Running shoes
Product 2018
Man
A few seasons ago Salomon tried entering the road running market, which came with mixed reviews. The “Sonic” products were nevertheless far from being bad products. They no doubt suffered from a lack of marketing communication of the range unlike the trail running sector with the help of Kilian Jornet and François D’Haene.
In view of using them for road and triathlon running we took the time to explore the Sonic range now that there are 4 different models, starting with the RA Max.
These shoes are mainly focused on training purposes. They weigh barely more than the Salomon Sonic RA Pro (235g for size 42 2/3). But the main difference is the cushioning, which is more substantial in the RA Max.
This cushioning is very noticeable at the rear and the forefoot of the shoe. It enables you to be comfortable in your stride without asking too many questions about foot placement. On tarmac, its favorite terrain, you can run for miles and miles without your joints suffering.
To find a pressure point you have to really search by leaning hard on the heel; as the heel is very soft the only way of finding a pressure point is if you lose your balance at the rear (which is hard to do on tarmac), and the RA Max is designed to be run midfoot strike.
You feel the cushioning under the forefoot but it isn’t too rubbery. The flexibility of the foam means you lose a little lateral foothold, but that doesn’t endanger your foot strike. You lose some energy in the foot strike because of the cushioning, the rebound is absorbed, so precision runners will be a little disappointed.
It has a 10mm drop, 4 more than the Sonic RA Pro (6mm). The Sonic RA Max solicits your calves less but you don’t feel pushed into a forefoot stance.
This model has a wide toe box but overall the foothold is within the norm. You need to lace up correctly to play with the fit. The laces are too long you need to do a double knot so they don’t flop about.
We really liked the tongue, thin but protective and it sits in place.
The strap at the heel of the shoe is useless because it is too small, unless of course you have fairy hands!
The top of the RA Max is too rigid, the part that goes around the ankle at the level of the first eyelet, after running for a while it starts rubbing. After some use it does become more supple. Around the ankle there are soft squidgy padding, two lateral ones and one at the level for the Achilles tendon. On the older Sonic models this area wore down very quickly, the foam disappeared and made way for direct contact with the rigid shell underneath.
On these new Sonic RA Max we haven’t yet noticed the same type of wear and tear.
The forefoot is protected, a little like a trail running shoe, the Salomon DNA! The mesh is breathable and in direct contact with the foot, which is very pleasant.
We did notice a few mini details that could do with being reviewed on these Salomon Sonic RA Max but their cozy cushioning made us quickly forget about them. We really appreciated the filtering quality of the sole and the comfort that it brought when you want to train hard.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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