pants get stuck on the bulging pocket.
The shoes have good traction
on wet and dry surfaces. They do not have a loss of
traction on wet pavement as my other trail runners do.
The Contagrip outsoles allow light mud not to get caked
on the bottom of the shoes. I have not worn them in
thick mud at this time, just wet trails after rain.
Long
Term Report
April
14, 2009 |
Testing
Locations
The
Salomon XT Wings GTX shoes were worn for a total of
167 mi (269 km) and 57 days during the entire testing
period. This does not include days I wore the shoes
around town or to work.
Crystal Cove State
Park, California: The shoes were worn at this
location on two day hikes during the testing period.
The elevation was from sea level to 60 ft (18 m). The
one day hike completed was on the beach mostly in wet
sand as we followed the coast in and out of the tide
pools. It was raining right before we left so it was
a bit cool. The temperatures were between 50 F and 68
F (10 C and 20 C). Both trips were 5 mi (8 km) each.
On one of the hikes in this location there was a light
misty rain.
Crystal Cove State
Park
Agua Bonita Spring
in the Santa Rosa Mountains, California: This
was a backpacking trip that dropped from high desert
to low desert. The high temperature was 75 F (24 C)
and a low of 33 F (1 C) at night. The trip totaled 21
miles (34 km) with 2,950 ft (899 m) of elevation gain
and loss.
Red Rocks, Nevada
and Zion National Park, Utah: This was a four-day
trip that consisted of assorted approach hiking, climbing
and day-hiking. Our first day was rained out and got
very cold but the next three days were great. Temps
ranged from 40 F (4 C) to 72 F (22 C) with elevations
ranging from 3,600 ft (1,097 m) to almost 6,000 ft (1,829
m). Winds were constant, but mild except for the first
day when they were very strong.
Taking a break at
the top of Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah
Whiting Ranch,
California: This was a short 3 mi (5 km) day
hike after a mountain bike ride. The elevation started
at approximately 900 ft (274 m). The temperature was
approximately 65 F (18 C).
Orange County,
California: The shoes were worn for a total
of 23 days on local walks for exercise on the river
trail, beach trails, and on concrete. I also wore them
for a light jog. The shoes were worn for an average
4 mi (6 km) each day. The weather varied from sunny,
cloudy, to steady rain.
Performance
in the Field
During the last four months
of testing I have really enjoyed wearing the Salomon
XT Wings GTX shoes. What I like most about them is the
Quicklace system. When I put these shoes on I can be
ready to go much faster than if I was wearing traditional
trail runners with regular shoe laces. I found that
the Quicklace system is much easier to adjust than a
traditional lacing system. I just have to pull the cord
a tad bit tighter or just loosen it some at the pull
tab.
The Kevlar laces are in
excellent condition and there is no wear through the
lower nylon webbing lacing loop. This surprised me.
I assumed with all the tension on the lower lacing loop
I would see some wear. The plastic protectors on the
upper nylon webbing lacing loops have not cracked or
broke. The Quicklace pull tab is still in fine working
order. On one of my hikes I had to scramble up steep
rocks and high-step frequently. When I got to the summit
I decided to tighten the laces more snug for the decent,
mostly for stability purposes. I do not think the laces
loosened, if they did it was very minor. I basically
just wanted a snugger fit due to the known obstacles
on the trail. On the Internet I stumbled across Kevlar
replacement laces for the shoes. The kit comes with
the laces, pull tabs, and the webbing protectors. This
is good to know if they need replacing in the future.
The Salomon XT Wings GTX
shoes are still very comfortable when I wear them. On
one of my most recent trips I for some reason put on
a pair of backpacking socks. I had an extra pair of
lighter weight socks with me, but I was too lazy to
change my socks on the trail. The backpacking socks
did not fill up too much volume. However, my feet were
sweating and when I removed the shoes my socks the inner
lining of the shoes and the Ortholite footbeds were
damp. The footbeds and the inside linings of the shoes
do not seem to be retaining any foul odors at this point.
I am very disappointed
in the durability of the toe rand. The fabric, synthetic
leather, Kevlar lacing system, and the soles of the
shoes look in good condition, whereas the toe rand is
very scuffed with gray showing across the entire portion.
This wear has significantly gotten worse over the testing
period. The shoes would not be presentable for me to
wear at work or in many public places. I have never
had a pair of shoes that the toe rand wore so quickly.
For future models of these shoes I would like to see
a more durable toe rand. I do not have this problem
with other trail runners that use a thicker toe rand.
Even though the toe rand is wearing through my toes
are still protected when I bump and kick rocks with
the toes of the shoes.
Even with the Agile Chassis
Systems (ACS), triple-density EVA mid-soles, and the
thermoplastic urethane inserts I am beginning to see
some outer border heel tread wear on the shoes. It is
minor, but noticeable. Even with this wear my feet feel
stable in the shoes. This wear was not noticeable during
my field test reporting. Otherwise the soles are in
excellent condition with lots of lug tread remaining.
The wear is occurring because the soles of my feet naturally
turn medially (inversion).
I usually wear orthotics
or custom footbeds. These shoes significantly help my
heel inversion, but it is still slightly present. I
attempted to place a very thin moldable footbed into
the shoe to help correct the problem. When I placed
the footbed into the shoe and tightened the lacing system
I noticed that the fabric near the nylon lacing loop
was bunching up significantly. As that was very uncomfortable
I decided not to use them and replaced the original
footbeds.
My
feet do not become overly fatigued in these shoes. They
are comfortable on my daily walks, day hikes, and multi-day
backpacking trips. The shoes are not thin soled that
I feel every rock and bump when I am hiking. The traction
is great on wet surfaces, sand, sand stone, rocks, grass,
dirt, and pavement. The only time I had traction issues
was on wet mossy rocks, which is understandable.
Generally with these shoes
I have worn lightweight to mid-weight wool socks. On
one occasion I did wear backpacking heavy wool socks.
On a few occasions I wore synthetic socks that are very
thin and they remind me of sock liners. I could feel
the difference when I wore these socks as my foot did
not feel as securely placed as they did with my wool
socks. I have not received any blisters or foot irritation
while wearing these shoes.
I wore the shoes in standing
water on a few occasions during the long term reporting
phase. In the tide pools at Crystal Cove State Park
the shoes were in salt water. My feet felt damp. From
what I could tell the water did not enter the tops of
the shoes. I wanted to further assess this. So I put
the shoes in a sink full of water and I submerged them
being careful not to have water enter the tops of the
shoes. Low and behold after about 5 minutes the insides
of the shoes became damp. I could see where the water
was leaking in and it appears to me it is a stress point
of where my foot flexes. It is my understanding that
GORE-TEX has a lifetime warranty so I am going to check
that out in the future. The shoes have many miles on
them and I think that is why the GORE-TEX lining is
now failing. In my initial report the shoes were completely
waterproof.
Summary
I am happy with the Salomon
XT Wings GTX shoes; they are comfortable, have a great
lacing system, the tread is great, and they can still
be worn after having 167 mi (269
km) on them. What I am not happy about is after
four months of use the GORE-TEX lining seems to have
failed and that the black toe rand is scuffed and there
is gray showing through. The toe rand scuffs is not
inhibiting the performance of the shoes at this time.
It is more of a cosmetic issue. Plus they look very
old and abused with these scuffs. I will continue to
wear these shoes until the sole wears out or until they
fall apart. At that point I will look into another pair
of Salomon shoes with the same lacing system.
Things
That Rock
- Quicklace system
- Comfortable
- No irritation from the lining
- Good traction, even on wet
surfaces
- Foot stability
Things
That Are So-So
- The thin protective toe cap (toe
rand)
- Small Quicklace tab pocket
Remarks
This
concludes my reporting on the Salomon
XT Wings GTX trail running
shoes. Thank you Salomon and backpackgeartest.org
for providing me with the opportunity to test the Salomon
XT
Wings GTX trail running shoes. |
