I’ve been running, hiking and scrambling in the Salomon S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra (and the predecessor) for years now, and it’s time for a long-term review.

The S-Lab Sense shoes are top of the range Salomon trail running shoes, and you can really tell that these shoes have been developed over the years together with their athletes. Each iteration of the shoe comes with some slight modifications, but I’ve found this line of shoes to be pretty consistent over the years with respect to the core characteristics.

The S-Lab Sense trail shoes: perfect for technical terrain. They were my first choice when I went for the Strava segment down from the Fitz Roy view point (which I still hold as of today) – Fitz Roy, Argentina

Natural habitat

These shoes are at home on really technical ground. They fit so snugly around your feet (well, mine anyway) that there is essentially no sliding around in the shoe, regardless of how steep the terrain or how aggressive your changes of direction. The integrated rock guard is very good, and despite cushioning that isn’t exactly barefoot running style, you get a pretty good feel for the terrain you’re running on. I found the grip to be very impressive on all but the muddiest trails. All this combines to make you feel really secure on the steep, technical, rocky, gnarly stuff.

Maybe not quite what they were designed for, but fun none the less – Huacachina, Peru

Comfort

The snugness of the shoes around your feet that results in the great control on technical trails results in a small compromise on the comfort side of things. Don’t get me wrong, these shoes are not uncomfortable (I’ve worn them on countless multi-day hikes as well as on some pretty long runs without any problems), and in fact the stack height is higher than on some of my other shoes due to a generous amount of cushioning, but they aren’t my first choice for really long ultras if the terrain isn’t super technical. One thing worth mentioning is the comparatively strong toe box which protects your toes when you misstep or stumble into rocks at the end of a really long run.

Some pretty well used S-Labs – Tierra del Fuego NP, Argentina

Durability

I’ve worn these shoes for years now (trail running, scrambling, cycling, hiking in all sorts of terrain and conditions) and I’m generally very happy with how they hold up. My pairs have both first broken in the same place in the fabric on top of the toes, so maybe that’s a point to address.

Old vs new

Conclusion

Overall my favourite ever trail shoes with excellent control and stability on tough terrain with good durability and neat features like the lacing system that tucks away neatly. The newest version of these comes with a number of updates that I’m excited to try out (e.g. the sock-like upper that is meant to keep debris out of your shoes). The latest version is also a bit lighter and the reinforce section around the toes looks a bit smaller, so we’ll see how they compare in terms of protection and durability in a couple of months.