Latest revision as of 15:36, 8 May 2018

The Salomon Sense Ride has a good reputation with trail runners, but I found too many issues to recommend it fully. The obvious issue is common to most running shoes, which is a toe box that doesn't match the shape of a healthy foot. Most runners are habituated to bunion-inducing footwear, so this is nothing new, and may not bother as many readers as perhaps it should, and it can be corrected somewhat by cutting open the toe box. The second problem is that the midsole foam seems rather uneven to me, though this is not so obvious on technical trails, I still found it created some additional stress on my feet and legs. The final problem was the deal breaker, which was the ankle opening, which wasn't cut deep enough and caused the shoe to bite into my ankle as my foot rolls on uneven terrain. I rated the Sense Ride as "Worth Considering", though only just. (I use The Science of Running Shoes as the basis of how I test running shoes and what you should look for in a running shoe.)

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  Salomon Sense Ride top

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  Salomon Sense Ride outside

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  Salomon Sense Ride bottom

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  Salomon Sense Ride inside

1 Characteristics

• Cushioning . Like many trail shoes, the Sense Ride is not as well cushioned for its weight as a road shoe as the extensive outsole and heavier duty materials all add to the weight. The Sense Ride does better than some, possibly because of a little extra cushioning on road surfaces from the outsole lugs that create an "egg crate" effect. I found the cushioning to be a little uneven; I was thinking there might be a medial post until I found the picture below, showing softer foam in blue and firmer in yellow. This dual density foam bothered me quite a bit, though I've talked to other runners who haven't had any issues.
  
  
• Drop. The Sense Ride has a more drop than I'd like, but I measured it at 5mm unloaded and 3mm loaded. In practice, the feel is far less than the claimed 8mm of drop. For me, the drop is far less of a problem than the uneven cushioning, though the two interact.
• Structure. The Sense Ride uses the two inserts of soft foam in a cradle of firmer foam shown above. I didn't get on with this arrangement, but I suspect a lot will depend on your running form and how your foot interacts with the inserts. For me, it feels like there is a fairly significant medial post, with both firmer foam and a higher area pushing up against the front medial area of my heel.
• Flexibility. The Sense Ride is fairly stiff, even with the three groves cut into the forefoot of the rubber outsole. These grooves do tend to make the forefoot want to bend along those particular lines, but I didn't notice this while running. The lack of flexibility does provide some additional protection from "Rocky Caltrops", but it also reduces ground feel.
• Outsole. There's harder rubber over the virtually all of the softer midsole foam. The rubber is quite sticky, providing good traction on a wide range of surfaces. The tread pattern has lots of small diamond shaped lugs that are about 3.6mm tall, which provides a reasonable level of traction except on slick mud.
• Shape. The Sense Ride doesn't make any attempt to actually fit the human foot, unless of course that foot is deformed with bunions. I had to cut open the Sense Ride to prevent it squeezing my toes, even though the forefoot width was just right. (I recommend cutting open the toe box of virtually all running shoes, with the exception of a few shoes like some Altra shoes. When you have some worn out shoes, you should try cutting open the toe box. I've found that it's a big improvement, allowing my toes to move naturally and engage for toe off, as well as reducing the possibility of blisters.)
  
  

  Sadly this shoe is not designed for the healthy human foot.
• Upper. The upper is mostly pretty good, with reasonable breathability. However, I found the ankle opening came too far up my foot. This isn't too much of an issue with a road shoe, but when my ankle twists on gnarly trails, the Sense Ride would bite into my foot just below the ankle bones. If you look at the side pictures of the Sense Ride, you can see how little the ankle opening is cut away. How much of an issue this is for you will depend on the type of trails you run on and how mobile your ankle is. I generally let my ankle roll to prevent injury rather than fighting against the twisting forces, and I enjoy fairly technical trails.
  
  

  The upper backlight.
• Tongue. The Sense Ride has a traditional tongue with a gaiter down most of both sides and is nicely padded. It stayed in place and remained comfortable at all times, though I found it a bit harder to put on than I would have liked.
• Lacing. The wire laces and cinching system stay tied nicely, and there's a little pouch for the laces to tuck into the top of the tongue. My problem was getting the tension just right. I've spent decades lacing up conventional shoes and getting the tension right, but I never seemed to find the sweet spot with the Sense Ride.
• Heel Counter. The Sense Ride has a hard heel counter, but it's low enough that it does nothing.

Please support this site This review was made possible by readers like you buying products via my links. I buy all the products I review through normal retail channels, which allows me to create unbiased reviews free from the influence of reciprocity, or the need to keep vendors happy. It also ensures I don't get "reviewer specials" that are better than the retail versions. Buy Salomon Sense Ride at Zappos Buy Salomon Sense Ride at Road Runner Sports Buy Salomon Sense Ride at Kelly's Running Warehouse Buy Salomon Sense Ride at Charlotte Ultra Running Company

2 A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes

If you're looking for "the best of the best" running shoe, here are my top picks. Of course, the answer will depend a little on what you're looking for, so I have recommendations for various categories. Best All Round Shoe. The Altra Escalante is my current all-round favorite. It has plenty of cushioning for its weight, it has a very springy midsole, it lasts well, and it has a shape that's closer to the shape of a human foot than most shoes. It's a great shoe for any runner, including those Starting to run. It's also a fairly easy shoe to find due to its popularity. Best Maximalist Shoe: If you want something massively cushioned, then I'd recommend the Saucony Kinvara 8. It's remarkably light and remarkably cushioned, beating Hoka at their own game. Best Optimal Shoe: For those looking to trade cushioning for speed, the Nike Zoom Streak LT 3 was my top pick, but the latest version (LT 4) falls short of it's predecessor. There are lots of great optimal running shoes, which provide just enough cushioning with light weight and minimal frills, but all have their weak spots. Probably the best option at the moment is the Altra Vanish-R, which offers great cushioning for just over 5oz/150g. Fastest Shoe: If you really want speed, then check out the Nike Vaporfly 4%. It's light, massively cushioned, and has a carbon fiber plate. Nothing comes close, not even the now defunct New Balance RC5000‏‎ or New Balance RC5000v2‏‎. There are a number of caveats; it's really expensive, it's really hard to find, and there's a significant injury risk. Best Minimalist Shoe: Merrell Trail Glove. I recommend the trail glove for road running in spite of the 'trail' moniker. It's not a fast shoe by any means, but it's comfortable and will last well. All Terrain Shoe. For trail running, I've become a fan of Altra, and I think their best shoe is the the Altra Timp, though the Altra Lone Peak is really close. Honorable Mention: It's not really a running shoe, but the Vivobarefoot Ra is comfortable, minimalist and can more or less pass as a dress shoe. I've worn mine to weddings with a suit and they've not looked out of place. You can run in the Ra, but the leather means it doesn't breathe well.

For a more detailed on running shoes see the Recommendations for Best Running Shoes. This table lists the key attributes of What to Look for in Running Shoes. For more detailed information, on the shoes see detailed shoe comparison.

It's not a running shoe, but I love the Hoka Tor Ultra hiking boot and I've tested the Altra Lone Peak Boot, the Hoka Tor Speed 2, and the Inov-8 Roclite 325 hiking boots
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