Nike Wildhorse 3 VS Salming T1

Nike sent me a pair of the Wildhorse 3 a few months ago (Disclosure: these shoes were review samples provided free of charge by the manufacturer), and I’ve worn them extensively since. I’ve used them casually, for hikes in the Green Mountains of VT, Shenandoah National Park in VA, Mt. Major in NH, and a few others. I’ve also put in running miles on local trails – nothing too technical, but enough to get a sense of traction and comfort/protection.

Specs

Per Running Warehouse, the Nike Wildhorse 3 weighs in at 10.3 oz in men’s size 9, and has a drop of 8mm (28mm heel, 20mm forefoot). That’s a gain of about an ounce in weight over v2, and an addition of 6mm of stack height to the heel and 2mm to the forefoot (the Wildhorse 2 was 4mm drop with stacks of 22mm heel, 18mm forefoot).

Upper

One of my areas of concern with v2 of the Wildhorse was durability of the upper, particularly in the area of the forefoot. I didn’t experience any tearing in my pair, but the material appeared to be pilling/fraying a bit at the surface and I don’t think they could handle hundreds of miles on the trail.

Sole

As with the upper, the sole of the Wildhorse 3 is beefed up via the addition of about 6mm of midsole cushion in the heel and 2mm in the forefoot. The shoe retains a zoom air unit in the heel, and there is a rock plate in the forefoot. Overall, the ride is cushier than that of v2, though I can’t sense the bouncy presence of the zoom air unit as much in the new version. The added midsole height seems to have muted the feel a bit. Whereas I felt like the earlier versions of the Wildhorse were something like a Nike Free Trail (minus the flex), the Wildhorse 3 is probably more comparable to something like a Zoom Elite Trail.

I hadn’t heard much about the Swedish shoe brand Salming before Pete asked me if I’d be willing to try their debut trail shoe, the T1, for review.  After looking at some of the specs on their website, I saw that many of the features were what I like to see in a trail shoe: 5mm drop, full coverage outsole, and a randed upper.  What I couldn’t see was how well the shoe would ride once I started to run in it.  Read on to see my thoughts, as well as a modification I did to the upper.

Upper and Fit

The upper on the Salming T1 is pretty much an all-out mountain shoe upper composed of a heavy, and super durable ripstop type nylon material as the base with plentiful welded overlays, and the addition of a stitched on rand. Translation: this upper is going to last a long time. The downside of this type of upper for a pure trail shoe is that it gets hot, is heavier than it needs to be for trails, and is slightly stiffer. At first I really felt like the upper was a glaring design error. Now, after more miles in the shoe, including some genuine mountain outings with, rocks, mud, snow and everything in between, I’m not so sure it’s a bad thing. Suitability of the upper will depend on how one will use the shoe, especially given its mash-up of a road racing shoe geometry in the midsole with a fairly robustly lugged outsole. More on that later.

Ride

The ride of the Salming T1 is really what makes the shoe for me. That it occurs in a shoe with a mountain shoe style upper and fairly lugged outsole makes it even more interesting since this is a pretty rare combo. The shoe runs pretty firm overall, but not harshly so. It sits somewhere between the rides of the inov-8 Race Ultra 270/Trailroc 245 and the Pearl Izumi N1. It doesn’t have any noticeable rocker, but it does have more road shoe like roll to it than most trail shoes that I’ve tried.  It rides like a solid road racing flat, but with denser foam, and it is quite protective with the full outsole.  Very comfortable and natural ride on smooth trail, something many shoes with lots of lug really struggle with, and yet it still is sharp enough to edge well and handle loose and technical terrain.

Conclusion

Overall the Salming T1 is a great first offering from Salming, and they are now on my radar for future models.  I do think a more trail specific model (as opposed to the more mountain/hybrid design of the T1) would be nice to see – maybe a shoe that has reduced lug (yet still full rubber outsole) and a light, seamless and breathable upper more like their Race R1 on the same midsole geometry.

If you are a fan of the fit and feel of earlier versions of the Wildhorse or Terra Kiger but feel the need for a bit more protection, the Wildhorse 3 is a great choice. If you want to stick with less shoe, the Terra Kiger 3 stays at 4mm drop and has less midsole stack.