The French brand Salomon's benchmark status in trail running is well known. At the recently concluded Chongli 168 trail race, Salomon took first place in the 30km, 70km and 100km categories, becoming the brand with the most wins at this event.
Where Salomon is strongest in gear is its fine-grained categorization of the flagship racing S/LAB line.
It's not about screening by handling difficulty, but about matching different products to different distances, preferences and even terrain.
First is the S/LAB PULSAR 4, which is better suited to middle and short distances.
The S/LAB PULSAR line represents Salomon's pursuit of "pure speed" in the mountains. The PULSAR's forefoot favors a thinner sole design, which on one hand gives better control and a more responsive drive for middle-to-short distances to increase speed, and on the other hand poses a bit of a challenge for runners with limited strength or weak downhill technique.
范邦林, the Golden League overall champion with an ITRA score of 938, is a devoted fan of this series; the S/LAB PULSAR 3 on his feet has almost become his icon.
Next is the stalwart for mid-to-long-distance racing, the S/LAB GENESIS series — a version of S/LAB that has been widely accepted by serious trail runners and, to some extent, has taken the trail-racing "crown" from the S/LAB ULTRA line.
It carries over the base model's stable protection and the reinforced TPU structure on the outer heel, allowing the core of being both fast and "stable" to shine through. High ceiling, low barrier.
On a mixed-terrain fast course like Chongli's, the S/LAB GENESIS LTD COURTNEY v2 (not shown in the photo) and the new S/LAB GENESIS 2 — both of which stood on podiums across different categories — are the best ambassadors for S/LAB GENESIS.
The S/LAB ULTRA GLIDE line, positioned as the cushioning option and with enough stiffness to provide rolling propulsion, has become many long-distance trail novices' choice for their "first ultra." Although it's S/LAB, its racing attributes aren't that pronounced.
This year's Chongli was marked by rain and many muddy sections. Some runners in the 30km category dug out the once-legendary racing series SPEEDCROSS.
Its exaggerated lug depth gives runners the confidence to safely cross muddy slopes and scree. But it's similar to the current S/LAB PULSAR series — some might even say it's more aggressive.
The forefoot has almost no cushioning — just the insole and rubber outsole — again trading minimal cushioning for ultimate control, so it still carries a handling threshold.
Salomon's performance triangle of "fast, stable, cushioned" effectively simplifies choices for runners. You only need to pick from the matrix the pair that best fits the course, your ability and your preference.
However, in overall versatility across all models the balance isn't perfectly even — for example, the S/LAB GENESIS has broader applicability compared with other S/LAB shoes. This may be an area the brand should consider improving next.
(The images show some models, not the full product range.)