These positive comments aside, Quicklaces still aren’t/have ever been a lacing system I love to use. Seemingly insignificant, bending over and fussing with the pocket and lace storage can be annoying to deal with during a hard or long effort when foot swelling or laces loosening over time require pulling the laces out of the pocket and loosening or tightening.
Maybe it was user error, but I found the old pocket a lot tougher to tuck the Quicklaces into I find tucking the laces into the pocket of the Sense 4 Pro very easy. Once long ago, on the older style of lace pocket, I snagged the Quicklace on a tree stump with enough force that the system broke, all the tension came out, and the shoe almost pulled completely off my foot, nearly causing an injury in the process. Some seriously robust stitching attaches the four lace eyelets on each side of the shoe, predicting that a blowout would be very unlikely. This small but logical change keeps the laces more snug and stores more easily in the lace pocket. The shoe uses Salomon’s Quicklace system, but a new orientation pulls and stores the cinch piece from the sides and below instead of above, as in past models. It is integrated with traditional Salomon Quicklaces and allows your foot to sink in and almost splay out, depending on how tightly the laces are pulled. It’s surprising that such a critical technology could feel virtually invisible while running. If you look closely at the upper you can see the strips of SensiFit under the mesh outer material it runs laterally on the inside and outside of the shoe. Salomon’s website lists the upper material as “textile/synthetic,” but specifically it is likely nylon and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) this combination produces a protective layer that is laminated over breathable mesh. Particularly in trail shoes where durability is expected along with low weight, high-frequency welding uses molecular friction and heat to fuse surfaces together until they bind. Rather than stitched, the upper is “welded.” This word is thrown around a lot in the shoe industry, but what does it actually mean? The Sense 4 Pro upper continues the S-Lab tradition of a sock-like fit, smoothing over your foot without added material or bulk, using the SensiFit system. All photos: iRunFar Salomon Sense 4 Pro Upper I even got to run in these shoes during a rare morning downpour, testing the shoes through sloppy mud and over wet rocks. I suspect this is a benefit of Salomon’s recent road-shoe expansion, swapping technology and features across product lines.ĭuring my testing phase, I used the shoe on roads, trails, and across a snow and cornice-flanked peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado, testing each of its most laudable features, respectively: dynamic road feel, excellent traction on nearly all trail features, and a supremely effective waterproof upper.
So for me, the “road to trail” design philosophy is actually a wonderful and useful benefit in the shoes I pick. Nine out of 10 times I run the roads to get there, and the other one time I’ll ride my bike.
My favorite trail starts 1.78 miles from my doorstep. But indeed, if your trail run begins with a mile or more of pavement en route, the Salomon Sense 4 Pro ($140) is a truly special invention and one that backs up the slogan! The phrase “road to trail” is a marketing invention for most of the trail running shoe world.