I bought a pair of Speedcross’ a couple of years ago, in their first or second iteration, and I found them to be too narrow and the soles too aggressive for my liking, so I was also apprehensive about how my feet would like them.

The pronounced lugs provide phenomenal traction on steep and/or slippery terrain like mud and snow. It’s snug where you want it (the heel), roomy where you want it (toe box), and has a wide base for increased stability. The rock plate offers added protection running on rocky trails. I was particularly aware of all these features after I chose to wear this shoe on a recent mountain excursion that included a steep, rocky and technical descent with about 4-inches of fresh snow on top of slick dirt and rock. I felt confident and secure with my footing the entire time, and I was able to keep a good pace because of how well this shoe grips whatever the trail surface is.

With such amazing traction, I was looking forward to seeing how this shoe performs as a winter running shoe. Ever since the snow started piling, the Speedcross 5 have become my go-to snow-running shoes. I have never felt so secure running in the snow without adding my Microspikes to the mix--I rarely find a need to wear my Microspikes with my Speedcross. I can’t wait to investigate Salomon’s similarly constructed winter-specific shoe (the SnowSpikes have a similar tread with the addition of tungsten spikes for added traction), and in retrospect, I really wish I had gotten the Speedcross 5 GTX for that added protection in the snow and cold.

The Speedcross has the highest drop of all the shoes on my list (10mm) which feels different to me. As someone who has a pretty consistent mid-foot strike and is usually running in shoes that have 4mm drop or less, it is weird to heel strike in these shoes, and it’s my least favorite thing about them.

They are also the heaviest shoes on my list. I noticed that these shoes start to get uncomfortable for me after about 10-12 miles--particularly in the midsole (they don’t have a lot of cushion down there). That being said, I wore them for about 12 hours during a 24 hours race this year, and they did great. I know people who have run 100-mile races in the Speedcross!

Now that the snow is disappearing in the Wasatch, I’m putting my Speedcross 5s on the higher shelf and making room for my dirt and rock shoes easily accessible. We are adding this shoe to honorable mentions for its excellent specialized use in slippery terrain and steep descents, especially in the snow. If that’s your style of running, you should probably add the Speedcross to your rotation.