Salomon 3d?

[brancher]

Hi, I am in the market for a new pair of shoes for this year -- been wearing Merrell Moab mids for many years, and they have finally bitten the dust. I still lo=ike 'em but need a bigger, more roomy toe box. Also, I am wondering if today's trail shoes are up for carrying my 185-lb body, plus my 23-lb 'monday load' over the AT.

Questions:
1. I hear Keens have a great toe box but fall apart quickly... true or not?
2. I read Merrell is now making their Moabs a little wider (or maybe theyjus have awide model now). Any knowledge of that?
3. What about Oboz Sawtooth? I have seen these, they seem great, but a little heavier than my Moabs. Also, with my packweight I am not sure I need 'sm?
4. The Salomons hav bunches of great reviews, everybody seem to love 'em. Are they good enough for a thru hike?
5. What about others? Brooks Cascadia? Lems Boulder Boots? Others? (but not Lowa - I had some and they KILL my feet).

Thanks in advance!

[mark schofield]

for me the salomons work well. the first pair I had had a problem with the laces pulling thru the bottom gussets, but they changed that design. They dry fast and if water gets in them it quickly goes out thru the mesh. The quick lace system seems to work well. I hike mostly the Long Trail in VT. The shoes seem appropriate for that type of terrain. Don't know how long they'd last in rocky Pennsylvania.

[bpowell1014]

for me the salomons work well. the first pair I had had a problem with the laces pulling thru the bottom gussets, but they changed that design. They dry fast and if water gets in them it quickly goes out thru the mesh. The quick lace system seems to work well. I hike mostly the Long Trail in VT. The shoes seem appropriate for that type of terrain. Don't know how long they'd last in rocky Pennsylvania.

I'm wondering if you could re-lace these with regular laces. I've heard people having problems with the speed laces over time.

[Nick P]

I loved my first pair of Salomons (XA 3D Ultra)...lasted me from ME to CT, but the replacement pair Salomon kindly sent me were a slightly different model, and had a sort of plastic sole, and had awful grip. I changed them out for Oboz (Sawtooth, I guess...their lowest shoe) and they were great also, though the sole fell apart rather quickly. I'm not sure that the Oboz are worth the money, though I love their boots. I prefer cheaper, replaceable trail-runners--Asics or even New Balance--and save my $ for winter boots. All the best!

[ryjohnson09]

I just got back from REI and I tried on a pair of Salomon Speedcross 3. They are comfortable but very very narrow and it simply would not work with my slightly flat feet. I tried on a pair of Brooks cascadia's and they were a bit wider with a nice toe box...that's going to be my next shoe!

[jeffmeh]

The Merrell Moab Ventilators are made in a wide. I have been happy with these, mostly in the Whites, 3-season. My son went through four pairs on his thru-hike, but that's probably in line with most of trail runner shoes.

[Sirsnappy09]

The shoes will do fine with the load, you will need another pair if you are doing a thru probably but it is more a question of can your body handle that load in those shoes. A lot of mixed feelings out there about trail runners versus boots. I love my altra lone peak and will not switch unless I wanted Gore Tex and then it would be my saucony xodus. And Gore Ted is yet another topic of mixed feelings.

[Sirsnappy09]

I will add that the Brooks cascadia get a lot of praise but I don't have first hand experience with them. I have a friend that wears some ua trail runners and he loves them. They appear pretty nice to me and he has a lot of hard miles on them with a 20 lb. Load. Of you have any interest in saucony or merrels( they both have a few different styles of trail shoes) let me know. I can give you first hand accounts of most since the company I work for is the sole distributor for both.

[brancher]

Thanks All. I ended up with some Sawtooths, and have been living in them for a couple of weeks now (6m per day conditioning, plus a weekend at Springer). Observations. Very nice shoes - I like that they hug your ankles and allow your toes plenty of room to spread and move - no hotspots or blisters yet. However, I did get an extra size up (size 14), and for some reason the inside of my knees are hurting after a good, hard walk in them. I'm gonna insert my Superfeet in 'em today and walk, and try to find the cause of the pain.

I also looked at the Altra Superiors - great design! I wonder if they will handle my 185-lbs and a ltwt load of 20 lbs or so........

[jupiterkn]

I have a pair of Salomon Synapse and love them. I also have the Speedcross 3 and they are comfy but narrower for sure. I will be starting with the Synapse for sure. Maybe switch to Speedcross later on.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk