Trying new shoes and evaluating them? Yes, okay … Salomons? You bet, obviously yes! I had the chance to get to test out the Salomon Wings Flyte 2 GTX shoes during a trip to the Adirondacks and here’s what I thought.
| Our review of this product | |
|---|---|
| 8/ 10 | |
The pros are:
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The cons are:
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First Impressions
Saturday morning began at 7am, in the roadside parking lot of Cascade-Porter in the state of New York. This is where my experience with the Salomon Wings Flyte 2 GTX shoes began.
At a first glance, the shoes are clean looking with a hint of colour although I would have liked something more vibrant. At the end of the day, these shoes are designed more for performance and less for colourful appeal. Colours aside, they looked great and I couldn’t wait to try them out.
After sliding my foot inside the first shoe and I couldn’t be more pleased. It was obvious that these shoes had been designed with comfort in mind. The fit was great with just enough space in the heel for a secure fit and an adequate amount of space in the toebox for the toes to wiggle comfortably. I chose to go up a half size from my regular shoe size with Salomon and low-and-behold, they were the perfect fit!
Traction & Performance
Once the shoes were on and secured, we were ready to hit the trails. Right away, I was impressed with the traction from the aggressive sole. The lugs are well spaced and responded well to the trail on this particularly muddy day. I found the lugs to be quite hard resulting in a rather stiff sole which I really appreciated. A stiffer sole may mean less natural contact with the ground like that of a softer soled shoes but it also translates to less foot fatigue. My current Salomon shoes feel very flexible all over so this difference was refreshing.
The Wings Flyte really carries their name, a sensation of freedom with their lightness, would make one want to run all day. Also noteworthy is the Salomon Quicklace lace system which is really fantastic to use. Despite the mud, I was protected from moisture without compromising the breathability, thank you Gore-Tex®! To my pleasure, I finished the day with pleasantly dry feet.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I feel that the Salomon Wings Flyte 2 GTX shoes perform very well in a variety of conditions that you may encounter on the trail including mud, large gravel, and boulders or slippery rock faces. I feel that these shoes would be the perfect choice for runners who are looking for transition shoes between road racing and trail running around the city. The lugged soles offer the necessary traction on the trail and the hardness of the lugs allow you to run sections of asphalt or concrete without fear of seeing your soles wearing down too quickly. I loved these shoes and I am already looking to putting them to a second test!
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