Salomon Sense Ride 5 Review: Classic Feel
By David Salas
Salomon has been one of the top companies in the trail world for years now. The European-based company has made a lot of different kind of offerings to the trail category ranging in cushion, traction, and performance design. The Sense Ride is designed to be that trail shoe that can do a little bit of everything ranging from easy runs to potential racing efforts, short to long runs, and variable terrains. The shoe does come off this way and is nice jack-of-all-trades trail shoe.
Price: $140 at Running Warehouse
Weight: 10 oz, 286 g (men's size 9), 8.7 oz, 247 g (women's size 8)
Stack Height: 29mm heel, 21mm forefoot
Drop: 8mm
Classification: Trail Running Shoe
RUNNING SHOE SUMMARY
The Salomon Sense Ride 5 is a versatile trail running shoe that you can take on nearly any excursion. The ride is very balanced and does not feel overly rockered or aggressive. The underfoot cushioning is certainly on the firmer end but does just fine on the trails. The lugs are shallow and don't get anything caught in them, though still deep enough to grip pretty well. The Sense Ride 5 is a solid training trail shoe for knocking down miles.
SIMILAR SHOES: Hoka Torrent 2
FIT
The fit of the Salomon Sense Ride 5 is relatively anatomical. The heel is normal to slightly narrow width. The midfoot is normal width, while the forefoot is slightly wide with a gradual taper into the toe box. The length of the shoe is true to size, though a tiny bit long. The volume is normal to slightly snug which helps with this. The lacing system, SensiFit does a surprisingly good job of locking down throughout the foot. It is set up similar to a speed laces with a wire design you can synch down. I did not have any problems with slippage and the upper felt sturdy when I was running. The engineered mesh felt comfortable and breathable enough for longer efforts while running. The heel collar is very padded and there is a shallow heel counter present. The overall hold through the heel is actually really good and I had no issues there. The toe box is still pretty forgiving, though I did have a tiny bit of rubbing on the lateral aspect of the forefoot. I think they could make the taper a little more gradual in that region coming off of the slightly wide forefoot. Otherwise I was very happy with how this upper performed and fit my foot.
Bach (further team fit thoughts): I also found the shoe to fit true to size. The lockdown over foot feels solid. The shoe has a standard fit throughout, but does have a slightly lower volume forefoot. I felt most comfortable in thinner to medium cushion socks here and didn't feel like I had a lot of room for thicker winter socks. The shoe uses the SensiFit lacing system, a wire design that I've used a lot via the Hoka Transport. I actually really love this lacing system. It really is a set it and forget it kind of lacing that not only does the job well, but also tucks in really nicely and stays out of the way. Heel security felt good without having to do any real adjusting. There's a lot of material throughout, but it feels purposeful and protective, which is what you want in a trail shoe.
Aesthetics are essentially meaningless, but I did want to say the teal, grey model of the Sense Ride looks stellar in every way possible.
PERFORMANCE
The Sense Ride 5 was a pleasant surprise for me. Initially on step-in I was nervous the shoe would come off as being too firm when running, though I found it to be sufficient on the trails and even road for portions. With that said, this is definitely a firm shoe. The lugs are a little more shallow which helps with softening the underfoot feel a tad. The ride feels very natural with its transitions. This is something I do not always say with trail shoes as they can often come off blocky or even cleat like at times. The transitions are very gently rockered and so you get a subtle rolling sensation, but nothing overwhelming. The heel bevel is very small, but noticeable for me. Those that like larger rockered heels probably will find it a tad jarring.
The width of the platform is pretty normal throughout and is not overly narrow or wide in any specific regions. There is no rock plate, though I found it to be okay when running in most conditions. The midsole is EVA based with a mixture of Olefin throughout. The shoe still runs pretty similar to most EVA midsoles I have run in, though I will say the little things make the shoe very enjoyable for me. The platform and transitions feels like a traditional running shoe in a lot of ways.
The 8mm drop is very familiar feeling and the lugs just feel like a little bit of extra traction. In some ways it reminds of the classic Nike Pegasus, Mizuno Wave Rider, or Asics Cumulus type shoes with a better trail ready upper. The steady rocker makes it a shoe I can run easy in, though also turn over when needed without having to worry about having too much toe spring. I was able to do a trail run and get strides in after the run with equal comfort. The shoe is marketed as a versatile trail runner and I think it fits the bill on that one. The underfoot feel is definitely firm, but the other components make this shoe a winner.
STABILITY
The Sense Ride 5 is a neutral trail shoe and does not have any formal measures of stability. Despite that the shoe does pretty well in this category. The Contagrip outsole is pretty sticky on all of the surfaces I tested it on and gives some inherent traction and rigidity. The upper lockdown throughout is really good and I had no issues with translation or slippage. The shoe does have some really well integrated sidewalls in the heel through the early midfoot that give you a cradle like sensation. With that said, the shoe does run very neutral, but executes the small details well.
Thoughts as a DPT: The Little Things
By David Salas, PT, DPT, CSCS
The Salomon Sense Ride 5 does the little things well. The shoe in and of itself does not have any "fun" ingredients such as a super foam, plate, or anything unique. What makes this shoe shine is executing the traditional pieces. The sole flaring is just big enough to feel effective, while not feeling awkward on landing. The sidewalls are well integrated between the upper and the midsole. The transitions on the heel bevel and forefoot rocker are small but noticeable. The outsole is sticky and grippy, but not so thick you can't run some road in it.
When we talk about "responders", this shoe will certainly work for a specific group. For those that like firmer riding shoes and want more natural transitions this shoe does very well. As stated earlier this is a "jack of all trades" type trail running shoe. Everything in the design floats in the middle on nearly every category you can imagine outside of firm/soft. We often bring up the comfort filter paradigm and how stability has a subjective component. This would be a perfect shoe to demonstrate that for some (myself) it will perform very well, though for others that like a softer rockered ride might find this jarring and hard. The little things mentioned above work well for my mechanics and this shoe comes off very stable because of that, despite being a neutral running shoe. It may not be quite as objective, but it is always worth spending the extra time to work on the little things.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Sense Ride 5 does a great job across multiple categories. The one recommendation I would give is to make the toe box a little wider and the taper a tad more gradual from the forefoot. Everything feels good fit wise up until that region where I got a small amount of rubbing on the lateral aspect of my toes. Otherwise this was a shoe I really enjoyed.
WHO THIS SHOE IS FOR
The Salomon Sense Ride 5 is a trail running shoe for someone that likes to have a very natural feeling shoe underfoot. The shoe feels similar to a traditional running shoe with a more trail reinforced upper and a very gradual rocker profile. It feels very "middle of the road" with transitions, cushioning, traction, etc. The shoe is a jack of all trades type running shoe and I found it worked best for daily efforts, knowing there are more aggressive racing options out there. The ride is certainly on the firmer end. If you like having a firmer midsole in an age where everyone is going softer, this is worth looking into.
GRADING
David
Fit: A- (Pretty decent anatomic fit, though taper could be more gradual for a wider toe box)
Performance: A (I was actually really pleased with the performance of this shoe as an everything trail shoe, may win an award down the stretch)
Stability: A- (This still runs neutral, though does a lot of small things well that make you feel grounded and stable)
DPT/Footwear Science: B+ (There really isn't anything crazy going on here, but they execute the little things well between sole flaring, sidewalls, traction, transitions, etc)
Personal: A (Upper and transitions worked well for my mechanics and I could easily see myself reaching for this again on a trail run)
Overall: A- (A very well done trail shoe aimed at balance between all of the major categories)
SHOP | SUPPORT DORSalomon Sense Ride 5Price: $140 at Running Warehouse
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Editor's Note: As always, the views presented on this website belong to myself or the selected few who contribute to these posts. This website should not and does not serve as a replacement for seeking medical care. If you are currently injured or concerned about an injury, please see your local running physical therapist. If you are in the Los Angeles area, I am currently taking clients for running evaluations.
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