Salomon  XA Elevate Trail-Running Shoes - Women's

I was skeptical of this shoe at first. With its 8 mm heel-toe offset and feel, it seemed more like a strong hiking shoe than suitable trail running (and racing) shoe. Boy was I wrong. After one run in this shoe I was hooked. It is responsive, light, sturdy, and perfect for some rocky, technical east coast trails. This shoe performs. It has the predictable snug and precise Salomon fit and allows me to frolic across the rockiest terrain without fear for my feet or ankles. In fact, I loved this shoe so much I used it for my 50K trail race this weekend - after just 3 runs in it. Yup, it's that good. It performed beautifully on the slick, muddy, snow-dusted trails and stayed snug on my foot, giving me the precise fit I love for racing. It transitions from hammering a downhill to powerhiking the climbs with ease. This is an all-around shoe perfect for your long runs, steady efforts, and ultra-distant racing. I'm not sure I'd choose this shore for shorter races (such as a half-marathon), but it is a perfect, responsive workhorse for your long runs and races that involve varied terrain, hike-to-run transitions, and a solid, tough (but light! and responsive!) shoe that can handle rocks, streams, mud, and treacherous ankle deep leaves.

First Impressions: When I took these out of the box my first reaction was, “Those are sweet!” I truly do not care what my running shoes look like but anytime I can find a trail shoe that is not dusty gray or car tire black, I am excited. The purple looks nice but is still dark enough that trail dirt would not be as obvious on it. I also noticed the bright laces. They looked pretty but flimsy and I was skeptical as to how well the laces would even hold up on the trail (Unfortunately, I did not wear the shoes long enough to truly determine the durability of the laces). Putting the shoes on, gave me an even more negative impression of the laces. I am not a fan of the no-tie lacing system. I like to re-lace my shoes using ladder lacing with a heel lock and I was unable to do that with these laces (unless, of course I cut them, which I could have done). Wearing the shoes, I could definitely feel my heels slipping so I would have preferred to have seen the laces left loose from the no-tie system with the option to add the no-tie system yourself. Slipping, the shoes on, I was not a fan of the foot feel. I normally wear zero drop shoes and search out the widest toe box I can find. The XA Elevate offer neither of these features. The 8 mm heel to toe drop felt huge and the forefoot and toe box felt quite narrow compared to the trail shoes I wear on a regular basis. The fit was different but not a deal break. I decided to give the Elevates a few test runs. “Tying” the shoes was interesting. Given the no-tie system I had to cinch up the laces which left me with a very long lace that I had to figure out what to do with so I would not be tripping over it. I had no idea where to stash it. Guess what? There is a little pocket in the tongue of the shoe (see picture)! I tucked the lace up into there and was ready to go! That is a very unique and cool feature! As far as sizing goes, the shoes are true to size. I regularly wear a 9 in running shoes but, at the advice of Salomon, ordered an 8 (my every day shoe size). The 8 fit perfectly. My first test run was a short 3 miles on a hard packed dirt trail. I was worried that the narrow fit would aggravate the PF pain I was feeling in my foot since a 50K 2 weeks ago but these did not seem to aggravate it at all. The Elevate definitely has a firm ride. My second test run was a speed workout on mixed terrain. This was the workout where I started thinking that maybe this was not the best shoe for me. About 2 miles in, my toes started going numb. After 20 years of running I know this telltale sign - that toe box is too narrow for my foot. Thinking that maybe it was just the speedwork mechanics that caused the numbness I decided to go ahead and take the Elevates out on my 10 mile trail run on a rocky, technical trail. Right off I noticed the firm ride but I also noticed the firm grip the shoes provided on the trail as well as the extra protection for the bottoms of my feet. The last mile of this trail is extremely rocky and I dread going over it at the end of my long runs on tired feet. Usually I feel every single rock. In the Elevates, I barely felt those rocks. My feet loved that aspect. However, about halfway through the run I started feeling that heel slip again and really just did not like how I felt on the trail with the higher heel to toe drop. In the end, I really wanted to love these shoes but they just are not for me. I think these would be great for a beginner trail runner as the ride is stable and firm and the lugs on the bottom provide great protection. However, if you need a really wide toe box and/or a lower heel to toe drop these probably are not the shoe to choose.