I’ve been into running for nearly 8 years during which I participated in many matches and have also run for thousands of kilometers. Thanks to my perseverance, I can gain some experience in the process and also some knowledge about running shoes since I’ve done lots of researches. And unconsciously I’ve stocked a variety of off-road shoes in my home. Therefore, I think I have a say in this respect.
Some of the shoes I worn frequently in the races before are the Salomon S-lab Sense 3 Ultra, the North Face Ultra Trail I/II and the Altra Paradigm. In fact, the Salomon S-lab Sense 3 Ultra is my first pair of off-road shoes which accompanied me for years. And it is not until recently that I decided to buy a pair of news shoes. So here is the review of this Salomon S-lab Wings.
The Salomon Wings is famous for its appearance that is quite bright and is also known as “red shoes”. With its outstanding feature, it is therefore widely noticed by running lovers. But different from the S-Lab Sense series with white colorway, this red colorway with the black and white streamline is eye-catching and looks quite dynamic.
Compared with S-Lab Sense, what impresses me the most is that the heel thickness of the Salomon S-lab Wings is 28mm while that of the S-Lab Sense is 19mm. Although the heel has been added with cushion, the shoe’s weight does not increase too much. In addition, the height of the forefoot is 19mm, forming a height difference of 9mm, which makes me assured to be engrossed in my exercises.
Another setup that differs from the S-lab Sense series is the outsole. The outsole of this Salomon S-lab Wings adopts a kind of more wearable rubber and its pattern is designed more reliable and practical. Actually, there are a number of tech used in the outsole: the ContaGrip, which is both durable and strengthens the grip performance and dynamic cushion technology of the shoes, is one of the important technologies of Salomon and also the core technology of this Salomon S-lab Wings; the Pro-feel Film is a very thin film coating, which protects our feet from excessive pressure on the sharp hard roads.
In terms of the vamp, it maintains the usual thin and light design of the Salomon, offering a nice air ventilation. The tongue of the shoe is also relatively thin, which also improves the breathability performance. And as always, the Quicklace system is light and strong, avoiding the inefficiency and inconvenience of changing shoes and lacing during races. To tell the truth, I didn’t see this feature as important before, especially for races under 100 km, but when it is time to change my shoes or to clean them, I realized just how handy this technology could be.
The black rubber toe of the shoe not only increases the protection of our toes, but also increases its wear-resistant performance.
Then when I was out exercising with my friends one day, one of them asked me to test whether the shoes are waterproof or not. And since I was also curious about this, I just went into the brook. It turned out that it was waterproof in the vamp, and even though it was soaked, it was also drained in a short time and before long it was all dry. So I think this is because of the excellent air permeability and comfortable wrapping.
What surprised me most is that the shoes does live up to my expectation on such rugged roads. Albeit that the roads were all wet, the shoes did not fail me During the whole process, there was not in the least any sign of slipping, which, I think, should be credited to the sawtooth design of the sole.
Overall:
The shoes are overall very nice. It is not only light, but also durable and practical. And its outsole is just outstanding that it can even compete with the Vibram’s outsole. Besides, it has also a very comfortable vamp that is skin-friendly at the mean time. But the only fly in the ointment is its insole that is very thin and can not hug the shoes that tight.