Salomon X Ultra 5 Gore-Tex Review

The Salomon X Ultra 5 Gore-Tex hiking shoes seem to do everything the previous iteration did, but new refinements have made them more comfortable and capable. Salomon shortened the cushy heel tab at the rear of the boot, which removed the cause of Achilles irritation for some who wore short socks. The new synthetic upper is super flexible and is now more streamlined, removing several seams that could wear over time. With burly lugs in the proprietary Contagrip rubber soles and a waterproof liner, these shoes provide outstanding support and protection for long trail miles or rugged exploration.

Comfort

There's no getting around it: The X Ultra 5 is immediately comfortable if you like a snug fit. It fits a little short and narrow, but there is a wide version if you need more room. The new Matryx material upper is very flexible but supportive, requiring zero break-in to enjoy. The rear half of this shoe is rigid, but Salmon added more padding to the collar around the ankle, making it feel great no matter what angles you're taking up and down hills.

Part of this shoe's comfort comes from Salomon's sensiFIT tech, which is used in some of its trail running shoes. The design is supposed to cradle the contours of a foot, adapting with the right snugness through the Quicklace lacing system, smoothly supporting the midfoot to the forefoot. For our lead tester, who has a relatively narrow foot, it seemed to work perfectly, delivering even tension throughout the upper.

Support

Uh, wow. The stability of these lightweight, low-topped hiking shoes is just phenomenal. The shape of the outsole and somewhat uniform lugs create a solid base that everything just seems to rise perfectly out of. Salomon has a patch of material called Active Support wings that wrap over the outside portion of the midfoot, but a unique shank design might be the key to this shoe's superior support.

Salomon calls its lateral support shank Advanced Chassis or “ADV/C,” which is etched into the exposed plastic portion on the shoe. It seems to work because we could cruise over uneven ground with unusual confidence and speed. If you like to pick and hop your way through boulder fields on alpine hikes, these might be the best hiking shoes for you.

Traction

The X Ultra 5 soles are made with a proprietary Contragrip rubber compound with large, well-spaced, multi-angled Chevron lugs. So far, it seems hard enough to last for many miles but soft enough to stick to stone. Some of our testers of the women's version noticed that it can be a bit slick on wet, smooth granite. Still, we haven't experienced this yet with the version for men in our Idaho testing grounds (but this could be due to slight differences in rock formations).

The tread easily bit into soft slopes and caught purchase on dead leaves, twigs, and pine needles when climbing, descending, or sidehilling. Packed dirt posed zero issues, nor did gravely, sandy trails. Overall, very good, consistent traction here. In particular, we found these shoes to climb very well, likely due to the combination of the traction pattern and the shoe's ability to let the forefoot flex to maintain maximum ground contact with each step.

Water Resistance

The Salomon X Ultra 5 Gore-Tex includes a Gore-Tex waterproof membrane inside the shoe to keep water from seeping through and getting your feet wet. The flood height, which is the point at which water will pour over the membrane or the lowest point of the shoe, measured at a very good 3.86 inches in our size 14 test shoe. However, based on our measurement experience, we expect most men wearing smaller shoe sizes to flood slightly lower than that, likely around 3.5 inches for a size 11.

As for breathability, waterproof shoes almost always run hotter than non-waterproof shoes, particularly those built for dry climates and maximum airflow. These could run a bit warm on hot spring days during our test sessions, but weren't noticeably warmer than similar waterproof shoes we tested.

Weight

Our size 14 weighed just 2.1 pounds, which is surprisingly light for a shoe that feels as stable as the X Ultra 5. (We expect a more common size 11 to weigh around 1.68 pounds, which is what Salomon reports.)

The key benefit of a lighter shoe is a lighter swing weight, meaning that you have to lift and move less weight with each step or swing of your foot. Over many miles, this can be the difference between feeling fatigued vs still going strong. However, it's not a 1:1 equation — lighter shoes can sometimes provide less support, resulting in feet that feel more tired. Salomon seems to have hit a sweet spot with this version, as we never felt discomfort or unexpected fatigue from these shoes.

Durability

After multiple outings and 20 miles, we've seen very little sign of wear. The new Matryx upper, woven from Kevlar and technical yarns, seems durable and has shrugged off plowing through sticks and brush off trail with ease. Because it has few seams, it might last better than the previous iteration.

The bottom portion of the upper is made of a thick leather-like synthetic. It's so far ignored scuffs from rocks, as it has a large toe cap.

The biggest potential point of failure is the thin laces in the speed lace system. Unlike traditional laces, if these laces break, they might be hard to repair in the field.

Should You Buy the Salomon X Ultra 5 Gore-Tex?

The X Ultra 5 Gore-Tex hiking shoes deliver an enviable balance of performance on both easy and very difficult paths. Comfortable out of the box, they're great for impromptu day hikes, but if you want to venture into steep, difficult terrain, these shoes are unlikely to hold you back. They score very well in our ranking system, and while the laces may eventually fail, the fit should be fantastic until they do.

What Other Hiking Shoes Should You Consider?