The Xa Pro 3D V8 are men's trail running shoes from Salomon.The French brand's legendary off-road shoe returns this year for even more adventure.The Xa Pro 3D range is renowned for 3 of its qualities: stability, cushioning and grip. With its new 3D chassis geometry, the Xa Pro 3D V8 offers the perfect balance between cushioning and stability. The grip of the Contagrip MA sole remains exemplary whatever the terrain, allowing you to focus 100% on your run. The Xa Pro 3D V8 features all of Salomon's essential technologies, such as the OrthoLite insole and the Energycell midsole, that guarantee a durable, comfortable and high-performance shoe. The Sensifit and Quicklace systems guarantee a perfect fit for different types of feet.
The Xa Pro 3D V8 are men's trail running shoes from Salomon.The French brand's legendary off-road shoe returns this year for even more adventure.The Xa Pro 3D range is renowned for 3 of its qualities: stability, cushioning and grip. With its new 3D chassis geometry, the Xa Pro 3D V8 offers the perfect balance between cushioning and stability. The grip of the Contagrip MA sole remains exemplary whatever the terrain, allowing you to focus 100% on your run. The Xa Pro 3D V8 features all of Salomon's essential technologies, such as the OrthoLite insole and the Energycell midsole, that guarantee a durable, comfortable and high-performance shoe. The Sensifit and Quicklace systems guarantee a perfect fit for different types of feet.
The Xa Pro 3D V8 are men's trail running shoes from Salomon.The French brand's legendary off-road shoe returns this year for even more adventure.The Xa Pro 3D range is renowned for 3 of its qualities: stability, cushioning and grip. With its new 3D chassis geometry, the Xa Pro 3D V8 offers the perfect balance between cushioning and stability. The grip of the Contagrip MA sole remains exemplary whatever the terrain, allowing you to focus 100% on your run. The Xa Pro 3D V8 features all of Salomon's essential technologies, such as the OrthoLite insole and the Energycell midsole, that guarantee a durable, comfortable and high-performance shoe. The Sensifit and Quicklace systems guarantee a perfect fit for different types of feet.
The Xa Pro 3D V8 are men's trail running shoes from Salomon.The French brand's legendary off-road shoe returns this year for even more adventure.The Xa Pro 3D range is renowned for 3 of its qualities: stability, cushioning and grip. With its new 3D chassis geometry, the Xa Pro 3D V8 offers the perfect balance between cushioning and stability. The grip of the Contagrip MA sole remains exemplary whatever the terrain, allowing you to focus 100% on your run. The Xa Pro 3D V8 features all of Salomon's essential technologies, such as the OrthoLite insole and the Energycell midsole, that guarantee a durable, comfortable and high-performance shoe. The Sensifit and Quicklace systems guarantee a perfect fit for different types of feet.
Last updated at 11/30/2025 01:19:56
originally posted on REI
Salomon trail runner XA PRO 3D V8 is pretty light, breathes well, have an all gel sole offering a good grip and protection on gentler trails. The looped Quicklace offers both added comfort and safety. It looks good and is priced reasonably inexpensively, or so it seems. Finally, REI, the seller, offers a seductive return/exchange policy. The less attractive features of the Salomon trail runner are that it enlarges with use, has an unfortunate short life of 7-9 months with REI practice of dishonoring its return/refund policy. I am 79 years of age with constraints in right knee requiring protective gears walking or hiking when my health and schedule permits invariably using two walking/hiking poles, with slow/cautious speed/steps. The trail is about 2.5 miles and is ... MoreSalomon trail runner XA PRO 3D V8 is pretty light, breathes well, have an all gel sole offering a good grip and protection on gentler trails. The looped Quicklace offers both added comfort and safety. It looks good and is priced reasonably inexpensively, or so it seems. Finally, REI, the seller, offers a seductive return/exchange policy. The less attractive features of the Salomon trail runner are that it enlarges with use, has an unfortunate short life of 7-9 months with REI practice of dishonoring its return/refund policy. I am 79 years of age with constraints in right knee requiring protective gears walking or hiking when my health and schedule permits invariably using two walking/hiking poles, with slow/cautious speed/steps. The trail is about 2.5 miles and is predominantly covered with compact dirt. I purchased the Salomon trail runner on Oct 26, 2020 from Santa Monica REI Co.op. Late March I started to notice a crack along the right edge of the mesh on the left shoe. It kept expanding and deepening. Early in June, and then early in July and finally early in August when the tear was so wide and deep that allowed the dirt to penetrate the shoe and the sox and sit on the skin, I went to Santa Monica REI store to see if it can be exchanged. Meeting with three different representatives only one paid attention to my complaint for enlargement by saying/suggesting that it could have been oversized to begin wit. They all moreover skipped ( avoided ) looking at the mesh and examined the heel instead asking me to agree with them that the heel is worn out or has been subject to excessive use, something I could not attest to for lack of technical knowledge. All three of them none the less concluded that the heel is excessively worn hence the damage to the mesh is outcome of use/overuse and not covered. A typical straw man reasoning, when subject (mesh) is not refuted but replaced by a false subject (heel). My reasoning about mesh, age, knee, poles, speed, frequency of use, type of trail…. all went unnoticed. In early Augsut 2021 I left the shoes on bench in park and went home.
originally posted on salomon.com
Owned a few similar from Salomon. Now this pair, again with quicklace. The shoe is comfortable, sole is solid with good grip. However, the shoe has a bad choice of lacing system. The thin string which consists the lacing simply cuts through the fabric on top of the foot during normal waking. Both the lacing and the shoe fabrics are in constant friction and of course the thin lace simply slices a trench hole across the shoe like a saw. This is my maybe 4th Samolon with the same lacing system and same defect occurs each time. I deliberately don’t tie them tight and same thing happens. The thin lacing across the front also collects all the dust and like a barrier lines it across the shoe, while also digging the hole. The shoe is simply being destroyed by its own ... MoreOwned a few similar from Salomon. Now this pair, again with quicklace. The shoe is comfortable, sole is solid with good grip. However, the shoe has a bad choice of lacing system. The thin string which consists the lacing simply cuts through the fabric on top of the foot during normal waking. Both the lacing and the shoe fabrics are in constant friction and of course the thin lace simply slices a trench hole across the shoe like a saw. This is my maybe 4th Samolon with the same lacing system and same defect occurs each time. I deliberately don’t tie them tight and same thing happens. The thin lacing across the front also collects all the dust and like a barrier lines it across the shoe, while also digging the hole. The shoe is simply being destroyed by its own lacing. The loop created by the lacing, where the lacing ends on the inside, also digs into the fabric opening additional hole there, each on both shoes. The only solution to make them last when you buy these shoes is to cut and replace the lacing with normal shoe lace immediately. Salomon, please redo the lacing on this otherwise good show or this will be my last one now :(
originally posted on REI
I've been a user of the Salomon line of trail shoes for years. Everything from 6 day backpack trips to day hikes to daily kick around shoes and everything in between. I have long accepted that they won't last very long, for me, they have always been a great fit and worth the durability trade off for the comfort.That leaves me with bothering to write this review at all. I feel like they have been redesigning these shoes just for sake of redesigning. And there is a change they made that is driving me NUTS every time I put these shoes on. It's the tongue redesign. Whenever you put these shoes on, the tongue slides down with your feet and you are left trying to fish it out underneath this new skin they added which I believe is to try and keep dirt out. Well the old ... MoreI've been a user of the Salomon line of trail shoes for years. Everything from 6 day backpack trips to day hikes to daily kick around shoes and everything in between. I have long accepted that they won't last very long, for me, they have always been a great fit and worth the durability trade off for the comfort.That leaves me with bothering to write this review at all. I feel like they have been redesigning these shoes just for sake of redesigning. And there is a change they made that is driving me NUTS every time I put these shoes on. It's the tongue redesign. Whenever you put these shoes on, the tongue slides down with your feet and you are left trying to fish it out underneath this new skin they added which I believe is to try and keep dirt out. Well the old tongues were attached and never had a problem. These new ones are free floating and only attached at the very end. I swear a little curse every time I put them on. And this is coming from a die hard user. I am only hoping they will break in and form some sort of memory. WHY?!?!?!I'm seriously considering sewing them myself.
| Style | Low Cut |
| Fit | True To Size |
| Upper | Synthetic | Mesh |
| Lining | Ortholite Insole |
| Sole | All−terrain Contragrip Rubber | 3.5 mm Lugs |
Salomon trail runner XA PRO 3D V8 is pretty light, breathes well, have an all gel sole offering a good grip and protection on gentler trails. The looped Quicklace offers both added comfort and safety. It looks good and is priced reasonably inexpensively, or so it seems. Finally, REI, the seller, offers a seductive return/exchange policy. The less attractive features of the Salomon trail runner are that it enlarges with use, has an unfortunate short life of 7-9 months with REI practice of dishonoring its return/refund policy. I am 79 years of age with constraints in right knee requiring protective gears walking or hiking when my health and schedule permits invariably using two walking/hiking poles, with slow/cautious speed/steps. The trail is about 2.5 miles and is ... MoreSalomon trail runner XA PRO 3D V8 is pretty light, breathes well, have an all gel sole offering a good grip and protection on gentler trails. The looped Quicklace offers both added comfort and safety. It looks good and is priced reasonably inexpensively, or so it seems. Finally, REI, the seller, offers a seductive return/exchange policy. The less attractive features of the Salomon trail runner are that it enlarges with use, has an unfortunate short life of 7-9 months with REI practice of dishonoring its return/refund policy. I am 79 years of age with constraints in right knee requiring protective gears walking or hiking when my health and schedule permits invariably using two walking/hiking poles, with slow/cautious speed/steps. The trail is about 2.5 miles and is predominantly covered with compact dirt. I purchased the Salomon trail runner on Oct 26, 2020 from Santa Monica REI Co.op. Late March I started to notice a crack along the right edge of the mesh on the left shoe. It kept expanding and deepening. Early in June, and then early in July and finally early in August when the tear was so wide and deep that allowed the dirt to penetrate the shoe and the sox and sit on the skin, I went to Santa Monica REI store to see if it can be exchanged. Meeting with three different representatives only one paid attention to my complaint for enlargement by saying/suggesting that it could have been oversized to begin wit. They all moreover skipped ( avoided ) looking at the mesh and examined the heel instead asking me to agree with them that the heel is worn out or has been subject to excessive use, something I could not attest to for lack of technical knowledge. All three of them none the less concluded that the heel is excessively worn hence the damage to the mesh is outcome of use/overuse and not covered. A typical straw man reasoning, when subject (mesh) is not refuted but replaced by a false subject (heel). My reasoning about mesh, age, knee, poles, speed, frequency of use, type of trail…. all went unnoticed. In early Augsut 2021 I left the shoes on bench in park and went home.
Owned a few similar from Salomon. Now this pair, again with quicklace. The shoe is comfortable, sole is solid with good grip. However, the shoe has a bad choice of lacing system. The thin string which consists the lacing simply cuts through the fabric on top of the foot during normal waking. Both the lacing and the shoe fabrics are in constant friction and of course the thin lace simply slices a trench hole across the shoe like a saw. This is my maybe 4th Samolon with the same lacing system and same defect occurs each time. I deliberately don’t tie them tight and same thing happens. The thin lacing across the front also collects all the dust and like a barrier lines it across the shoe, while also digging the hole. The shoe is simply being destroyed by its own ... MoreOwned a few similar from Salomon. Now this pair, again with quicklace. The shoe is comfortable, sole is solid with good grip. However, the shoe has a bad choice of lacing system. The thin string which consists the lacing simply cuts through the fabric on top of the foot during normal waking. Both the lacing and the shoe fabrics are in constant friction and of course the thin lace simply slices a trench hole across the shoe like a saw. This is my maybe 4th Samolon with the same lacing system and same defect occurs each time. I deliberately don’t tie them tight and same thing happens. The thin lacing across the front also collects all the dust and like a barrier lines it across the shoe, while also digging the hole. The shoe is simply being destroyed by its own lacing. The loop created by the lacing, where the lacing ends on the inside, also digs into the fabric opening additional hole there, each on both shoes. The only solution to make them last when you buy these shoes is to cut and replace the lacing with normal shoe lace immediately. Salomon, please redo the lacing on this otherwise good show or this will be my last one now :(
I've been a user of the Salomon line of trail shoes for years. Everything from 6 day backpack trips to day hikes to daily kick around shoes and everything in between. I have long accepted that they won't last very long, for me, they have always been a great fit and worth the durability trade off for the comfort.That leaves me with bothering to write this review at all. I feel like they have been redesigning these shoes just for sake of redesigning. And there is a change they made that is driving me NUTS every time I put these shoes on. It's the tongue redesign. Whenever you put these shoes on, the tongue slides down with your feet and you are left trying to fish it out underneath this new skin they added which I believe is to try and keep dirt out. Well the old ... MoreI've been a user of the Salomon line of trail shoes for years. Everything from 6 day backpack trips to day hikes to daily kick around shoes and everything in between. I have long accepted that they won't last very long, for me, they have always been a great fit and worth the durability trade off for the comfort.That leaves me with bothering to write this review at all. I feel like they have been redesigning these shoes just for sake of redesigning. And there is a change they made that is driving me NUTS every time I put these shoes on. It's the tongue redesign. Whenever you put these shoes on, the tongue slides down with your feet and you are left trying to fish it out underneath this new skin they added which I believe is to try and keep dirt out. Well the old tongues were attached and never had a problem. These new ones are free floating and only attached at the very end. I swear a little curse every time I put them on. And this is coming from a die hard user. I am only hoping they will break in and form some sort of memory. WHY?!?!?!I'm seriously considering sewing them myself.
I have purchased nearly 10 pairs of XA Pro 3D shoes over the years and have recently bought 5 more pairs to support an AT through hike beginning in late March ‘23. They fit my feet well and I have accumulated over 2000 miles on them. However, there is a major design and/or manufacturing flaw in them. Every single pair encountered the following pre-mature failure in both shoes well before the soles wore out. The cloth, lace loop closest to the pinky toe gets sawed through over time by the auto lace itself! (See photo of routine failure). All of the other lace loops have a protective plastic insert in them to prevent this and never have I encountered a lace loop failure in any loops containing the insert. Without this loop in the lacing system, your foot slides more ... MoreI have purchased nearly 10 pairs of XA Pro 3D shoes over the years and have recently bought 5 more pairs to support an AT through hike beginning in late March ‘23. They fit my feet well and I have accumulated over 2000 miles on them. However, there is a major design and/or manufacturing flaw in them. Every single pair encountered the following pre-mature failure in both shoes well before the soles wore out. The cloth, lace loop closest to the pinky toe gets sawed through over time by the auto lace itself! (See photo of routine failure). All of the other lace loops have a protective plastic insert in them to prevent this and never have I encountered a lace loop failure in any loops containing the insert. Without this loop in the lacing system, your foot slides more in the toe box causing increased likelihood of blisters…. an aggravation I am not looking forward to on my upcoming through hike. If any of the pairs of new shoes develop this failure on my hike, can I return them for warranty and get a new pair sent to me? I like the shoes but hate having to deal with this failure mode. I can’t fix the loop and I can’t risk changing shoes at this point before my hike. Why can’t they be made with a plastic insert in this lace loop? I certainly hope this wasn’t planned to be manufactured obsolescence. Frustrated customer!
I am disappointed with the new version of this shoe. I wore out a previous version of the XA PRO 3D which I purchased at LL Bean in 2009. I loved those shoes so much that I still used the worn out shoes on many hikes. It is obvious the new version is made with cheaper quality materials. Many reviewers agree. My biggest complaint is the large floppy tongue that feels like it is made from camping pad foam. The tongue of my previous pair seemed more like a soft squishy silicone rubber material. It stayed centered on my foot better and didn't work its way off to one side so quickly. The other aspect of the v8 that I don't like is the thickness of the soles. It seems like I can feel every tiny stone that I step on. I don't get it. I'm going to look into a pair of Hoka ... MoreI am disappointed with the new version of this shoe. I wore out a previous version of the XA PRO 3D which I purchased at LL Bean in 2009. I loved those shoes so much that I still used the worn out shoes on many hikes. It is obvious the new version is made with cheaper quality materials. Many reviewers agree. My biggest complaint is the large floppy tongue that feels like it is made from camping pad foam. The tongue of my previous pair seemed more like a soft squishy silicone rubber material. It stayed centered on my foot better and didn't work its way off to one side so quickly. The other aspect of the v8 that I don't like is the thickness of the soles. It seems like I can feel every tiny stone that I step on. I don't get it. I'm going to look into a pair of Hoka hiking shoes next time around. Salomon got me through the last decade but no more.
This has been my go-to shoe for many years as I have always had a pair for different kind of adventures. New version feels like a working boot and the heel cup is extremely slippery and don't hold my heel still as the older models did.Only after few weeks of use, the shoe shows significant signs of wear. The laminated plastic from toe cap edge is tearing off and soles are beginning to wear out too, which is pretty weird. I have used the shoe only for about 200km.XA Pro 3D V8 is sold in Finland as a sustainable product. In my opinion, this doesn't meet the standards at all because of the lack of durability. I really appreciate the partial use of recycled materials, but if it's made with a cost of durability, it ends up not to be worth it.I changed the lacing to ... MoreThis has been my go-to shoe for many years as I have always had a pair for different kind of adventures. New version feels like a working boot and the heel cup is extremely slippery and don't hold my heel still as the older models did.Only after few weeks of use, the shoe shows significant signs of wear. The laminated plastic from toe cap edge is tearing off and soles are beginning to wear out too, which is pretty weird. I have used the shoe only for about 200km.XA Pro 3D V8 is sold in Finland as a sustainable product. In my opinion, this doesn't meet the standards at all because of the lack of durability. I really appreciate the partial use of recycled materials, but if it's made with a cost of durability, it ends up not to be worth it.I changed the lacing to improve heel slipping problem and it worked for a bit, but I believe this pair will be for gardening.
I originally bought a pair of X Ultra 3 walking shoes to replace a pair that I'd had for about 8 years. I was really disappointed that they developed a split in the fabric after only 18 months of very light use.I reported the matter to Salomon and was really impressed with the customer service as they provided me with a credit note for the full value of the shoes which I decided to use towards a new pair of XA Pro 3Ds (not the new v8 version I should add).Initially the shoes were really comfortable, a little less supportive than the X Ultras but more forgiving and supple. However after about a year of very light use the horizontal seam in the heel area opened up meaning that they now cause really painful blisters after a very short time and are, therefore ... MoreI originally bought a pair of X Ultra 3 walking shoes to replace a pair that I'd had for about 8 years. I was really disappointed that they developed a split in the fabric after only 18 months of very light use.I reported the matter to Salomon and was really impressed with the customer service as they provided me with a credit note for the full value of the shoes which I decided to use towards a new pair of XA Pro 3Ds (not the new v8 version I should add).Initially the shoes were really comfortable, a little less supportive than the X Ultras but more forgiving and supple. However after about a year of very light use the horizontal seam in the heel area opened up meaning that they now cause really painful blisters after a very short time and are, therefore unwearable despite being in otherwise perfect condition.Again I contacted Salomon as I had such a good experience with them previously but was told that the warranty was from the original purchase date.Whilst I accept this is a fairly reasonable condition I do think that the fact that two pairs of Salomon walking / trail shoes have failed with such light use would definitely mean that will look elsewhere for a replacement.As an aside one common problem with both of my newer pairs (and has been reported elsewhere in the reviews section) is that the laces are ridiculously short. I have relatively narrow feet but need to exert real force to get my feet in and, no doubt, leading to totally unnecessary excess wear on the heel lining and structure. It is incredible that such a flaw could exist for the sake of a couple of centimetres of shoelace.A real shame because out of the box their shoes are great - just not (in my experience at least) as well designed and made as they used to be..
First off, if I were to give the Salomon XA Pro a rating based on the lacing system... 6 stars. Love it, it's so easy to get in and the threads are great at moving around to support your foot. Now that that's out of the way... The forefoot rock plate is awful. I can count every stone I step on and it's not comfortable. The toe box is too tight, not across the ball of the foot, but by the pinky toe, which is a rarity for shoes I wear. And if you've gotten this far, the sole of the shoe, I have to rate as poor. Wear resistance is poor. I have Keens and Lowas where the sole wears better. After 300 miles, my road running shoes have better wear... And I haven't put anywhere near that mileage on the Salomons. Even while there was tread, I found poor traction in dry, dusty ... MoreFirst off, if I were to give the Salomon XA Pro a rating based on the lacing system... 6 stars. Love it, it's so easy to get in and the threads are great at moving around to support your foot. Now that that's out of the way... The forefoot rock plate is awful. I can count every stone I step on and it's not comfortable. The toe box is too tight, not across the ball of the foot, but by the pinky toe, which is a rarity for shoes I wear. And if you've gotten this far, the sole of the shoe, I have to rate as poor. Wear resistance is poor. I have Keens and Lowas where the sole wears better. After 300 miles, my road running shoes have better wear... And I haven't put anywhere near that mileage on the Salomons. Even while there was tread, I found poor traction in dry, dusty conditions, on wet granite slab, mud... Conditions where I could trust other shoes, even a pair of cheap Asics trail runners, but not the Salomons. 3 stars though. I love the laces and I'm now gonna wear them around town until they break, because green is cool and they're comfy if your feet haven't swelled from real hiking.
They actually lasted 8x 4-hour mild hikes, before getting holes in the upper fabric (toe flexing) loosing completely the water-proofing (which was surprinsingly not very good from the beginning). This not even a year after the purchase.This is the third pair of XA 3D GoreTex (the first pair in 2012, still have them, def my most confy shoes ever, but look destroyed). I bought them again with my eyes closed because of the unreal durability, confort, stability and waterproofing of my previous models. Not the case in this last pair, particularly the heel notch started wearing out after the first couple uses, same issue with the thread, is almost gone and barely used.Based on other reviews some people are experiencing the same issues with durability and quality on ... MoreThey actually lasted 8x 4-hour mild hikes, before getting holes in the upper fabric (toe flexing) loosing completely the water-proofing (which was surprinsingly not very good from the beginning). This not even a year after the purchase.This is the third pair of XA 3D GoreTex (the first pair in 2012, still have them, def my most confy shoes ever, but look destroyed). I bought them again with my eyes closed because of the unreal durability, confort, stability and waterproofing of my previous models. Not the case in this last pair, particularly the heel notch started wearing out after the first couple uses, same issue with the thread, is almost gone and barely used.Based on other reviews some people are experiencing the same issues with durability and quality on this model. Looking for alternatives. Not the same anymore.
A performance shoe that takes a beating and looks good too. I use these in the gym, running on the trail, traveling, and casually. Though, mostly for workouts.The all black colorway goes with everything and the styling is sort of aggressive technical which I like. Gore Tex is a must because I like to wash these shoes regularly to keep them looking fresh and I don't want to wait for them to dry.I love the lace system. Now tying shoes seems like an outdated idea. On/off quickly. Annoying airport shoe removals are so fast. I wouldn't want to live without it.The fit of the previous version was better because it was a little wider. Since I wore a size 10 US in the old model, I also ordered my first pair of v8's in size 10 US. It took me a year to face the fact that ... MoreA performance shoe that takes a beating and looks good too. I use these in the gym, running on the trail, traveling, and casually. Though, mostly for workouts.The all black colorway goes with everything and the styling is sort of aggressive technical which I like. Gore Tex is a must because I like to wash these shoes regularly to keep them looking fresh and I don't want to wait for them to dry.I love the lace system. Now tying shoes seems like an outdated idea. On/off quickly. Annoying airport shoe removals are so fast. I wouldn't want to live without it.The fit of the previous version was better because it was a little wider. Since I wore a size 10 US in the old model, I also ordered my first pair of v8's in size 10 US. It took me a year to face the fact that that they were just slightly too small. So, I ordered my second pair of v8's one half size up at 10.5 US and they feel great now. This was a big relief because I don't want to wear another shoe!I suppose the improvement that could be made is to return to the wider, more natural fit of the previous version.
| Style | Low Cut |
| Fit | True To Size |
| Upper | Synthetic | Mesh |
| Lining | Ortholite Insole |
| Sole | All−terrain Contragrip Rubber | 3.5 mm Lugs |
