Salomon Sense Ride 3 Review

Salomon has been a staple in the trail running and hiking footwear industry for a long time and for good reason. Known for their aggressive traction and quick lace systems the Sense Ride 3’s from Salomon follow the same pattern with some inspiration from popular road running shoes. I have had the Sense Ride 3’s for about 3 months now and have used them for pretty much every trail run and hike since. I have around 100 miles on them so far and they have been a great 100 miles. I have found the Sense Ride 3’s to be the best all-around trail running shoe I have used. From soft dirt trails to more technical up hill climbs the Sense 3’s have been a great companion.

The Sense 3 comes in at $120 US which I believe to be a great price for what you get. The shoe comes in 5 different colors at the time of this review.

If you are intersted in the video review I have linked it below. For the written review keep scrolling. —————

FEATURES

Lace pocket

Provides easy storage for the Quicklace™ lacing system.

SensiFit™

SensiFit™ cradles the foot from the midsole to the lacing system, providing a secure, snug, and virtually customized fit all around the foot.

Welded upper

Stitch-free upper construction provides a smooth, glove-like, fit and feel.

Internal SensiFit™

Invisible from the outside, the Sensifit cradles the foot from the midsole to the lacing system, providing a secure, snug, and virtually customized fit all around the foot.

Molded OrthoLite® sock liner

Molded to match the contours of your foot, this OrthoLite® insole provides superior cushioning, as well as breathability and durability, to upgrade the comfort and performance of our footwear.

CHASSIS

Profeel Film

Profeel Film helps filter out rocks and sharp surfaces, for more comfort and stability.

Single-layer Mesh

A single layer of Mesh, close to the foot, for maximum feel.

Mesh and textile lining

A soft, breathable lining for extreme comfort.

EndoFit™

An internal fit sleeve designed to hug the foot in exactly the right places and provide a precise fit.

Quicklace™

Minimalistic and strong lace for one-pull tightening. Easy-on, easy-off.

UPPER

The upper on the Sense 3 is made from a single layer mesh and has Salomon’s SensiFit technology which cradles the foot from the midsole to the lacing of the shoe. The single-layer mesh is great and allowed my foot to breathe well and had a great lock-down to it. No complaints at all with the upper.

I have found the lacing system on the Sense the best I have used in a long time. It is Salomon’s Quicklace system and is honestly one of the best parts of the shoes - I think I will have a hard time going back to a different lacing system after using this for the past few months. The system is a “cord” type of lace and is synched tight by a small pinch mechanism. This system, after some getting used to, allows you to quickly pull the laces tight and consistently get the same tightness. I love this as I hate tieing my shoes and sometimes find it hard to get the same tightness every time. There is also a lace pocket at the top of the tongue to allow you to store the extra lace after tightening the shoe. This was not on the first iteration of the shoe and a much-welcomed feature. I found it to work extremely well and never let the extra lace loose.

On the heel of the 3’s, there is a semi-rigid heel cup that gives a good lockdown and feels solid. There are no pull tabs on this shoe, however, with the speed lace system I don’t think they are needed.

I typically wear a 10-10.5 in shoes and decided to go with a 10 in the Ride 3’s. They fit perfectly and I’m glad I went with the 10s. My foot can be towards the wide side but I still normally wear a non-wide shoe. I went with a normal width and they fit well.

MIDSOLE

Optivibe™ A combination of foams, one to dampen, one to propel. This was developed to reduce vibration upon footstrike aimed to decrease muscle fatigue without affecting the overall ride.

My previous trail running shoe was the Hoka One One Speedgoat 4, one of the most cushioned trail shoes there is. I definitely noticed a smaller difference in lack of cushion after switching to the Ride 3s however, after getting used to this difference I felt much more energy return and quicker on my feet. The Sense 3’s are not super cushioned but I feel they had a perfect mixture of cushion and energy return that allowed me to take them on multiple different trails and difficulty. The heel to toe drop is 8mm on the Sense 3’s and pretty standard.

OUTSOLE

Contagrip® MA

“Contagrip® MA is built for the widest variety of surfaces. It balances both the geometry and the rubber compound to deliver confidence on wet, dry, hard or loose surfaces, and offer long-term durability.”

The above statement is directly from Salomon’s website and is 100% accurate. The contra grip outsole is the best outsole I have used for a trail runner like this. It did extremely well on easy-going soft dirt trails, and even better on more technical trails like the above picture. The lugs/pattern do a great job giving traction on every surface. I still have my pair of Salomon Speedcross 5’s that I’ll use for “mud season.” After 100+ miles the outsole looks solid with little signs of wear.

OVERALL

All in all, I think the Salomon Sense Ride 3s are the best all-around trail runners you can buy right now. The Contragrip outsole is as versatile as they come and the Optivibe midsole will cover flat ground along with technical trails as well. At $120 the shoe is very resonable and will last a while.

If you are interseted in purcahsing the Salomon Sense Ride 3s, head over to Salomon’s website HERE

Some more pictures of the Sense Ride 3s in use below.

+

• $120

• Good for All around running

• Durable and Functional Outsole

• Quicklace system is Amazing

• Great energy return from Midsole

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• No pull tabs

• Is not the most cushioned shoe I’ve used.