Salomon Wings Pro 2 Shoe | Review - Outdoors Magic

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Trail and Scramble Shoes

Salomon Wings Pro 2 Shoe | Review

Solid and dependable trail running shoe that's happiest on dry to medium terrain and can also double as supportive walking and hiking footwear.

‘Tough but slightly wooden-feeling, trail-running shoe that’s happiest making whoopee on hardpack trails rather than in the slop’

Outdoors Magic: Solid, sturdy, secure and reliable shoe with good underfoot protection and a nice rolling feel. Grip is good on harder surfaces and they feel like they should last a good while.

Outdoors Tragic: Tentative on wet rock and slippy on the sloppy stuff. Slightly heavy and a little firm generally.

Outdoors Grabbit? Maybe, if you want a super sturdy, well-made, comfortable shoe for mostly hardpack to medium terrain where cushioning and grip are both okay. There’s good underfoot protection too, but compared to some, the Wings Pro 2 feels a little stiff and unresponsive though that might improve with use.

 

Full Specification

Trail running shoe / 3D Air Mesh uppers with Sensifit cradle / Quicklace with Lacepocket / moulded EVA mid-sole / 27mm/17mm (10 mm drop) / TPU toe cap and Mudguard protection all round / ACS Agile Chassis System / High Abrasion Contragrip sole with Wet Traction areas / Endofit fit sleeve / Descent Control / Tongue Cover.

 

Full Review Below

Salomon's speed-lacing system works well enough helped by smooth-running lace-eyelets. The adjuster and excess lace stow neatly away in the Lace Pocket - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Rubber toe-cap gives additional protection to what feels like a seriously solid and durable shoe - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Wings Pro 2 – The Tech

In case you were in any doubt, the list of Wings Pro 2 technical features spreads off the side of the Salomon website and away into infinity. As you’d expect there’s a whole lot of tech going on here.

Stuff like ACS – Agile Chassis System if you were wondering, 3D Air Mesh uppers with Sensifit cradle and even the laces are doing the advanced thing. They’re Salomon’s easy-to-use Quicklime, complete with Lace Pocket.

The outsoles use two different rubber compounds, one is high wear, the other – supposedly – wet friendly. The seamless uppers get lightweight film protection and a rubber toe-cap too.

What does it all mean? Salomon has worked hard to produce a shoe with a focus on fit and stability. If you want to know more about all the individual technologies then take a look at Salomon’s own product page.

There are two Contragrip runner compounds featured on the sole unit. The green is wet weather friendly, the black, a 'High Abrasion' compound - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Performance

The Wings Pro 2 is slightly heavier than many of its rivals, but has a solid, durable feel that hints at a long life. It feels dependable, secure and decently comfortable on the foot too, with enough toe-room and a high-ish arch support.

The ride isn’t super soft on harder surfaces – not as compliant as its cousin, the Speedcross 4 for example – but it’s reasonable and the shoe rolls along nicely. Underfoot stiffness means it doesn’t feel the most nimble and responsive, but does mean good protection from rocks and stones.

Where it does struggle a little for grip is on softer, sloppier surfaces thanks to relatively low lugs and on wet rock where like the Speedcross, it always feels a little tentative.

The lacing system works well, though we found there was a fine line between ‘too loose’ with excess heel lift and ‘too tight’, which was uncomfortable. And while we’re in the lacing area, the gusseted tongue does a good job of repelling low-flying grit and gravel.

Fit is good, as it should be given the volume of technology that Salomon has poured into the design and construction of the shoe - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Wings Pro – Verdict

There no doubting the solidity and toughness of the Wings Pro 2 or the amount of Salomon technology that’s gone into it. It all adds up to a decently comfortable trail shoe that’s at its best on firm to medium terrain.

The pay-off for that sturdiness though is a slightly wooden feel compared to lighter, more flexible alternatives. It’s also not as cushioned as you might think from the spec and it gives quite a firm ride on harder surfaces, albeit with decent stone protection up front.

On top of that, the relatively shallow lugs are happier away from softer ground, unlike the toothier Speedcross 4. A good option if you mostly run on dry, hard-pack trails, favour a less-cushioned ride and want a very durable shoe, but for all-round use, we think there are better options available.

More Information

See www.salomon.com/uk/product/wings-pro-2.html

 

 

 

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