Salomon Eskape Shoes

On test: Salomon Eskape GTX shoe
Country of manufacture: Vietnam
Weight: 780g a pair of (size 44/9½)
Price: £100
Colour: grey/orange
Material: uppers, textile; sole, rubber

1,000 Mile Ultra Performance Sock
Colour: white/grey
Country of manufacture: EU
Weight: not known
Price: £9.49
Material: 35 per cent cotton, 32 per cent nylon, 24 per cent polyester, 8 per cent Cupron, 1 per cent Spandex

The Salomon Eskape GTX is the brand’s lightweight hiking shoe with, even in the British summer, the essential Gore-Tex waterproof lining.

The uppers are soft, with instant comfort once on the foot, but have a rugged feel at the same time, and the material feels like it should stand up to a good deal of abrasion.

The lacing feeds through a set of textile loops with the final eyelets, where the tension is highest when knotting, having metal reinforcement.

The tongue, which is well padded, is gusseted and has additional ventilation holes.

Extra protection is provided at the toe

There is protection at the front of the shoe with a reinforced toe box and the outsole extends upwards slightly in the centre of the toe area for extra security.

The heel is well held without the foot feeling constricted and the footbed, which is not fully detachable but is glued at the front, has adequate underfoot padding and is also ventilated.

The Salomon Sensifit system is meant to cradle the foot and stop movement within the shoe which, with correct lace tightening, it did well, with no sliding forward on downhill sections of our test routes and no heel lift when going uphill, both of which can lead to blistering or bruising.

There are reflective trim areas on the shoe too.

Much of modern footwear’s technology is hidden, and the Eskape is no exception, with its Advanced Chassis sandwiched between the outsole and midsole, with claims of energy efficiency and comfort.

The outsole is Salomon’s own Contagrip, with a Chevron pattern, with fairly tightly arranged tread in durable rubber.

The Contagrip outsole has an aggressive chevron pattern

The grip is reasonable, without approaching the best achieved by top walking boots or by super-sticky soles on some lightweight fellrunning shoes, but the pay-off is that, unlike the very soft rubber on such shoes, the Eskape’s will, I believe, provide good durability.

Most shoes designed and made for trekking and hiking have good durability in the sole and will last longer than trainers aimed at, say, road or track use.

There was some slip on wet sloping paving flags when going downhill, but grip uphill was good and the Eskapes coped well with wet grassy slopes, muddy paths and gravel routes.

In fact, the shoes provided good comfort all round. The best bits of kit are those that you put on and forget about. The Eskapes achieved this. The low ankle section doesn’t rub on the ankle bone and the cushioning underfoot leaves the feet fresh after even a prolonged outing.

On a lengthy outing in persistent rain, we did end up with wet feet, but bear in mind that, unlike boots a walking shoe is vulnerable to water getting in at the top, round the opening for the ankle, much more than boots with their higher ankle that benefits from protection from trouser hems.

The Eskape has become my shoe of choice for general mooching around, both in urban areas and in the country. It’s ideal for use on maintained routes and the lightweight nature of the shoes mean you can breeze up those hills faster than if your feet were clad in heavier boots.

The 1,000 Mile Ultra Performance Sock

For heavy rainy days, I would swap to boots but, in general use the Eskapes were versatile, coping with our forays over a variety of ground: loose gravel hill paths; muddy sections of track; grass slopes, boulder fields, asphalt and town routes.

We used the Salomon Eskape shoes in combination with 1,000 Mile Ultra Performance Socks, which feature a high ankle, extra padding under the toe, ball of the foot and heel areas as well as arch bracing the aids fit and also gives support.

The material mix benefits from Cupron – copper fibre technology to reduce odour– and after use there was a welcome absence of whiffiness.

The Ultra Performance Socks provided extra comfort, with padding in the right areas enhancing the walking feel in our Eskapes.

The socks are in 1,000 Mile’s running range and are ideal for fellrunning but they’re also a good choice for walkers using hiking shoes or even fellrunning shoes for those occasions when boots are not needed.

They are great for the summer months when, given some decent weather, walkers can leave the boots and home and stroll out in shoes.

Runners too will appreciate the fit and lack of odour at the end of the day.

However, in our experience, after a few outings in muddy conditions, nice white socks tend to take on a distinct off-white colour even when washed. Not a big problem, but be warned.

Eskape GTX

We liked:

Comfort

Looks

Weight

We weren’t so keen on:

Grip on wet stone slabs

1,000 Mile Ultra Performance Socks

We liked:

Comfort

Lack of odour

We weren’t so keen on:

Colour
More details on the Salomon and 1,000 Mile websites.