Racing shoes
Product 2018
Man
These Salomon S/Lab Sense SG, 6th in the series, are not for the faint hearted. These Salomon are here to be first off the start line and first at the finish. They are designed to go fast; if you can keep up…
Decoded: these shoes are 100% aimed at performance that need to be used correctly. You need to have the correct physique (the heavier builds will think twice…) and technical prowess. We searched high and low for the cushioning; we didn’t find it! Of course obviously these shoes are for aerial runners who touch down for nano-seconds on the forefoot. No heel strikers here.
For those who know how to run subtly these shoes bounce you forward, as you are always in direct contact with the ground. You are immediately propelled forward and your stride lengthens almost naturally with these at your feet. As these shoes were born from an Extra-terrestrial – Kilian Jornet – and you are one of his clan – these shoes are a must. For the rest of us mere mortals…well that’s up to your own judgement.
Let’s dig deeper in the test: S/Lab Sense 6 SG, we recognized the sensations from the Sense generation: lightness (230g in 42 2/3) and ultra-precision. The shoe’s envelopment of the foot is very precise, even considered powerful if you use or abuse the QuickLace®. The use of foam is reserved for the heel and otherwise the foot is in direct contact with the shoe’s structure, which is comfortable. The toe box is not too voluminous, they almost feel like ballet shoes… An absolute joy for foot placements.
The foot strike is super stable. The torsional rigidity isn’t that great but they have a super powerful grip even if Vibram® seems to do better than the Contagrip® on certain types of terrain. Maybe that’s just our testers views but at any rate the lugs never got clogged up with mud. The stride is very fluid and the sole is supple from front to back and you really forget you are wearing these shoes.
The visual quality is good, a few collages that seem a bit hesitant near the sole but nothing major. The debates in forums about their durability, well, our answer is that it depends on your usage and on what types of terrain. We have some old Sense versions that have held up really well and some testers destroyed their Sense in no time. Salomon state that the S/Lab Sense 6 SG are designed for racing and two outings a week. So train with a different model. Which seems intelligent to us.
SG means Soft Ground; these shoes are designed for humid and muddy ground. Their drop is 4mm (20mm/16mm). To give you a comparison in Salomon’s trail running range the S/Lab Sense 6 (220g) has a 4mm drop but set-up differently; 18mm/14mm, and their soles are designed for dry terrain. Then you have the S/Lab Sense Ultra that is slightly “heavier”: 275g, and with a 9mm drop (27 mm/18mm) and of course more cushioning.
The Salomon S/Lab Sense 6 SG is a finely tuned product destined for aerial runners with a precision foot strike even when fatigue starts to seep in. An exclusive design for those with the capacity to use them to their intended ends: going fast and light.
16 mm4 mm 
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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