A big win for Salomon!

I really like the new Salomon Thundercross shoes. So much that I have since bought a second pair. I like the deep lugs for slippery trails especially on dry leaf litter. That can be so dangerous on steep trails going down. The lugs here are well spaced and deep and hold you. I love the quick-lace system and wish all running/ hiking shoes had this system. My foot feels secure in them. They are not flimsy or too light a weave so they repel water quite well and keep out dust and those annoying grass seeds. They hug my feet and are extremely comfortable. I feel secure running down a steep incline that is rocky and uneven. Some reviewers have said for that reason they can be hot in summer. I don't find that even a slight problem. My feet are fine. I guess if you have very sweaty feet then it may be something to look at but I think for most people the advantages outweigh any disadvantage. If it's muddy, wet or steep tough going I always wear Salomon's Speedcross 6. An outstanding shoe. I have owned six pairs from the 4's, to the 6. I usually run summer and winter pairs. Half a size difference for winter with thicker socks. I also have 2 pair Salomon Ultraglide's and Asics Nimbus TR (trail), Asics Novablast and an older pair of Hoka Speedgoat5's and pair of Hoka Challengers. So I can make some comparisons. Speedcross 6 and ThunderCross look a bit similar. The outer sole on both shoes look the same and both work well but I found the Speedcross to have slightly better grip. Not sure why. Maybe they have a stickier compound. The ThunderCross has a tiny bit more room in the toe box. The SpeedCross is a touch firmer all round which is something I like in hard conditions. There's not much in it but the foam in the ThunderCross is slightly softer. There's a little more towards the ball of your foot. One of the big differences between the ThunderCross and SpeedCross is the drop in the shoes. They could not be more different. ThunderCross is 3mm which is very low. Low drops are said to be bit easier on knees and hips. Also a good choice for mid sole strikers. It keeps you in a very natural foot position. The SpeedCross has an offical drop of 10mm (RunRepeat lab in tests found it closer to 14mm) so that's quite high! Because of heel position it's a good choice to prevent overstretching your Achilles tendon and calves. Great for heel strikers also less stress on steep inclines. I like to switch my shoes around as much as possible so my feet have to adapt to different pressures put on them. I'm an old guy and a heel striker. I do park runs, trail runs, steep mountain hiking and general walking. The ThunderCross is a wonderful choice for most people and very protective. Your foot doesn't slip around in the shoe. That makes you feel confident to push it a bit. There are only a few very small things I don't like about the ThunderCross. The tongue seems to float around a bit too much and you need to snug it down well and also there's no heel tab and in my opinion, it really needs one. Something like the fantastic heel tab on the Asics Nimbus would be perfect.

Very comfortable, use them as golf shoes, great grip.