Salomon Cross Hike 2 Mid GORE-TEX
The Salomon Cross Hike 2 Mid GORE-TEX are good shoulder season trail hikers for people who want the lighter weight of a trail runner but don’t want to give up the ankle-high support of a boot.
Cross Hike 2 Mid GORE-TEX Specs
MSRP: $180
Weight (per shoe): 12.7 ounces women’s, 14.5 ounces men’s
Lining: GORE-TEX
Outsole: Contragrip, Salomon’s proprietary material
Stack Height: 34.7/24.7 for men’s and women’s shoes
Drop: 10 mm
About the Cross Hike 2
Mid-cut GORE-TEX shoes are my preference for shoulder season hiking, and the Cross Hike 2 has what I’m looking for: water resistance, good grip on rocky, rooty trails, high drop, and plenty of cushion underneath. The foot support and comfort are excellent.
Breaking Down the Cross Hike 2
Fit: Comfortable out of the box, and no break-in needed. The size 12 I tested were spot-on for my size 12, slightly narrow feet. The Cross Hike 2 are not a good fit for wide feet.
Outsole: Salomon has a Contragrip outsole for five running and hiking conditions: mixed terrain, mud, road, snow, and water. The Cross Hike 2 use the Mud Contragrip outsole, which Salomon says is designed for mud and slippery surfaces such as roots and wet rocks, the conditions I most often see in New England. The multi-directional lugs are designed to provide a good grip in mud while shedding water quickly.
Stack Height: 34.7mm for the women’s and men’s shoes. This is serious padding for your feet, keeping them cushioned from rocks. But it wasn’t so much padding that I didn’t have a feel for the trail.
Foot Support: Neutral. The inner soles felt good with my flat feet.
Heel to Toe Drop: 10 mm is a lot of drop in a world dominated by zero-drop shoes, but for someone like me with flat feet a higher drop is more comfortable.
Heel Brake: The lugs under the heel are designed to slow forward motion while heading downhill, which was helpful while hiking downhill on slippery leaf-covered trails.
Front Lugs: The outsole and lugs rise up on the front of toebox, providing solid protection against stubbing a toe and good grip for pushing off on your stride.
GORE-TEX Lining: GORE-TEX is good at keeping water out of shoes, but the inside takes longer to dry when water gets in over the tops.
Quicklace: I like Salomon’s Quicklace system for my low-cut Speedcross, but on the Cross Hike 2 it’s trickier to get a snug fit. I tighten the lace level with the top eyelet, then tuck the plastic end of the lace into the lace garage and under the tightened lace. The laces that are left loose I tuck under the lower laces near the toes. After doing this I can hike all day without the laces coming loose. Still, because the top eyelet isn’t high enough, the tongue can flop forward, resulting in a gap at the top of the shoe that lets in water and trail debris. Gaiters can be a fix for this.
Sustainability: Recycled products such as PET bottles are used in the Cross Hike 2, and they are free from PFCs.
Warranty: Salomon warranties its shoes for two years.
Cross Hike 2 Mid Pros
Grip: The Cross Hike 2 perform well on wet rocks and through mud.
Weight: Lightweight for a mid-cut shoe.
Stack Height: 34.7 mm. That’s a lot of padding under my feet, but I didn’t feel disconnected from the trail. And because I walk with with my heel striking first I appreciate the thick cushion in the heel.
GORE-TEX: My feet stayed dry through mud and water.
Cross Hike 2 Mid Cons
Narrow Fit: The size 12 fit is good for my narrow feet, but not for my son’s size 12 wide feet when he tried them on.
GORE-TEX: Yes, a pro and a con. GORE-TEX is good for keeping water out, which it did in the Cross Hike 2. But once water gets in, as it did during a heavy rain, the inside doesn’t dry quickly.
Low Top Eyelet: This prevents the laces from being tightened high enough to keep the tongue from flopping forward, letting in rain or water splashed up. Consider using gaiters if you can’t keep the tongue snugged tight to prevent water from getting inside.
Overall Value
The mid-cut Cross Hike 2 GORE-TEX, at $180 MSRP, are comparably priced to other mid-cut shoes with fabric uppers. The shoes are comfortable and grippy on rocky trails, which is what I’m looking for in a hiking shoe.
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This product was donated for purpose of review.