Q & A with Hanny - Review of the Salomon S/LAB Sense 7 SG
20 Sep 2021
Here are the key things I found about the Salomon Sense 7 SG on the Pyrenees Traverse (900km’ish, 45000m vertical gain, 19 days)
- I didn’t plan to use these shoes but they were the only ones I could purchase in my size in the remote location we were in. I purchased them in a random postage stamp sized shop in Portugal during a stopover on route to the start of our spontaneous Pyrenees Traverse
- I have previously run in the SLAB and loved them. What I love about all SLAB shoes is the close fit to my foot. They use a glove-fit and certainly suit a narrower foot. I love the way that your foot and the shoe move as one. The Pyrenees was incredibly rough with huge vertical gains, so this dynamic, close-fitting shoe was ideal.
- Obviously the shoe wasn’t designed with huge distances in mind, and this is represented by the reduced cushioning compared to some of the other SLAB shoes like the new Pulsar, or other Salomon shoes like the Salomon Sense Pro. But I found that on the trails where there was loose soils, grass, roots, mud and leaf litter this became less of an option. By a week into the expedition my feet had adjusted easily to the firmer shoe and I think it began to make me run lighter on my feet.
- The soles of the shoe are SO grippy, and you truly feel you can stick to absolutely anything!
- The shoes are SO TOUGH! I did huge kilometers through France in these shoes and then continued to use them for another 4 months or so after I returned home. Tough soles, tough upper fabrics, and less cushioning to collapse. So a brilliant shoe for tough terrain!
- I also used these shoes for sprint orienteering races and they have held up amazingly to the vegetation that we run though.
- I love the quick lacing and the way it puts equal pressure across the top of my foot. This really helps the shoe to work with the intrinsic movement patterns of the foot.
- They look super sexy :) I love the sleek red and black look.
- I also love the 4mm drop of the shoe (heel to toe height variance). This is really great for me as I have had an ankle reconstruction and need to ensure that I am not too high off the ground & can feel the terrain easily under my feet.
Negatives:
- As mentioned, they are not massively cushioned so this takes some getting used to.
- The new dust sock that Salomon have added to the shoe takes some getting used to too. I found initially that I felt nervous it would rub on my calf or my achilles. But I have found myself getting used to this and a higher trail running sock underneath really helped
- Check out the Find Your Feet Trail Socks
- Getting your feet into the newer style with the sock upper is really hard!!!! Frustrating when you are in a hurry or have stiff hamstrings!
- I am not running in the shoes as much right at the moment as I return from post-pregnancy and childbirth. I feel my body needs a little more support and cushioning right at the moment as I adjust back into running again.
