Salewa

Mountain Trainer Lite GTX Hiking Shoe - Men's

Great Except....

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Great comfortable fit right out of the box and on to the trail! Love the stability. Sturdy and solid, especially scrambling side of hills. Overall and excellent supportive shoe. The Bad: the Goretex waterproofness is....meh! Don't know where it's failing but as other reviewers have noted, a walk in light rain or across a wet grassy meadow or ball field leaves the shoes wet like a sponge. The outer material seems to absorb moisture pretty quickly and once past it, not sure just what's happening within the Gortex membrane but it's NOT waterproof, at least not after the first outing or so. Disappointing, but then I'd probably go for the non-Gortex version after all. Second, the outer material; it seems to love water and not very rugged, tearing and susceptible to abrasion from scree and rocks. I'm not dragging my feet thru scree fields but surprised at how quickly the material want's to shred. Third, where the front portion of the toe box bends, the rubber rand along the side of the shoe has cracked and split on both of them; poor design, or poor materials; either way it shouldn't be splitting with so few miles on them. Overall I like the shoes and would probably buy them again knowing the caveats though without the Gortex as they're a light, sturdy, well supporting shoe for backpacking and off trail routes, and they make my feet happy. I typically wear a 10.5, which these are and they fit well, though may move up to an 11 next time to give my toes a bit more room with descents.

Would bye again

Needed to size up 1/2 size. Amazingly comfortable, very supportive

great low hiking shoe

I've been wearing these for about 8 months now, and they've been great. I live and work in the deserts of California, and was looking for a shoe with an aggressive tread, and a solid midsole to smooth out the rocks. This one has worked very well for me. Seems to be holding up well to the abrasion out here, and it is very comfortable for most terrain I work in. The only minor complaint I have is that it is hard to lock the lacing in different areas of the shoe, to tailor the fit around different parts of the foot. Great shoe all around, though. I've already bought a second pair to replace these when they give out.

Comfortable out of the box!

Great fit, durable.

Great fit. I've owned the non-GTX version of this shoe for two years and it has held up well. I bought this GTX version for Spring and Fall weather when it is cooler and wetter. The sole has held up well - better than Vibram, which is saying something. I wondered if the "sock-weave" technology upper fabric would hold up to abrasion, and it has done very well.

Perfect fit. Comfort and stability.

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

12

Weight:

170

I am not a fan of the wide toe box currently in favor by many manufacturers. That fit feels sloppy and not connected to the trail. Shoes that did not work for me - Solomon, Keen, Oboz. Gravitated to a European style for a narrower toe box. Tried La Sportiva - too firm in the sole. Tried AKU - I got bad metatarsal pain. Ended up here. Great comfort, great stability. Toe box has plenty of room without excess. Tempted to buy a second pair as back-up stock because it took forever to find what is a great fit. Male, 6’, 170 lbs. size 12 was just right.

Problematic lacing and really soggy in the rain.

The good. Comfortable, stable, grippy, and stylish for trail or town. The bad: After hiking for 4-5 days in the Dolomites and some hikes in the Blue Ride of the SE US, I see two significant flaws in the design: (1) the lacing system is problematic. It takes (me) way more effort than should be needed to synch down laces over the relatively squishy tongue for a secure fit. I actually got rope burns on my fingers a couple of times trying to tighten these laces. The older model of Mountain Trainer 2 had EXCELLENT lacing locks, what happened to those??? Please bring them back! (2) Tongue material/waterproofing: these shoes get absolutely soaking wet if worn in the rain for more than 15-20 minutes! The issue seems to be the tongue material, it acts like a sponge and wicks water INTO the shoe. So, while the rest of the shoe is gore-tex, and can take steps in a puddle, during a rainstorm water from pants or just from above absorbs through the tongue and quickly travels into the shoe making it completely wet and squishy. I absolutely loved the old-ish Mountain Trainer 2 GTX shoe, and had two pairs before these. I never experienced these problems with the other models. I'm surprised and really bummed on my overall experience with this version, and I really hope the designers read this review and improve this shoe and/or return the old lacing system to the MT2 GTX so I can buy it again.

Great so far!

With minimal break in I wore them on a walk on varied terrain in Scotland. They were comfortable out of the box and remained so throughout the days. On sustained walking on flat ground I noticed a pressure point on the top base of the great toe which was easily resolved by changing the lacing pattern. No further problems. No leaks, good support and stable on rocky surfaces. Can’t speak to durability but after 120 miles they still look new.

Walking and hiking

Bought the same shoe last year and did 110 miles in a week on Mt Blanc. Same design, upper material shows wear quickly, but sturdy

Super comfortable and well made

Really impressed with the construction and comfort of this shoe. A medium stiff sole gives me support on the trails and plenty of abrasion resistance material on the lower half of the shoe. The tongue and heal is made of this dense rubber cushiony material which is so comfortable. The top mesh is a dark navy, almost a blue/black which I love. This is a great looking shoe.