Salomon  Sense Ride Trail-Running Shoes - Women's

I exist as a vagabond working in multiple states for a single unnamed agency doing what I love, which is being outside. That said, I took this shoe on three separate trail runs in two separate states to test it out. one never knows what to expect of the weather in the fall. It might be clear and sunny, super rainy, slushy, snowy, icy, you name it. I tested the Sense Ride out in all of it. And it performed admirably. First I took the Sense Ride on two runs in the up to 11,000 feet in the Uinta Mountains in Utah. The first was a sunny four mile dash up Bald Mountain topped with six inches of windblown snow and a brutal ice crust. The trail is carved out of rock with some tall steps as it zigzags to the summit. I appreciated the cushioning and stability of the Sense Ride on this rougher trail. It really is not designed for snowy conditions though. The snow at the top of the run was at least pretty dry, and I wore wool socks so my feet wouldn't be too cold. My second run was a 10 miler evening run through the west slopes of the Uintas and up over Notch Mountain. Slightly lower elevation and much warmer. Sections of the trail were completely free of snow and ice. The shoe does breathe nicely and kept my feet dry in dry trail conditions. There were sections of slushy snow, puddles and mud, especially on the far side of Notch Mountain. Again, the shoe is really not designed for these snowier conditions. I wore wool socks again to keep my feet warm, but the shoes and my feet were sodden by the end of the run. The tread is just grip-y enough to keep one running smoothly over slick sections of slush and snow over rock. However, nothing beats pairing with a set of Yak Trax for those smooth, solid sections of ice over rock. On this run those types of sections were sparse and I've done enough winter running to know to tread cautiously! Once I was finished with the run, I left the shoes outside to dry and they were dry by morning. My third run was an 11 miler along the North Umpqua River in my native Pacific Northwest. The trail ranges from duff-covered and spongy under dense timber stands, to rocky along the river, fairly level along the river to steep as the trail climbs up tall bluffs. It had been raining off and on all day, so rocky sections were slick. The Sense Ride's tread kept me upright, unless for example, one happens to step on a fallen big leaf maple leaf on slippery, river polished basalt. I'm not holding that against the shoe though. Overall, great trail shoe. It holds up to abuse and long runs well. The tread is just grip-y enough to carry one over small icy sections, slush and slick rocks. It dries quickly after a long, soggy run. Happy trails!

First off, Salomon shoes are what I wear 100% of the time on the trails. With that said, I got this shoe due to the excellent arch support I heard it provides as well as the back of the shoe is low on the Achilles. It's arch support is fantastic! The sole of it is extremely comfortable and overall the entire shoe is a delight when first put on. However, it runs large - minimum a half size large if not a full size large. I even put my insole into it from one of my other Salomon shoes and it didn't even come close to touching the front end of the shoe. I returned, got a 6 1/2 instead of the 7, still felt great all the way around when I put them on -- except when I took a step. It has a weird bend on the top of the toe box on just one foot that makes it extremely uncomfortable when walking around. I thought it might loosen up, I even massaged the material. Nope. I'm super sad because I love the feel of these but that toe box bend is a deal breaker.