Salomon Techamphibian 5 Review

We logged several weeks with the Salomon Techamphibian 5 and found it to stand out as a great hybrid wet shoe/hiker. While this model doesn't have the best sensitivity, it has a nice stiff outsole for protection and traction, making it a great companion for a wide variety of adventures.

Comfort

The comfort of the Salomon Techamphibian 5 was a bit of a debate amongst our review team. With narrower feet, the Techamphibian scored very well, but with a less ideal fit with wider feet, it got bumped down slightly in the review's lineup.

We found this pair of water shoes to certainly run narrower than most of Salomon's trail running lineup, but if you're feet aren't on the wider side, you might find the Techamphibian 5 to offer a great fit. Outside of the tighter last, this model offers one of our favorite features of any footwear we've yet tested: an adjustable heel. While some sandals offer this as well, we absolutely loved having a customizable heel in a shoe and wish we could somehow add this to other classes of footwear.

The bungee laces of the Techamphibian 5 were universally liked amongst our team, and we appreciated the tongue stow pocket as well.

While this model offers some of the best foot security in the entire review, it's against-skin comfort isn't as friendly as we'd like. The most common rubbing points were along the outside edge of the foot near the pinky toe and near the ankle, at the edges of the fabric and mesh. Outside of the width of the last and some skin comfort considerations, the Techamphibian utilizes a stiffer outsole and a less cushy midsole. Ultimately we found it to be protective and supportive enough for longer hikes.

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Traction

If you're needing a water shoe that can handle chunky trails and muddy ground, put the Techamphibian 5 at the very top of your list. Water shoe treads are often designed to perform well on slabs of rock or slick docks with smaller lugs, but Salomon put generous lugs on this shoe's outsole, making it closer to a hiking boot.

The sweet spot for the traction of the Techamphibian 5 is in mud and hiking on wet trails. It also performed well on boulder scrambles by the lake and even for hikes with “kitty litter” gravel. Where these get less trustworthy is in slabbier terrain, with the lugs offering slightly less contact area than the competition that uses a smaller or non-existent lug design. Besides some nit-picking, the Techambiphian offers an outsole that you can trust in a wide variety of settings.

Warmth

The Techamphibian 5 doesn't have the most insulating upper, but its heavy duty outsole offers some insulation from cold ground. If you're planning to recreate in arctic waters, we'd suggest a different pair of water shoes, but if you only need some warmth, the Techamphibian might be just right.

The upper of the Techamphibian 5 utilizes a mesh and synthetic/textile construction that's somewhat reminiscent of a running shoe. In our experience, this helps the most with breathability, though it does also offer at least some foot heat retention. If you like the versatility of the Techamphibian but anticipate some icy waters in your future, simply going up a size and using a neoprene sock will greatly improve the warmth. Just keep in mind this is a narrower last that can make a sock addition a tight fit.

Versatility

This was one of the best metrics for the Techamphibian 5, with incredible performance across a wide variety of applications. When scored against the rest of the water shoe lineup, the Techamphibian came in at the top of the charts.

Salomon ultimately designed this shoe to be a hybrid water shoe/hiker, with an upper that drains well but a lower that offers large lugs, a stiff outsole, and a fairly protective toe cap. The bungee lacing system and the heel strap allows one to potentially accommodate a neoprene sock (though you might need to size up for this) or to tighten the fit down when scrambling. Few water shoes can handle a day at the lake and a lengthy hike, but the Techamphibian 5 is up for the job as long as it fits your foot.

Sensitivity

There aren't many water shoes with as stiff of outsole as the Techamphibian 5. Compared to a hiking book it does have more sensitivity, but in the water shoe landscape, the Techamphibian fell further back in the pack.

The Techamphibian 5 offers solid support and a stiff outsole that provides good protection on trails, but it sacrifices ground feel in the process. We could certainly still stand up on a SUP or enjoy an oceanside hike, but if you crave ground sensation, this might not be the water shoe for you.

Quality of Construction

Salomon has long been revered for their use of quality materials and the Techamphibian 5 furthers their reputation. As a fully-featured shoe and a fairly robust build, this should be put on your finals list if looking at rougher water shoe use.

As previously shared through the lens of other metrics, the Techamphibian 5 is built with more rugged materials than much of the competition. While some models are essentially water socks, this pair is more akin to a hiking boot than a flimsy poolside water slipper. It is on the heavier side, but some might view that as a positive.

The attention to detail in the Techamphibian 5 was clear throughout testing, with bungee laces that performed just as well on the last testing day as they did on the first. The heel strap was a favorite as well, with great functionality and it made a huge impact on fit quality. The outsoles also held up impressively well, even after hiking over miles of sharp rocks. Keep in mind that the Techamphibian 5's uppers are designed for drainage, not for jamming into cracks, though they're durable enough for most other environments.

Should You Buy the Salomon Techamphibian 5?

If you're wanting a water shoe that can be taken on long hikes or can hang at the pool, put these on your finals list. While the Techamphibian 5 isn't the most stylish, it can still be worn for post-adventure hangs and offers protection against a wide variety of terrain. These aren't great for shoppers with wide feet, but the heel strap and bungee laces worked great for dialing in the fit for narrower feet.

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