Salomon XR Crossmax Review
With a long heritage of making a solid line of trail running shoes, Salomon has come out with a hybrid trail running shoe that works well on both road and trail. Developing a shoe that works well on road and trail is extremely difficult, because you often have to comprimise a little on the road or trail performance. A shoe that will work well on pavement is typically not going to work all that great on super technical trails, but if you know that before you make your purchase, you should not be disappointed with the Salomon XR Crossmax.
To adjust to running on hard concrete, Salomon has made the XR Crossmax with a little softer midsole than its other trail running shoes such as the XA PRO. This is where setting expecations comes to play. A softer ride will not always perform all that great on trails with a lot of rocks and ruts, but if you only run into a few rocks and ruts here and there, you should be in good shape. The outsole of the Salomon XR Crossmax has a semi agressive lug system. There are definitely other running shoes out there with more agressive lugs, but to give the shoe a smooth ride on the road, Salomon couldn’t make the lugs too burly. To help the XR Crossmax adjust to different forefoot widths, Salomon has added its SensiFLEX on the outer which is a rubber like material that helps give the shoe some form and it also flexes as your foot expands on longer runs.
While running on the road, I found the XR Crossmax to have a comfortable ride. The performance on less technical trails was just fine, but when I got into a little thicker mud and rock, the XR Crossmax left something to be desired. If you are looking for a more technical trail running shoe and looking to stay in the Salomon trail running family, I suggest looking at the XA Pro or Speedcross 2.
Overall, I have been happy with the performance of the Salomon XR Crossmax as a hybrid trail running shoe and I would highly recommend this shoe to trail runners that are looking for a hybrid trail running shoe or someone who is looking to run on less technical trails.
MSRP $130
Men’s size 9 – 11.4oz.
Women’s Size 7 – 9.3oz.
