Most fell runner seem to like their fell shoes to be paper thin so they can feel the ground under their feet, not me, i like to have the comfort of plenty of padding and know my poor old knees are getting some protection from my over weight body bouncing around on them.
So when i came to buy a new pair of running shoes i did some research and decide the neutral XR Crossmax trail shoes were just what i needed (wanted). I like Salomon shoes as they work well for me, deep enough for my orthotics and plenty of cushioning in the sole, great lace system that's easy to use and until now – durable.
These shoes are advertised as a long distance shoe with on and off road capability, ideal for me because invariably the run home from work is part road, part trails and a couple of miles of messy single track.
Unfortunately i’ve only had 3 months of use from them and they are “falling to bits”, quite disappointing for a Salomon product. The material around the front looks like it has rotted away, i’m assuming they are designed to get wet and dirty and they get used most days, so they are usually wet or stuffed with news paper to dry them out ready for their next outing.
Rotten shoes - Salomon XRCrossmax
The excellent lace system has proven unreliable this time as well and both laces have failed, its not hard to repair them but again quite disappointing on such an expensive product.
So – despite good all round trail performance i’m really not impressed with these shoes and i certainly won’t be buying another pair, neither will i waste any more time trying to contact Salomon, their web site says to contact your local dealers....unfortunately i bought them from eBay and as you would expect – they are not interested.
They really are past it :-(
I will chalk this up to experience and in-spite of these problems with a Salomon product, i have ordered a pair of Speedcross 3 trail shoes, this time i have spent the extra and bought them from an online shop with a reputation for looking after their customers - http://www.wiggle.co.uk
More appropriate (and more expensive) for training on the fells so they had better last a little longer.
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