Salomon shoe comparison (unscientific)

[PatMcG]

When I started down the Solomon shoe trail I was buying the low cut XA Pro 3D. They'd be worn for everyday use and range trips/classes. Once my work shoes start shitting out the everyday pair moves to work and I buy a new everyday pair. I'm not a mil/leo guy, I'm a Iowa farmer and I beat the shit out of footwear. I'm on gravel, cement, dirt, grass, serrated metal flooring and ladders. There always covered this n grease, oil, chemicals and when they get bad they just get the pressure washer. The first pair of XA Pros lasted about 3 months before they were unwearable, tread was completely gone, sole peeling away, and you could feel every little pebble you walked on. I went through 3 pairs in very similar fashion. Why keep buying them you may ask? Well, I don't do work boots(I have god awful sweaty smelly feet in work boots) and a pair of nikes just don't cut it. Recently I stopped buying the XA Pros and bought a couple pair of low cut x ultra gtx. Only reason I switched was I liked the colors better. These have absolutely outlasted the XA Pros and it's not even close. I sent some emails asking if there were any big differences but never got a response. The tread is more aggressive and has lasted much longer. No peeling away of the sole yet and the footbed has stayed "firmer" longer. The pictures show the two different shoes that have the same amount of time in the shit in approximately the same conditions. Is this 100% definitive? No. Just a little food for thought.

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[Blitzer613]

When you say “everyday use” and talk about the gravel and other rough terrain are you talking about labor where you’re putting significant strain on the sole treads or just typical movement? So if you’re having to move a feeding trench that’s filled with water, obviously you’re gonna have some intensive force on the tread to get traction. Trying to get an idea of the force being put on these shoes.


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[Sasquatch Hunter]

Since this post it seems they have made improvements to the xa pro.

 

[JRLym]

I've been in a pair of salomon outward goretex since June. They are my every day shop shoes, they get oil and greased regularly from the shop floor and spilling on them. They have been solid so far, the utility of them is decent compared to a set of leather work boots like Danners or whatever where I've had other outdoor shoes that fail from the contaminants I get on them. They are a little narrow in the toe box, I'm an average width size 12 and they don't feel overly roomy. My last pair of gore tex ultra mids had to soft of a sole and were not supportive enough for heavy daily use. Dirt bike foot pegs and kick starts have torn up the soles a little but I'd expect to get the rest of the year out of them before I feel like replacement is necessary.

 

[Diz]

Wow you guys really set the bar for hard use on your footwear. I don't know of anything else that might stand that kind of heavy work schedule. The current boots are almost all glued together now, and use lighter components than in year's past. So yeah if you guys are in oil/grease/chemicals, and putting a lot of stress on them, you're gonna burn them down. Some work better than others, as you've seen, but the end result is the same. I almost think they're engineered for about a year's regular use, and maybe 3-4 months of hard use like you've seen. I've used a lot of boots over the years and my only comment here would be that for real hard use, I would go back to a more traditional style of boot. Most folks don't do anywhere near the level of work being demonstrated here, and mfg's know it; so the can usually get away with lighter boots. My opinion is that for this level of work, you really need a traditional, all leather, sewn-down boot. Which these days are expensive as fuck, and hard to find. I know you have said that trad boots don't work for ya, because of stink-foot, but, it's either that or buy a shit-ton of the lighter-weight stuff. If'n it was me, I would look at some of the mil surplus stuff, to get a heavier boot, without the hefty price tag. Experiment with some different sock combos, and a shit-ton of foot powder.

The best boots I ever had, as far as durability, were the Danner clones that came out in the 90's. I think Belleville made them, as well as Matterhorn. Those things were tanks. And yeah that's the down-side, but for really heavy work like you're doing, that's what I'd be wearing.

I currently have 4 pairs of Solomons, 2 x XA Pros, and 2 x Quest Forces, non-gtx. I rotate both pairs, for either light walking around the house/shop, or actual hiking out in the woods. I have been very pleased with them so far; for the candy-assed type of stuff I'm doing. I do however have a couple pair of Danners in reserve for when shit gets real.

But I mean that's the choices we make; lighter footwear that wears out sooner, or heavier shit that lasts damn-near forever. I'm hedging my bets by having them both.

 

[Brookser]

Solomons is a gamble when it comes to thread holding your sole. It either holds up for 6+ months or breaks after 2. Personally, I'm a Danners and Garmonts fan, especially for everyday boot. You might lose a little bit on how flexible your sole is, but those going to last you years. I think a pair of my Garmont Tacticals is on it's 3rd year at this point and still holds up. Used to love Salomons though, very comfortable shoes but it's just not worth buying it every 3-4 months on average. Also on offnote, for mud and heavy rain I'm using Muck Boots https://gritrsports.com/muck-boot-company/ - not really a primary boot option for everyday, but when its flooding everywhere and you need water protection for few hours - S-tier boots. I guess cheap rubber boots can do the trick too if you enjoy blisters

 

[dcsp3x]

For what it's worth I have also had terrible luck with Solomons and stopped trying them years ago from the previously mentioned issues, they just continuously fell apart at a rate that made no sense for the price/market they are going after. I have had phenomenal luck with Adidas Terrex and La Sportiva and would buy them again if I had to, but the shoes just hold up.

 

[Brookser]

Oh ye, one of my buds is really into La sportivas, forgot to mention those since no personal experience. But yeah, he's been wearing 'em for years and everytime we meet he keeps talking about how good those are

 

[ffemt11b]

I wear Solomon's daily on patrol, and most days when I'm off. I go through a pair about every 5 months. I do not like the newer forces models. I wear the all black low top Gortex non-forces version. They are lighter but also wear about faster. I'm a bigger dude ~285 so I'm moving some weight around on them but the treads wear out and my knees and hips start bothering me about the 4.5-month mark.

I tried some Altra shoes, but they were too spongy. Recently, I was at DARC and a bunch of the guys down there were sporting Salewa and had good things to say. A couple of them used to be Solomon guys, so I think that's what I'm going to try next.