For years I鈥檝e been an enthusiastic user of Salomon trail-running shoes, with my all-time favorites coming from the Sense family鈥攖he听,听Sense Pro 2, and听.
But Salomon has never broadly or successfully extended the winning features of its trail-running shoes鈥攏otably, the glove-like fit, the reliable outsole grip, and the听upper鈥檚 best-in-class durability鈥攖o backpacking听or听crossover categories like high routes and nontechnical scrambles. Its best entry might be the XA Elevate, which has been discontinued for 2020.
When I saw the 听($160, 10.9 ounces) at Outdoor Retailer , I was hopeful it would help fill this void. Salomon sent me a pair in August so that I could size them up.
The X Alpine Pro is best suited for high-mountain running. To me听that means long days, rocky and loose footing, prolonged ascents and descents, and a healthy share of hiking. I鈥檇 consider it for the toughest-of-tough ultras, too, like Hardrock and Italy鈥檚 Tor des G茅ants.听
Personally, I found the X Alpine Pro ideal during four recent adventure runs in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Indian Peaks Wilderness, all ranging from 20 to 35 miles,听with 4,000 to 11,000 vertical feet of gain and听off-trail terrain up to Class 3. These five-to-eleven-hour efforts would have pushed the limits of my aforementioned favorites, but the X Alpine Pro owned it.
As a backpacking and high-route shoe, the X Alpine Pro is definitely worth consideration. Compared to my go-to, La Sportiva Bushido II, it鈥檚 more cushioned and roomy听and less stiff, so it performs relatively better on trail than off听and听will fit more feet.
Key Product Specs
- Breathable upper with extra-thick TPU reinforcement
- Quick laces
- Endofit elasticized midfoot yoke
- 24-millimeter听stack height in the heel and 18 millimeters in the forefoot
- 6-millimeter听drop
- Contagrip TA outsole with a wide 鈥渃limbing zone鈥 lug under the toes
- 310 grams/10.9 ounces听(men鈥檚 size 9), 270 grams/9.5 ounces听(women鈥檚 size听7)
- $160 MSRP
Fit
The X Alpine Pro has a masterful fit, as I鈥檝e come to expect of Salomon. The听heel locks down听securely, partly with the help of a sculpted foam collar. An elasticized yoke and a wide cushioned tongue hug听the midfoot. And there鈥檚听just enough听volume in the forefoot to avoid constriction while still maintaining control.
Compared to other Salomon models I鈥檝e worn, the fit most closely resembles the original S-Lab听Sense Ultra, which used to be Salomon鈥檚 bestselling S-Lab听trail shoe. In particular, the X Alpine Pro shares that roomy and rounded toe box听and has a Sense Pro鈥搇ike heel and midfoot.
Ride
The X Alpine Pro is not as nimble as a pure trail-running shoe, but I found it surprisingly capable. In the midfoot and forefoot, it鈥檚 actually more flexible than the Sense Pro 2 or S-Lab听Ultra, which I think is largely explained by the absence of a film-on-mesh rock plate (鈥淧roFeel听film鈥).
Not including a rock plate seems like an odd decision for an alpine听shoe. I wonder if, when combined with the 18-millimeter听stack height and large outsole lugs, the shoe was excessively stiff or insensitive during prototyping. Probably so听if Salomon鈥檚 goal was to design an alpine running听shoe. Probably not听if its听goal was to create an off-trail specialist.
It鈥檚 worth noting that the chief complaint among trail runners of the comparable Sportiva听Bushido, which I think is better for听high routes than running, is that it鈥檚 too stiff.听
Upper
The upper uses Salomon鈥檚 classic,听time-tested mesh-and-TPU construction. But it鈥檚 been ruggedized, with thicker TPU coatings, heavier-duty mesh, and a beefy toe bumper. Its breathability is satisfactory听but not amazing; only fine dust gets through, and it鈥檚 resistant to some splashing.
After about 100 miles on generally rocky trails, and a few miles through talus and scree, my uppers were entirely intact. I don鈥檛 think the uppers will be the first failure point of the X Alpine Pro.
I did not submerge the X Alpine Pro in water, but I think the time its takes the shoe to dry听will be slowish, due to the cushioned heel counter and tongue听and the mediocre听breathability.
Grip
The outsole consists of large five-millimeter听lugs and is made of Contagrip TA, a trusted proprietary rubber that鈥檚 proven grippy and durable.
Unique to听the outsole is the single, wide听climbing-zone听lug across the toes. This approach-shoe-like feature sticks well to clean rock, but compared to a more conventional pattern of smaller lugs, I thought its performance was inferior on loose sand, mud, and wet grass.