I’ve been wearing the Salomon XA Pro Series for the last 10 years. Admittedly the main reason why I wear them is because I am lazy. The nifty lacing system has always been a huge “draw” for me as I can never seem to keep my laces tied together even with special knotting techniques! While the shoe has evolved, I am still lazy…a brief history of my experience with the shoe:Late 1990’s – The Salomon high cut boot with the velcro strap across the top was my favorite shoe for long hiking sections. It provided my weak ankles with additional support but that velcro strap never stayed on – all that sand and grit buggered up the bonding properties of velcro. I eventually cut it off.
Early 2000’s – The recognized tri-colour look (yellow, red and blue) covered the next XA Pro shoe but it had zero support and cushioning- nada, nothing. A terrible shoe that forced me to switch to Montrails.
Mid 2003 – Back again in XA Pros for short races with a better designed shoe with greater support and cushioning. Still love the kelvar lacing system and the new reinforced toebox – I am sure it saved me from losing more toe nails.
2006/2007 – The shoe doesn’t change much: the Contragrip sole is grippy, the shoe is light, drains well and has a decent toe box but somehow my foot has grown and the shoe is tight, even a half size up!
And now, the XT wings – the much anticipated release of the latest and greatest. Well, after doing about 50k on trails with this shoe, I have to say it is their best model yet. The shoe is built for trails yet has the feel of a road shoe. All the things that were good on the XA series are back with the wings, not to mention the hot red colour that matches really well with the Team RF kit.
The only issue I have the shoes is that they do feel clunky which is a good and bad thing as some of the nimbleness of the shoe is to provide that additional comfort and support. Compared to other trail shoes I also feel like I am riding high off the ground – I tend to prefer to be lower to the ground to “feel” the rocks/roots underneath me.
However, having said that, this is the best Salomon shoe I have worn and thank goodness it doesn’t have that velcro strap!
