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






















3 Comments
Salomon Speedcross 3 Trail Running Shoes For Men Green
With less bulkiness to slow you down, this race trail shoe provides just enough cushioning and and excellent grip to keep your strides strong and true whether or not you’re racing toward an established finish line.The Quicklace system gets you suited up lickity split so you hit the ground running and never look back. The on sale price was excellent. Excellent support and stability.
Synthetic and Mesh
Rubber sole
Seamless upper with SensiFit construction
QuickLace system with lace pocket
Injection-molded EVA midsole
Winter-ready Contagrip outsole with protective toe cap
Salomon SpeedCross 3 are perfect for walking and hiking and can even support a bit of weight from a pack. They do not have the arch supporting insoles that some Salomons have but they are very comfortable nonetheless. Very comfortable right out of the box. Haven’t worn much yet, but they look and feel great!
Exactly what is the most important snake, I need to understand for research?
Thank you so much for this review!
I got these shoes a few weeks back and a week ago wore them at my first trail running half marathon. They have a great grip (had a lot of downhill running on dirt) and were really comfortable and my feet never felt hot, despite being quite a hot summer day, but at the end of the race, my toenails were turning purple and were hurting. Right now, 5 days later, my nails are turning darker and darker, they still hurt and the root is red. From the time I finished the race I was wondering what I did wrong: were my nails long, were the shoes small (they are about 1 size bigger than my normal shoe size), was my running form a problem?
So this article is a life saver! I will replace the laces as soon as I can (I’m also thinking of gluing the insoles, since I also presume they slide forward) and hopefully soon I’ll be running again and not throwing them away.