Salomon Senseride 4 Review

Rebecca North tests out these women's trail running shoes in the Lake District and gives us her verdict.

Hi, I’m Rebecca and I’m based in the Lake District. I love trail and fell running, particularly ultra marathons and orienteering events.

Salomon Senseride 4 - First Look

The first look of the shoes look pretty similar to the Salomon Speedcross shoes, but slightly more road suitable. They have pretty sturdy lugs (sticky out bits on the bottom to stop you slipping, but not as big as the Speedcross. They also have the Salomon sensifit laces which I’m a fan of. I also liked the colour, I do like that Salomon have some quite muted colour shoes and interesting colour ways. The fit was a fairly nice slim fit which works well for me but might not be as good for runners with wider feet. 

In comparison to other shoes I would put them more trail suitable than road shoes but not a hardcore trail shoe. Salomon state that they are for ‘mixed’ terrain which I would agree with. They seem to fit a similar niche to the Inov-8 Parclaws. 

Out on Test

I first received these when I lived in Borrowdale in the Lake District where I had direct access to the fells (rocky, muddy and steep grass) but very little road running. And have continued to use them when I moved to Penrith where I mostly have access to pavements with some hard packed trails and fields.

I found their grip good on wet grass and they performed better than the Inov-8s on wet rock (which the Inov-8s can be notoriously bad for). Going down steep, off road descents I didn’t find them as stable as my Inov-8 Mudclaws (black and orange in the comparison photo) so I would feel less confident on very unstable terrain with them. However they we’re great for road and forest tracks where you need some grip but the terrain isn’t too challenging. 

Overall Verdict

I have found over time I don’t find them quite stable enough for off path, very rocky and muddy terrain (I have dodgy ankles so I really need stability) but I love them for runs from the door where I want a bit of cushioning when I am on the road but I may go off road for part of my run. They’re also good for longer distances although some people may want more padding. A great all round shoe for someone running on mixed terrain, whether a Parkrun, local trails or a longer run. 

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Rebecca is an outdoor instructor who loves running and climbing in the Lake District. She also runs a small outdoor company called Peak Confidence, with the aim of encouraging others to build confidence and skills in the outdoors.