Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

NOT HAPPY WITH THE CHANGES MADE BETWEEN THE SPEEDCROSS 3 & 4 VERSIONS! I'm the most loyal Salomon Speedcross 3 runner, but this stuff new shoe is a waste of money and causes injuries! Beware of the terrible alteration to the heel area in this shoe, as described below. Over the past several years, I've owned countless pairs of Salomon Speedcross 3 shoes for long-distance running on both the streets and the trails. It's the only shoe I run in, no matter the terrain or 90-degree running weather range here in Michigan. I can't imagine ever wearing a different running shoe. They've always fit perfectly right out of the box, and I believe the shoes helped me to decrease my knee and shin injuries even while increasing my weekly running mileage! I've recommended the shoes to every runner I know. My parents, fiancée, friends, and family are all hooked on the great comfort and durability of the Speedcross 3 shoes. My short, stubby, high-arch feet fit perfectly in the true-to-size shoes, and my fiancée's long, skinny, low-arch feet also fit perfectly in the Speedcross 3 for his marathon training and racing. However, if you're a loyal Salomon Speedcross 3 wearer like myself or looking to try out some Speedcross shoes for the first time after a recommendation, BEWARE OF THIS SPEEDCROSS 4 VERSION! The Speedcross 4 does not fit the same! When these shoes arrived a few months ago, they looked the same in the box, so I wore them outside without even thinking about it. After my first run with them, I knew the shoe was different. The stiff, unforgiving heel rubbed the back of my feet and caused blisters even with great running socks on. In my +10 pairs of Speedcross 3s, I've never experienced blisters until purchasing this 4 version. Even though I was a little worried about the new 4s, I couldn't return them since I ran outside. Due to the high price, I was determined to make them work for me. For the past few months, I've attempted to make these shoes work by running in them once per week to "wear them in," but I'm officially done! NEVER wearing them again! The heel and sole areas are both incredibly hard/stiff compared to the Speedcross 3 version. During each run, I felt as if my Achilles was getting squeezed by the shoe. Even worse, the bottom of my heels felt very sore during and after each run, as if they were getting bruised by the pounding. The sore heels lasted the rest of the day and even sometimes the entire day following my runs in these shoes. I have good running form and I've never experienced Plantar Fasciitis before, but I honestly believe these shoes are causing me to feel the initial symptoms of the terrible injury. When I wear my old Speedcross 3s out running, I don't feel this pain in my heels or Achilles at all, but the one day per week I've been wearing the Speedcross 4s I've consistently experienced the new pain. I'm not willing to jeopardize my upcoming marathon by forcing these bad shoes to work for me any longer! After a mere 80 or so miles on these shoes, I've given up on them for good. My fiancée (who received a pair of the Speedcross 4 shoes as a Christmas gift before I figured out that these shoes were hopeless) is also quitting these shoes for good after just 6 weeks. As a generally injury-free runner, he complains of heel pain in these shoes as well. As I mentioned before, we have completely different feet shapes/sizes, so it's very telling that the new shoes are causing the same serious pain for both of us. We don't have a lot of money for wasting running shoes, so it was hard for us to give up on these and buy new Spoedcross 3s. It's just not worth a long-term injury though! Salomon definitely swung and missed on this model! I hope no other runners waste their money or battle injury because of these shoes. I don't know what I'll do if Salomon stops making the Speedcross 3, but I'll have to move on to a different brand entirely because I certainly won't be purchasing this model ever again! Why mess with a good thing, Salomon?