Julie uses all different kinds of shoes – Brooks, Scarpa, Salomon, Altra, Hoka (many different models) – and when she finds one she likes it inevitably gets discontinued. On the other hand I know what I like and stick to it. At the moment I have five different pairs of Salomon Sense Ride in my shoe rotation, plus another four pairs that are now retired!
- Sense Ride 4 (Orange), 1067 miles – rarely used now except for short runs
- Sense Ride 4 (Blue), 918 miles – occasional use
- Sense Ride 5 (Red/Orange/Grey), 616 miles – general purpose shoes, used most days
- Sense Ride 5 (Red/Black), 319 miles – backup race shoes (completed Pig on the Hill and Run the Borders)
- Sense Ride 5 (Green flash), 69 miles – prime race shoes, run in a bit, ready for the BYU World Team Championships
I’ve reviewed the Salomon Sense Ride 4 a few years ago so let’s have a look at the Sense Ride 5. The Sense Ride 5 has been out now for more than a year, so while there are still new colours being released you can find them at reasonable prices, well under £70 at places like SportsShoes.com or Amazon for specific size and colour combinations. You might even be lucky enough to find some Sense Ride 4’s still for sale at bargain prices.
So what’s been changed between the 4 and the 5? First up the outsole has been tweaked – it’s still Contagrip rubber with a “ProFeel film” but there are more lugs (6 per row), each being a bit smaller and shallower (3.5mm compared with 4mm). The grip is more-or-less the same – maybe not ideal for proper hill racing on grass and mud but excellent for most trails you’ll find in the UK at least. So far I’ve found them to be exactly as durable as the previous outsole, and expect to get roughly 1000 miles of usage out of them.
The midsole has been updated, it’s now Salomon’s new “Energy Foam” compound. I would say it’s a little bit more cushioned than the previous version, which is a nice-to-have, but since I ran 170 miles in one go in the Sense Ride 4 it was already more than adequate in my opinion. Inside, the construction is much the same, with the “Sensi-Fit” fabric linked to the tongue and combined with the quicklace system it definitely still holds your foot nicely in place. I used to occasionally get blisters caused by my feet moving around in shoes, or bashed toenails and I don’t get either of these in the Sense Ride 4 or 5. Please don’t mess with this system in future editions, Salomon!
The upper is very similar, mostly a very breathable, quick-draining mesh. This edition has removed a little bit of the plastic weld from around the front end, which improves the breathability at a cost of a little less splash-resistance. There have been a few changes around the heel, with the addition of a ‘tag’ at the back – pretty useless unless you like to hang your shoes up? The padding at the side of the heel has been extended all the way round the back which is probably a better fit if you don’t have very narrow heels like I do. As far as I can tell, the heel cup appears to be a little bit stiffer and I found it can become a bit uncomfortable on very long runs. However, it does appear to be a bit more durable than the Sense Ride 4, on which the heel lining has started to split – there’s no sign of that issue on the Sense Ride 5, so I suppose the issue is fixed!
The official weight from Salomon is up ever so slightly from 290g to 293g, but I doubt you’d even notice that. It’s still 8mm drop, although apparently 2.5mm shaved off front and back. I guess that’s 0.5mm off the lugs and the rest due to the midsole change – however, I simply don’t feel the difference and it looks and handles like the same shoe. Overall, the Sense Ride 5 is pretty much the same as the previous edition, certainly similar enough to keep me as a happy customer. Sense Ride will remain my go-to “do-everything” shoe for the foreseeable future and I recommend you try them out if you haven’t already! Click through to buy on Amazon.