Salomon Thundercross: Tested Review

Call me consistent: I run five to six times a week all year round; daily routes range from 3 to 8 miles, rarely more; and my pace almost always hovers in the 10-minute-mile range. The one inconsistency in my routine? I throw a wide range of terrain at my shoes. When I run from my house, I start on pavement, hit a loose asphalt stretch and then spend most of the run on a mix of dirt and gravel paths. Twice a week, I have the luxury of getting serious elevation gain (roughly 1,000 feet over the course of 1.5 miles) on rocky, root-y and otherwise technical trails. A concrete-only road run or butter-smooth singletrack outing may get tossed into the mix as well, assuming of course it's within my distance constraints.

It's rare that I can find a single shoe comfortable enough to withstand my hard-packed miles yet grippy enough to trust on slanted, often dusty-slick trail outings. The Salomon Thundercross, which launched in both standard and GORE-TEX varieties this August, does.

Labeled a trail shoe offering a "dynamic, cushioned ride with exceptional grip and precise foothold," according to brand, the Thundercross is best for muddy conditions and two-to-three runs a week. Over the course of about 6 weeks-during which I wore the shoe in everything but muddy conditions on my typical Monday-through-Friday running schedule-I've come to the conclusion that Salomon is holding back in its description of this shoe. The Thundercross bridges terrain with a finesse few other trail-runners possess.

Getting (Re)Acquainted

Prior to the Thundercross arriving on my doorstep, I'd consistently been reaching for the Salomon Sense Ride 5 (women's, men's). Admittedly, it wasn't the smartest choice-I've been wearing them since last spring, and they're well past the 300 to 500 miles REI experts advise putting on a pair of running shoes before buying a new pair. But (among other things) I love the reliability of the Sense Ride 5's fit. Given the Thundercross contains the same SensiFit™ technology in its overlay (the part of the upper that surrounds the laces) as the Sense Ride 5, I wasn't surprised at how easy it was to slip on the shoe. The SensiFit worked with Salomon's Quicklace® system to pull the shoe's upper snug around the bridge and sides of my foot. The brand calls this a "precise, optimal foothold;" I like to think of it as a hug from a friend.

Perhaps due to my familiarity with the Salomon fit, I didn't need a break-in period to get comfy in the Thundercross. Then again, neither did a California-based tester who transitioned out of her HOKAs to give the Thundercross a whirl. "This shoe is super comfortable right out of the box," she says of the Salomon shoes. "I broke them in on an easy road run before getting on the trail and didn't have to do that at all! No hotspots or discomfort."

She did, however, need to temper her cushioning expectations. Salomon considers the Thundercross an "ultra-plush" shoe due its springy Energy Foam in the midsole. Yet compared to the cloudlike cushioning for which HOKA is known-and even when compared to the sky-high cushion of Salomon's own Elixir GORE-TEX hiking-shoe line-I couldn't help but think the descriptor was a little generous for this shoe. The Thundercross is comfy but not cloudlike.

Yet after a brief adjustment period, my fellow tester found "the cushioning … supportive yet sensitive underfoot on the trail." I agree completely. Regardless of semantics around the degree of cushioning, the shoe delivers an appealingly fluid ride.

Underfoot Excellence

Salomon developed the Thundercross by testing the shoe on gnarly terrain in the French Alps. Those rigorous testing grounds led to an outsole featuring All Terrain Contagrip® rubber designed for an equally reliable hold on wet, dry, hard or loose surfaces (so, just about anywhere). Chevron-shaped, 5-millimeter-deep lugs point in different directions across the outsole to contribute no-nonsense grip on rugged, rocky surfaces.

While I can't personally vouch for how the Thundercross performs on the Tour du Mont Blanc (or anywhere else in the French Alps, for that matter), I loved the way it worked on runs up Boulder's First Flatiron, a trail offering ample evidence for how the Colorado outdoor hub got its name. Again and again, I appreciated the way these shoes held onto the steep and stony surfaces I put beneath them.

Likewise, I'm excited to run these puppies through the wringer next spring, a time of year Coloradans call Mud Season. "The lugs are great for muddy trails and mountains," says one consumer reviewer. "I was very impressed how they performed when things got steep and slick. No issue climbing!" Another adds, "These will be my go-to shoes for soft, muddy trails and snow."

Their traction impressed me once again on an outing with a loose, dusty, punishing stretch of dirt boasting a 28% grade. Instead of carving steps, whoever built the trail simply stretched an old climbing rope between a few trees to create a make-shift handrail up the mountainside. I ran the trail with a group of seasoned pros—all of whom wore high-end trail shoes from reputable brands—and while they all gripped the rope and still slipped a bit, I felt confident enough on both the ascent and the descent to go hands-free. And I remained vertical the whole time.

Just for kicks, I also wore the Thundercross to my son's last soccer practice of the season, wherein we adults try not to embarrass (or injure) ourselves while scrimmaging a gaggle of enthusiastic seven- and eight-year-olds. Here too, the Thundercross lugs effectively gripped the grass as I juked and pivoted with a ball in tow across damp grass. The fact that the laces stayed parked in the "garage" on the tongue, and therefore out of the way of my instep shot, was a nice bonus.

No question the Thundercross works well on gnarly terrain. The thing is it also performs adequately on hard surfaces like concrete and pavement. My fellow tester said it well: "Not so sticky that it's uncomfortable on the road but great on trails and over some rocky streams. Huge pro to this shoe!"

Test of Time

Durability is sometimes hard to gauge in the shoe review process. Work and workout schedules don't always align, so while reviewers get to know the ins and outs of a shoe's performance benefits, its capabilities in different conditions, and whether it stands up to a variety of terrain, we may have to make assumptions about how a shoe will hold up over the long haul.

Given the versatility of the Thundercross and my confidence wearing them across varied runs and outings, I managed to get an uncharacteristically real feel for their durability. Nearly 200 miles in, I can tell that the place where the planes of the chevron lugs meet isn't quite as sharp, though the shoes still hold true on my bi-weekly rock-hopping excursions. The midsole shows some wear with a few deeper creases where you'd expect them around the points where my toes flex away from the main part of the foot but nothing more significant. Combining debris-blocking, tightly woven ripstop mesh across the toe box with flexible TPU plastic on the overlay, the upper maintained like-new condition—as did the inner fabric on the shoe, even around the shoe collar. So, when it comes to durability, consider me impressed, especially given that 46% of the upper and lining are made of recycled materials.

The Rundown

I've long been a fan of Salomon's trail-running fleet, so I was hopeful from the outset that I'd love this latest addition to its portfolio. I do. The Thundercross holds the foot securely thanks to the SensiFit™ tech and delivers a responsive-yet not overly so-ride. Runners accustomed to a cloud-like underfoot experience should expect an adjustment period but will likely be pleasantly surprised if they give the Thundercross a chance. Durability-wise, it's clearly in it for the long haul, and while it's not quite a quiver-killer, the Thundercross is equally reliable on rocky trails, dirt paths and harder, paved surfaces. You might say the Thundercross consistently performs no matter the consistency.