Over the past few weeks I have tested the new trail competition running shoe from Salomon: S/Lab Pulsar Soft Ground. It is an extremely lightweight trail shoe with surprisingly good shock absorption and good grip on most surfaces. The shoe is made for ambitious runners who love trail running and are looking for a fast shoe for the shorter distances.
Specifications for S/Lab Pulsar Soft Ground
Weight: 197 g. For size 43 1/3 (own weight)
Heel: 27.5 mm
Forefoot: 21.5 mm
Midsole: Energy Surge
Drop: 6 mm
Knobs: 4.5 mm
Target group
The shoe is the latest upgrade of the popular S/Lab Pulsar model, which was made in collaboration with mountain runner Kilian Jornet. The goal was to design a lightweight shoe that felt like a road shoe, but which would also perform well on mixed terrain. Watch this video about the shoe's production: LINK (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieUU-Zm0yRU&ab_channel=SalomonTV)
With the Soft Ground addition, the shoe has undergone further developemt to be able to handle much more irregular terrain. The shoe features a new lug design on the outsole, which provides better grip in muddy conditions, so the shoe is better suited to ordinary Danish conditions than the previous model.
It is an insanely lightweight shoe, and although Salomon has succeeded in incorporating a reasonable amount of shock absorption into the shoe, without compromising on its lightweight property, it is no doubt a shoe that is better suited for lighter runners and shorter distances. Personally, I would wear this shoe for any distance under 50 km, but for most people, 20-30 km will probably be the max limit.
Anders Aagaard Hansen
The shoe is designed for runners who have a tendency to hit the ground on their midfoot and forefoot, and performs supposedly less well for runners who have a tendency to hit the ground on the heel first. I am unable to comment on this, however.
A shoe that welcomes speed
With its extremely low weight, its soft and responsive Energy Surge midsole and its "rocker" construction that provides a shorter stance phase, the S/Lab Pulsar Soft Ground just has a really fast feeling about it. It's a lot of fun to run in, and it's almost impossible not to speed up when you're wearing it.
In terms of fit, the shoe is definitely on the narrower side. Throughout the design process, optimizing performance has been thought of, since the shoe has clearly been designed to focus on competition day. It is not a shoe for people with very wide feet. There is plenty of room in the forefoot, but around the ankle and midfoot, the shoe is very narrow. This gives an absolutely fantastic "lockdown" of the foot when running in rough terrain, but if you have a very wide foot and a high ankle, the shoe will probably be too small. I myself have a fairly wide forefoot, but because of my much smaller midfoot, I can just about fit the shoe.
In my opinion, Salomon is master of designing shoes that perform great out in varying terrain. The S/Lab Pulsar Soft Ground is no exception. The shoe feels very stable and throughout the testing period, where I have run in different types of terrain, I haven't had problems sliding around in the shoe. The shoe provides a comfortable feeling of being in contact with the ground, but thanks to the layer of harder foam Salomon has built into the forefoot, you are still protected against stones, roots etc. Even on training sessions up to 25 km, I have not had problems with sore or tired soles.
Anders Aagaard Hansen
Since I have only tested the shoes for a few weeks, I can not give any absolute opinons on its durability. Reports say that in terms of the type of shoe, it should be reasonably durable. I have run almost 100 km in the shoes, and there are no noticeable signs of wear. The lugs on the outsole are still intact and the material in the upper has not shown any signs of wear. The midsole has developed a few folds from the repeated use, and I'm interested to see how long the sole material will stay soft and responsive. On the other hand, it is not a shoe you should buy if you are looking for a robust training shoe for everyday use. It serves better as a shoe for special events, such as competitions, interval training etc.
Conclusion
The Salomon S/Lab Pulsar Soft Ground really is a great shoe that I will use for many of my competitions in 2022. It feels fast, stable and performs well in different types of terrain. Personally, I wouldn't choose to wear this shoe for daily running training, but rather take advantage of the psychological boost the shoe gives you by wearing it for races etc. For most people, the shoe will be suitable for distances up to 20-30 km, but if you are a lighter runner and you land on the midfoot/forefoot, it may be suitable even for longer distances. When i'm lining up for the 30 km long DM Kort Trail run on Bornholm on the 7th of May, I will definitely be wearing the S/Lab Pulsar Soft Ground on my feet.
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