One of Salomon’s most distinctive running shoes, Salomon’s Speedcross 3 is a lightweight runner with a beastly set of lugs. Trek Tech’s new running gear tester Ashly Miller puts it through its paces…then performed minor surgery on it.

 Salomon Speedcross 3 trail running shoes $125, salomonrunning.com

The Good: Perfect balance of support, protection, and comfort.

The Bad: Quicklace ties loosen up on downhill section.

The Ugly: Will your family love a mountain goat?

So I run.  A lot.  I never fancied myself a “trail runner” though.  The dirt, the rocks, the switch backs…the dirt.  Yet, ultra race, after ultra race, I would look around and I was on a trail; a challenging one.  Thousands of miles later, it is still the same issue: finding lightweight trail shoes with the right combination of protection and comfort.

It is hard to find shoes that can adapt to changing terrain, have enough cushion to protect your feet from rocks, that aren’t too heavy, that aren’t basically road shoes with a different tread pattern.  Enter Salomon’s Speedcross 3 trail running shoe.

Running on flat, even trails, the shoes were fine, but they really shined on trails with lots of climbing and varied terrain. On a 31-mile run on the Feather Falls trail in Oroville, CA, the Speedcross impressed. This trail has lots of climbing and mellow, gradual descents, and the ground changes from soft dirt, to rock, to hard packed dirt trail with some water crossings, and the shoes handled all of it without an issue. The aggressive tread handles the climbs, and throughout the run I never had to think about slipping, altering my speed, or stepping wrong on rocks.  I could simply run.

On California’s Rodeo Beach trails, a combination of hard packed dirt, pavement, sand rocks, and stairs and a lot of downhill sections, I found a chink in the Speedcross’ armor.  I had to cap the test at 13 miles because of the way my toes kept bumping up against the toebox. The speed laces had a tendency to loosen up as I ran, which led to some crushing toe bumping on the downhills. I didn’t expect the quick tie laces to be an issue and was hoping these shoes would be the only ones I needed at my larger races. I never felt unstable or soreness on my feet, but my toes were toast.

I liked the shoe’s other qualities so much, though, that I decided to swap the Quicklace out for regular laces, and the difference is night and day. The toe bump is just about gone, and I can still enjoy great leverage when climbing up gnarly hills.

Besides the trails, my favorite place to take them is the bagel shop- they just look cool; covered in dirt, tread going up the front of the toes, designed to look like a racing shoe. And they just feel good to walk in.

Bottom line: these shoes are made to work, no matter where you wear them.  Switch out the quick tie laces and these shoes complete your mountain goat transformation.  Use them accordingly.

Tags:  footwear mud run running running shoes salomon shoes speedcross 3 trail running