Road review: Salming Speed 6

It's probably a bit premature, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts on my first pair of Salming running shoes.

I may have only logged about 24 miles in them, but 13.1 of them were at the Chilly Half-Marathon ... so they're not just road-tested, they've already been race-tested.

As for the bottom line?

(Wait for it ...)

As a new Salming ambassador I must say that I was excited to get my hands (and feet) on a pair of the Speed 6.  By all accounts these shoes are a strong everyday trainer as well as potential longer distance (e.g. half/full marathon) race-day shoe.  At just around 7.4oz for a men's size 9 they clip the boundary of racing flat territory, while the 22mm-to-16mm stack height from heel to toe provides ample cushioning for hammering out the miles.

Aside from the overall lightness of the package some of the more notable features of this shoe include the aesthetics - the fluorescent yellow/black colourway wreaks of velocity, but add to that the crazy prismatic effect that comes to life when light strikes the darkened panels on the upper and, well, you've got this pre-dawn runner giggling like a 7-year old on Christmas morning.

Noticeable on the outsole of the Speed 6 is the 62/75° flex groove, situated at what's described as the "ballet line".  The shoe bends at this point (on the announced 75°angle) to help optimize the natural movement axes of the foot, with 62% of the shoe toward the rear of that line and designed with extra stability (more on that in a moment).  You can also see the word "Recoil" printed underneath the heel area and this is the moniker given to Salming's midsole material which is marketed as an extremely lightweight cushioning material that provides a 'high rebound' (or energy-return) effect.  A good deal of midsole is visible on the bottom of the shoe with really only six notable rubber-laden sections for added durability and traction, so the added weight is not significant or without merit.

The upper on the Speed 6 is a mesh with the chromatically-responsive overlays affixed to provide a bit of a structured feel - it was snug without being restrictive, and I find that my medium-wide foot didn't experience any rubbing or cramping issues at all (a vital part of shoe functionality for me).  I swapped out a different pair of laces (because my shoes didn't come with any extra anythings out of the box) partly because I prefer flat laces (to the supplied round laces) and partly because I wanted to colour-match the orangey-pink lettering already printed on the shoe.

So how'd these shoes work out?

Honestly, there's part of me that feels like my review is a carbon-copy of another review that I'd read online (which I now can no longer locate!) that made some observations about the feel of the shoe.  My initial impressions were that the shoe felt rigid and resulted in a 'slapping' effect against the ground with each step - perhaps this is because of the 62% of 'stabilized' shoe and the only real flex points coming ahead of that 'ballet line'.  The sensation made me think that I was thudding my way all around town, but when I got home after my first workout in them it turned out that my splits were faster than I'd surmised ... so feel aside the Speed 6 actually delivered.  And during the half-marathon my friend Steve (who paced me for the final kilometre and to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude!) asked me how the shoes were feeling and my unfiltered response was "well, I haven't noticed them and that's a good thing".  This was true - the shoes pretty much disappeared on my feet and at no point did I process the 'pavement-slapping' feeling.

All in all I think that these shoes will do admirably well for marathon training and some uptempo workouts, although my preference will be to slide into a pair of the Race 6 shoes for my sub-3 attempt in May.  But for sheer funkiness and and performance results I gotta give these shoes a solid four footprints out of five.

Who knows ... now that I've #runSwedish, I may never go back! :)  Give it a try yourself at https://www.salming.com/ca/running/ and use the promo code "VOO20" for a 20% discount!

#nononsense #SalmingRunning

*** Disclosure:  I am affiliated with Salming Running Ambassadors (North America) but was not obligated to provide a positive review.  All opinions are my own.

Road review: Salming Speed 6