When it came time to go to Guatemala for a 70 mile 6 day trek I decided that it was overkill to bring my Lowa mountaineering boots, but too much for my worn out Merrill Moabs. After a lot of research and a lot of trying shoes on I settled on a pair of Saloman X Ultrea Trek GTX shoes. Long story short, I’m impressed!
Originally i bought myself a set of North Face Hedgehog GTX shoes. I got them from Backcountry.com for $100 with a 20% off coupon for being a new customer. I also used the shop through chase website option to get myself even more points! After all why pass up that opportunity! Anyway, they came after only about 4 days. I was super excited and really liked the look of these shoes. Sadly the weather was awful for the next three days so breaking them in was going to have to wait. After those days I pulled them out of the box, dawned my new shoes and was determined to put a few miles on them before I headed off. Immediately I noticed how horribly the shoes fit my feet. They were tight where they should be loose, and the edge of the tongue pressed on the top of my foot. I thought maybe they needed to get a few miles on them to feel better. But after only one mile i was getting a blister ON THE TOP OF MY FOOT! Needless to say I wasn’t going to be taking these shoes to Guatemala. A quick call to Backcountry.com and the shoes were on their way back.
REI offers so much selection, and usually some good expertise. I headed down to REI to try on some other shoes. After talking to the guys there I tried on a few different pairs but the Salomen seemed to fit the best. They run a little small so i selected on a pair that was one half size larger. They verified that they get a lot of returns of the North Face shoes with similar complaints. After getting them home it was time to break them in. Immediately I noticed how much better they felt than the North Face shoes. A good fit, good support, and comfortable weight. I opted for the tall boots as I just can’t get my head around low-top hikers. ha ha. 20 miles later I felt they were broken in and ready for Guatemala.
Hot, off camber, long days, and heavy foliage are great descriptive words for the trail to El Mirador. Each day brought 90+ temperatures, dried mud trails which were off camber at every turn, and lots of plant life crowding the trails. Even under these conditions the Salomen shoes preformed well. I was happy with my choice for taller shoes as there were many times that my foot was turned sideways on the trail. The gor-tex was absolutely very hot on my foot though. But the trade off for waterproofing was worth it in the end as it began to rain.
The true colors of this fantastic shoe came through on the second to last day. Over 20 miles under any conditions can be a difficult and long day. However in extreme heat and on rooty, off-camber trails it can be a real challenge. The Salomen X Ultrra shoes were up to that challenge. My feet never got tired or sore even on this very long day. As they had been well broken in by this point, I also didn’t get any blisters on the whole trip. A feet (ha ha) that cannot be said by any of my traveling companions. This was also the day it rained, and my feet remained dry the entire time. My only complaint about this long hike that deals with the shoes is the smell….. But with a gor-tex shoe in the heat you have to expect that there is going to be an odor.
Overall I would HIGHLY recommend these shoes for use on a SUPPORTED trek. They are great for long days, wet days, and long distances. Not only did they preform well on the trail, but also climbing around on the ruins as well as tooling around in Flores after. If you are looking at a trip where you will be unsupported or traveling through very rugged country I would suggest a heavier duty boot like the Lowa Cameno GTX for more support.
The Salomen X Ultra GTX is an excellent all-around hiker for long days as well as short. If you’re looking for something to take with you on your next adventure, you should at least give them a look.