Salomon Ultra Flow Review (2024)

Salomon Ultra Flow Review: Well-Priced Road-to-Trail
By David Salas

The Salmon Ultra Flow is a trail running shoe that is designed to do some running on the road as well. The shoe has cushioning and varying terrain in mind. The midsole cushioning and lug pattern are designed to run through both hard road surfaces as well as trail terrain. This hybrid shoe is also at a juicy price point of $119.95. 

Salomon Ultra Flow

Price: $119.95 at Running Warehouse
Weight: 9.0 oz, 255g (men's size 9), oz, g  (women's size 8)
Stack Height: 36mm heel/ 30mm forefoot
Drop: 6mm
Shoe Purpose: All Terrain/ Trail Running Shoe

Pros: Great Pricing, High versatility
Cons: Upper leans a little more towards a road design than trail

RUNNING SHOE SUMMARY

The Salmon Ultra Flow is a running shoe designed for running both on the road and in the trails. The general concept is providing comfort on all terrains and help ease the transitions between road surfaces and trail surfaces. The shoe features their everyday Energy Foam which is also seen in other training models from Salomon along with SensiFit seen in the Salomon Sense Ride for a really solid lockdown design. A mild rocker helps provide a nice rolling ride in a really affordable package.

SIMILAR SHOES: HOKA Challenger ATR, Saucony Ride 15 TR
PAST MODEL: New model.

FIT
(To learn how a shoe should fit, check out our full podcast on fit by Matt Klein.)

The Salmon Ultra Flow fits true to size in my Men's 9.5. The dimensions on the fit are pretty dialed in and does not fit narrow or wide in any regions. The length is spot on for my foot. The volume is on the lower end so this does come off with a snug feel. The tongue is very padded and does allow you to lock the shoe down well without any biting issues. The tongue is not gusseted, but I did not have any sliding issues. The upper material is relatively comfortable and does feel like a hybrid upper. The upper is relatively plush for a trail shoe, but this does feel consistent with a road shoe. There is light reinforcement throughout to keep it from overstretching. A toe guard in the forefoot that does its job and does not provide any irritation. There is a decently rigid heel counter in the heel that holds the shape without any irritation either.

The sock liner uses Ortholite and does give some added comfort to the fit. I will say the upper has served all the needs I have for it, but if you are sending it down a really technical section at considerable speeds this may need a little more security around. I tend to be more of an "all terrain" runner vs. a trail runner, and this suits my needs. 

David's Typical Size: Men's US Size 9.5
Shoes that have fit David well: Nike Vomero 17, Saucony Ride 16, Puma Velocity Nitro 3
Shoes that have fit snug: HOKA Arahi 7
Shoes that have fit large: Salomon Aero Glide

Doctors of Running Checklist

Is This a Good Shoe for Walking: Yes
Is This a Good Shoe for Standing: Yes
Is the Forefoot Flexible: Yes
How Flexible is the Shoe: Moderate
Is This a Good Heel Bevel: Yes
Recommended for Haglunds: No
Recommended for Sockless: No
Durability Expectation: Average

PERFORMANCE

I really enjoyed the Salmon Ultra Flow. This all-terrain training shoe is a shoe that found its home in my rotation very quickly. Many of my runs tend to be 50/50 between road and runnable trail. The shoe does have a road shoe feel to it with some added traction and light security. The Energy Foam midsole does have a good amount of cushioning underfoot that is not entirely taken away from the lugs. The transitions throughout do feel relatively natural and consistent with most neutral training shoes. The heel is moderately beveled and does a good job of getting you through the midfoot without much slapping. The forefoot has moderate flexibility when loaded and does give you a pretty natural feeling toe off.

The Contagrip outsole serves its purpose well and does grip well on both road and dirt without feeling like it is too much or too little in either situation. The upper security is good, but there is a little bit of stretch to it. When running in softer trail conditions like bridle paths or softer dirt/mud after a rain there is some give to the material. For the most part though this shoe does give you a really neutral feeling and does operate like a training shoe that can do a little of both footings. The midsole has some bounce to it but does feel best at nice rhythmic paces. This has been a go-to for easy daily runs. 

STABILITY

The Salomon Ultra Flow definitely runs as a neutral shoe. The midsole cushioning and somewhat stretchy upper give you a very neutral experience. The outsole traction does help with this but I would say this is bread and butter neutral. The underfoot base is normal to slightly wide and does give you decent cross sectional area underneath. I would say this is consistent with most neutral daily running shoes though. 

Thoughts as a DPT: Should All-Terrain be a Category?  
By David Salas, PT, DPT, CSCS

The debate has gone on forever. The market for all-terrain shoes can seem relatively small, but there are some people that look for these specific types of shoes. An all-terrain shoe essentially is a shoe that is still comfortable using it both on the roads and in the trails. For me, these are shoes I do tend to gravitate towards when it comes to daily mileage. I have a lot of runnable trail near me and these designs usually keep me from shying away from certain sections, where maybe I would in another shoe.

An all-terrain shoe usually has some elements that lean road and others that lean trail. Traditionally, the road shoes will focus less on outsole traction or upper security (medially and laterally) and more on the midsole and geometry of the shoe. The trail shoes usually focus on lockdown, upper security, and traction. Obviously there is some overlap, but those are the big things. When making a shoe for everything, you have to give and take certain components to make something a "jack of all trades" and perhaps a "master of none". 

So should a "master of none" exist in the footwear space? Absolutely. I can think of three demographics that could find good usage from this category. The first: I think of the people like me. Having a shoe that can do a little bit of everything can translate into road miles, trail miles, walking, hiking, etc. without hesitation. The second crowd I think of are those that simply don't have the means to have multiple shoes for multiple purposes. At $119.95, the Salmon Ultra Flow actually gives itself great value out of pure utility and decent comfort. This is a shoe that you can purchase and know you can wear into the ground across a multitude of uses. The third group is for those that like trail shoes due to the traction and relative stability, but don't like how firm many of them can be. This is the case for several patients I see that may do recreational walking along the bluffs, sand, bike paths, or even downtown. The all terrain shoes usually have softer midsoles to accommodate road surfaces as well. 

Will this shoe win in a head-to-head on strictly road or strictly trail against another shoe? Probably not. But it can serve many uses and prove its utility. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

This is actually one of my favorite shoes this year, but I do think the upper can be refined. I know this is an all terrain shoe, though the upper feels very much like a road upper with trail stuff built around it. I think a little more reinforcement, or perhaps just a simple material change could make this feel a little more sturdy when pushed into unstable forces from either footing or turning. 

WHO IS THIS SHOE FOR?

The Salomon Ultra Flow is a hybrid running shoe for those looking to have a neutral experience across both roads and trails. The shoe runs similar to most neutral daily trainers and does a good job of giving you a good enough experience across all footings. Those finding themselves with a lot of road to trail or mixed footing runs may find this as an option to look into. 

GRADES

David
Fit: A- (The shoe fits me well from lockdown and comfort, I do wish there was just a tad more reinforcement to prevent stretch with unstable footing or forces)
Performance: A- (Great for rhythmic running on both road and trail, upper stretch does take away from softer or more technical trails, but this should fit nearly all your needs)
Stability: B (Very neutral feeling shoe, but traction and base help, slight sidewalls too)
Value: A (At $120 this could easily be a training shoe for me)
Personal: A (Fits all the needs I have for it. Not expecting much responsiveness, but a great multi terrain workhorse)
Overall Design: A- (Simple but impressive for value)

SHOP | SUPPORT DOR

Salomon Ultra Flow

Price: $119.95 at Running Warehouse

Shop Men | Shop Women

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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, Santa Barbara, Danbury and Stevens Point areas, we am currently taking clients for running evaluations.

***Disclaimer: These shoes were provided free of charge in exchange for a review.  We thank the people at Salomon for sending us a pair.  This in no way affected the honesty of this review. We systematically put each type of shoe through certain runs prior to review. For trainers and performance trainers, we take them on daily runs, workouts, recovery runs and a long run prior to review (often accumulating anywhere from 20-50 miles in the process). For racing flats we ensure that we have completed intervals, a tempo or steady state run as well as a warm-up and cool down in each pair prior to review. This systematic process is to ensure that we have experience with each shoe in a large variety of conditions to provide expansive and thorough reviews for the public and for companies. Our views are based on our extensive history in the footwear industry and years testing and developing footwear. If you are a footwear rep looking for footwear reviews or consultations on development, we are currently looking to partner with companies to assist, discuss and promote footwear models. Partnership will not affect the honesty of our reviews.

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