Here at Ultra168, we’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on some SpeedCross 3s and gave them more of a ‘wet-run’ this morning on the trails of Mosman. While not a ‘full review’ (we need to put 100’s more kms in them yet!), here are some initial thoughts.
Built as a racing shoe, it has incredible grip and is ideal for fast sweeping trails which can get technical at times – is this the perfect Six Foot Track shoe? We also think it would suit B2H and Kepler – basically anything with a mountain in the way!
It sheds mud and water really well, and due to conditions recently in Sydney and down on the trails (see pictures), we were able to give this a real going over.
They’re billed as neutral shoes, which means less support than you would normally see from a Salomon shoe and also means that the heel to toe drop would take some getting used to if you are crossing over from SpeedCross2’s or Brooks Cascadia.
A little like the Inov8 range, this could feel a little narrow, so it might need a little getting used to for 2E wearers. However we’d need to put further kms in to see if these would spread out a little, just like the Inov8 tend to do too.
There is great protection around the toe box, and the high quality build is what you’d expect from Salomon. Above all though, we loved the crazy colours along with the awesome reliable speed lacing system
That’s it for now, a full, more in-depth review will come along in a few weeks – along with video too, so watch this space. If you fancy a pair, the guys over at Footpoint have them in stock in ‘lairy blue’ 🙂 For the tech nerds amongst us, the spec sheet is as follows:
Speedcross 3 specs
- 313g ( size uk 8.5 Men)
- Sensifit â„¢ ( foot wrapping and stability)
- Quicklaceâ„¢
- Mud and snow non marking Contagrip®
- It is built on a racing last for fit, stability, comfort, maximum to-e spring and snug fit.
- Midsole Height : 10mm/19mm  ( 19mm at the heel, 10mm in the forefoot)
Ran in a pair at GOW, brilliant in the muddy forest sections, vast improvement over the SC2’s dropping the medial support. Also fantastic in dry snow, even the non-gortex version. The little rubber nipples will wear quickly on rock though so keep them for fun in the mud and clay. 🙂
good one Chilli. I can’t wait to get back in these shoes. Have to do a flipping road run tomorrow though, my third one ever.
Chilli, do you think they would go well if conditions are wet at B2H ? I am thinking this will be my shoe for this race but keen to get some local insight ?
Also agree, the rubber is of a similar compound to my Talon 190’s which seem to wear pretty quickly when the trail hardens up. Will report back on relative wear rate compared to other similar brands over the coming weeks.
That Poppy is a bad influence. Stick to the trails. I haven’t tried the SC3s but followed a pair through slick mud on the GOW and was impressed how much traction the wearer displayed.
Not a big fan of the speed lace system as you lose the ability to adapt lacing style to relieve any pressure points.
Looks like a pretty good shoe even just based on the tread pattern alone.
I want one to go with my buzzlightyear suit!!!!
Seriously though, when will the bright ones be available?
Hi Keith, suggest you try Tom at Footpoint. They have the Blue and Orange ones with a decent discount at the moment on their on-line store.
http://www.footpointshoeclinic.com.au/shop/products/Salomon-Mens-Speedcross-3-%252d-Bright-Blue%7B47%7DOrange.html
Just heard a rumour that Tom has managed to snap up some of the “Pop Green” Speedcross3’s this afternoon. Wow!
http://www.footpointshoeclinic.com.au/shop/products/Salomon-Mens-Speedcross-3-%252d-Pop-Green-or-Bright-Blue%7B47%7DOrange.html
I ran GOW with these as well, after talking to Peter (the 2010 195km GOW winner). The traction through the mud was awesome and they also excelled on the uphills. I found the fit to be very narrow around the heel and arch and open up into a more more spacious toebox. Unfortunately as I bought these 2 days before the day I had to buy half a size too big. See you in hell toenails. 6 weeks later and I have only 3 of the old boys left.
The cushioning was great for such a long race and something that is appreciated greatly 10 hours later.
The only gripes are the weight; seems pretty heavy given that it’s marketed as a racing shoe.
Also; would love to see a reduced heel to toe drop.
Perfect GOW100 shoe in my book, given your foot can handle the narrow width.
Lance are they stocking them at your place of employ? And if so in the lairy lime green?
That colour has Buzz written all over them.
Whippetman – I travelled to Melbourne (http://www.sportsconscious.com.au/) to source mine.
At the time they only stocked the black/red colour.
I ran Wentworth Falls with them a few weeks ago and they are amazing in mud, excellent grip and relatively waterproof too.
Not trying to take business away from Aussie retailers. But you can get them for less than $120 at http://www.wiggle.co.uk/salomon-speedcross-3-shoes/.
Endless.com has them too. Both offer free shipping to Oz.
313g for a UK 8 is very heavy. Needs to lose at least 100g before I would be interested.
I think it’s a little on the heavy side too Martin. Especially when you consider the Roclite 295s from Inov8 are slightly lighter and in my opinion a much more heavy duty shoe for the longer stuff i.e. 100km upwards.
These are billed as a racing shoe, but my immediate thoughts compare directly to the Inov8 X-Talon 212s, of which I know you’re a fan. I’m going to get my hands on a pair to do a direct comparison if I can, as with 6ft coming up, there’s an abundance of these types of shoes to consider for the race.
Salomon S-LAB Fellcross is 100g lighter.
It is indeed lighter but a whole lot more technical. Mark my words as it was Tofol Castanyer himself whom told me this during a training run last weekend. Yes, I train in Mallorca.
Hi there guys.
Sorry about digging up an old post… but i was wondering if there were any follow up comments about these shoes. I normally just wear the old road shoes off road, but recently ripped the big toenail off kicking a root… so am looking for something a little more solid in the toe.
My question is: How well do these drain after a creek crossing?
Cheers for the help.
Pretty good Scott, no issues with the drainage over the last 2 weekends and that includes a couple of chest deep cox’s river crossings. Great grip on the downhills, quicklace works well too. Frontrunner for 6ft shoe for me.
Just trying out the S-LAB 4 XT wings at the moment as well with a view towards 100 mile distances, very very smooth shoe, creamy in fact.
Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll give them a crack. 6ft is why I was asking the question… after the rain of last year! (although you boys would have been finished by then).
Cheers and looking forward to March 10.