In this Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoe review, I’ll go over my experience in using these shoes on a few Yosemite bucket list trails, as well as a brutal local So Cal trail I use for training.
The Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoes provide excellent comfort and support on even technical trails, while their traction and fiction coefficient allow for energy-saving muscle motion efficiency. They are light and responsive to the trail, such that you can feel what’s happening underneath your feet, but still have plenty of rigidity and protection from uneven, rocky surfaces. The waterproof Gore-Tex in the shoes has kept my feet dry from rain, pools and runoff on granite stairs in Yosemite, and shallow running creeks thus far.
Pro’s and Con’s
Pros: Very comfortable hiking shoe, much more than my Merrell Moabs. Cradles your foot well, and lacing system allows you to dial in exactly how the shoe conforms to your foot. Outsole/midsole has a great mix between stiff stability and having enough give to feel the trail. Lighter than several comparable Gore-Tex hiking shoes, with almost a trail runner feel, but with a lot more protection than such. Excellent traction and friction coefficient allow for efficient muscle usage, saving you energy.
Cons: Collar slightly higher up, and has less cushion than previous model. It was my experience that it took two high performance hikes to break in the collar, such that a slight pressure spot below my inner right ankle was no longer present. However, this spot would disappear, even on these initial hikes, when I would adjust the tongue and lacing at the trailhead, before starting these hikes. See details below in the Comfort section of the review.
Features
- 1 lb. & 11.2 oz. in weight. The shoe has a nimble, almost trail runner feel, but with maximal protection against uneven, rocky, ‘technical’ terrain.
- Single cord lacing system featuring small diameter cordage and frictional stays that are adjustable.
- SensiFitâ„¢ system hugs the bottoms of your feet with bathtub-like, rounded transitions between the insole and inner walls. The lacing system then custom fits the tongue to the instep, or dorsal region, of your foot.
- ADV-C chassis allows for a good mix of stability while still having enough ‘give’ in response to torsional sheer stress from walking on uneven surfaces, such that you can ‘feel’ what the ground is doing, but are protected from it.
- Waterproofing system includes raised eyelets, a gusseted tongue, and a Gore-Tex shell around the upper.
- All Terrain Contragrip® designed outsole has a high friction coefficient, and excellent traction. Works on wet granite, and loose terrain of significant grading.
Comfort
The shape of the insole/foot bed in these shoes, or rather the manner in which such cradles your feet, makes them comfortable shoes to both stand or walk in. I find them more comfortable than the classic Merrell Moab 2 Waterproof shoes I’ve been wearing to work for years now.
And there’s a good balance between having enough give, regarding torsional sheer stress, on the outsole, and protection, such that you can feel the minute irregularities of the trail, but it doesn’t hurt to step on them.
The tongue, gusset and lacing have some, play such that you can dial in exactly how you want the shoes to hug your feet. I usually dial in a slightly loose configuration that feels good, and then I just slip in and out of the shoes without disturbing the lacing when heading to, or coming back from the trail. The only time I’ve had to tighten the lacing up to a tighter hug, was coming down the Mist Trail, where slipping or rolling the wrong way was not an option on those steep switchbacks and stairs.
I’ve never had any toe box problems with these shoes. The boxes just do their job, and keep me from stubbing my toes, without being prohibitive in any manner.
Small pressure spot when breaking in
When wearing the shoes for the first time, I drove with them on my feet to the trailhead. I noticed a small pressure spot below my right, inward ankle, that was being exaggerated by the use of the gas and break pedals via flexion and extension of my foot. You see the forward part of the shoe’s collar is a bit taller than my older Salomon’s, and is that much more apt to touch the area on my foot that starts to veer out, at the base of my ankle.
After walking to the trailhead, and noticing this light pressure spot was still with me, I adjusted how the tongue was sitting in the shoe, reworked the lacing, and the spot instantly went away and I hiked with zero discomfort.
However I noticed this phenomenon came back again, at the start of their second hiking excursion, when walking around Yosemite’s Valley Lodge campus before the hike. Once again, I adjusted the tongue and lacing and got into a more comfortable position, and again hiked with zero discomfort. I broke these shoes in nicely on the Yosemite Upper Falls Trail, and that pressure spot phenomenon has not returned since.
It should be noted, however, that the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX’s have significantly less cushioning around their collar area, than do the X Ultra 2 GTX’s when comparing the two shoes side by side. The counter area too rises a ways above the older model’s.
Weight & Comparisons
In a random sampling of Gore-Tex hiking shoes of similar prices, the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoes are on the lighter side.
| Gore-Tex hiking shoes of similar price | Weight |
|---|---|
| Vasque Talus XT Low GTX Hiking Shoes – Men’s | 2 lbs. 11 oz. |
| La Sportiva TX Hike GTX Hiking Shoes – Men’s | 2 lbs. 2.8 oz. |
| HOKA Anacapa 2 Low GTX Hiking Shoes – Men’s | 1 lb. 14.7 oz. |
| Merrell Chameleon 8 Stretch Waterproof Hiking Shoes – Men’s | 1 lb. 15 oz. |
| Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX Hiking Shoes – Men’s | 1 lb. 11.2 oz. |
| Danner Trail 2650 Campo GTX Hiking Shoes – Men’s | 1 lb. 8 oz. |
Support
Again the cradling system the X Ultra 4 has is not only comfortable but supportive. You could stand for long periods of time in these shoes with minimal discomfort from the task. And taking them up those Yosemite trails, with their steep, rocky switchbacks, where every manner of foot flexion/extension was possible, I always felt supported, and in no danger of rolling my foot and spraining my ankle.
The manufacture states these shoes can perform on technical trails, and I believe them.
Traction
On steep trails with loose dirt
I updated my Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX’s from the X Ultra 2 GTX’s a few months ago. I had used that older model of Salomon’s for years, and you could imagine the outsoles’ traction had diminished in that time.
When using these older shoes on the Grotto Trail to Mission Point at O’Melveny Park, in Granada Hills – a trail that rises a little over 1000 feet in a little over the 1st mile, and which has 3 or 4 super steep sections there – I had to expend a lot of energy on balancing, such that I would not slip, even with trekking poles.
It was this trail with which I set my X Ultra 4’s out on their maiden voyage, and the stark difference in traction and control was very noticeable. A trail that was often hard for me to accomplish, where I had to take mini breaks after each of the ultra steep areas, became less so with the X Ultra 4’s. They were sticky enough on the trail, that I found myself using a lot less energy going up these sections of trail, and subsequently a lot less worn out in general.
Out of curiosity, I ended up measuring the friction coefficient of these shoes against some of my others. Click here if you want to see how much higher the new X Ultra 4’s are in comparison.
On wet granite in a storm of waterfall spray
While using these shoes on the Mist Trail, in Yosemite, CA, a trail that is currently getting pummeled with the spray from Vernal Fall, due to all the rain and snow this winter, their performance was excellent, in that I didn’t slip once the entire time. The granite stairs next to Vernal Fall are often steep and always wet, holding pools of water in places, while miniature streams meander down them in others. And even while carrying 15 pounds of stuff in my pack, I felt I was in control the entire time, without the fear of slipping. And I wasn’t even using trekking poles on the Mist Trail, as I knew I would be using my camera frequently.
Water Resistance
Up in Yosemite, I walked through rain, through puddles, and through streams rolling down granite carved trails and didn’t have any problems with water migration into these shoes.
Even my old pair of X Ultra 2’s that are years old can still go into a running stream, with the waterline flirting with the top of the toe box, and hold the water out.
Obviously you can’t go very deep into the water with these, so if you’re looking to hike at places like Switzer Falls in the Angeles National Forest, where the water will go over your ankles, you should just bring some quick drying trail runners.
Quality and Durability
My Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX’s took some abuse on the Yosemite Mist Trail, and Upper Falls Trail, what with all the cobbled granite stones and stairs that make up these bucket list trails. I could feel the scrapes and stubs against these granite features in their downhill sections, where I naturally hiked a bit bolder and more carefree.
But upon close inspection of my shoes, for the purposes of writing this article, after having logged in several more dozens of miles on the shoes since that trip, I don’t see any distressed areas, smudges, or scrapes. Indeed if I’d wash the trail dust off of them, they’d probably look rather new still.
Old pair of Salomon X Ultra 2’s still going
My old Salomon X Ultra 2 GTX’s have held up incredibly well, after around eight years of service, though they do of course have eroded lugs, replacement insole inserts, and the occasional small tear. Somehow even with a tear in the toe box, the Gore-Tex still keeps the water out.
Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoe FAQ’s
How do you use the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoes with gaiters?
My particular gaiters are the REI Backpacker Low Gaiters. To use them with my X Ultra’s I purposely hide the shoe lace hooks inside the Velcro at the bottom of the gaiters, so that they cannot grab the cordage on the shoes.
I’ve tried using these lace hooks with the thin cordage and it results in a clicking motion as I walk, where the hook is unnaturally traveling back and forth on the shoe, around the lower lacing. It does still grab and keep hold of the cordage like it would traditional laces. But this feels like it would eventually cause wear and tear on the shoe though.
I’ve not tried the unhooked gaiters in snow, but I’ve tried them in sand, on Central Coast trails, and in tall, dry grass with a credible quantity of fox tails. They seem to work well without the use of the hook.
Further Reading
Thanks for checking out my Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoes review. Next check out my hiking gear page for more ideas to get you out on the trail.
See ya out there….