SALOMON CROSS HIKE GTX: The Speedcross philosophy approaches the hikes. Our HIKING SHOES section presents today one more novelty of the catalogue of the French brand for 2021-22. Heiress of the speeecross philosophy, now comes a very peculiar fast hiking shoe.
We continue the advance 21-22 Salomon after the Ultra Glide with 32mm of cushioning to run long on firm ground and the Salomon Cross Pro 2 for racing in mud and soft. Today we go with this shoe that, for visual effects, shares an look with the Cross Pro, without a doubt. But with a more “quiet” approach of use. We start with the analysis by our #patroncarrerasdemontana Jorge Sabugo.
SALOMON CROSS HIKE GTX: THE SPEEDCROSS PHILOSOPHY
APPLIED TO ALPINE HIKES.
The Salomon Cross range was launched by Salomon about 2-3 years ago building on the heritage of the Speedcross saga for mountain racing. His goal has been to apply that successful Speedcross philosophy of maximum grip and traction on soft terrain to all trails. If in the mountain races this 2021 we already have the Speedcross 5 as a classic of the saga and with the Salomon Cross Pro as a new version with more recent technologies, in the Salomon hiking range the same thing has happened.
The SALOMON CROSS HIKE family that we present today has two declinations, as a boot and as a shoe. As you can see in the image below, the first is nicknamed “CROSS HIKE MID” and both carry this winter Goretex membrane. So let’s go with the details and photos of the Salomon Cross Hike GTX as a reference, but knowing that they are up to four sisters, according to them they carry more / less ankle height and membrane or not.
The official presentation statement form Salomon itroduces these shoes as: “The completely new CROSSHIKE is designed for any conditions, anywhere in the world: multi-directional lugs, a seamless, closed-mesh construction and waterproof Gore-Tex membrane. Agile yet really grippy, this mid-height shoe cushions your ankle and keeps you on track whether your adventures take you, from the Lake District to Iceland.”
SALOMON CROSS HIKE GTX: DATA SHEET.
- PRICE 160€ shoe gtx 180€ boot gtx. A somewhat high price, within what are Salomon hiking shoes with high-end membrane.
- WEIGHT: 385 grams for men low cane 396 high cane, with membrane included. Removing the weight of the membrane, we stay more or less the same as the classic alpine XA Pro of the brand.
- DROP 10mm, A high drop, 1mm lower than the classic reference. Even so, it makes them a shoe not very demanding in the technical and that allows us to heel if we get tired of putting many hours with them.
GROUND HEIGHT: 17.7mm in front and 27.7mm behind, plus 6-8mm studs depending on the area. A shoe quite elevated from the ground to be a hiker, which will cushion later than other rivals. And it allows you to heel hard behind, thanks to the wide drop - SUPPORT Extremely firm, with various straps that “fix” the instep plus the chassis.
- QUICKLACE CABLE LACES: The Brand Classic is still here. Not everybody likes it, but whoever fits it, highly values its sturdy, minimalist lace fit for pulling. Easy to put on, easy to remove, no doubt.
- LUGS: High prominence, 6-8mm. With Contagrip MD rubber. They will go well on firm and soft ground, as long as it is not especially deep mud or snow. The Contagrip MD rubber gives a little more durability over the Contagrip MA of the XA Pro.
SALOMON CROSS HIKE GTX: CONCLUSION.
A model to run and walk with full confidence in areas of soft terrain of the most varied throughout the year. Abstain in dry areas and with high temperatures this summer, because the goretex will overheat our foot. By weight, rigidity and structure it is located right in a complementary step within the SALOMON range.
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Read the article in Spanish HERE.