Salomon XA Comp 3 Trail Runners

[EndoftheTrail]

I recently got a pair of Salomon XA Comp 3 trail runners and wore them on a day hike. I like them!

I do have one question about the shoe laces. Instead of tying them, one tightens them simply by pulling on them, then keeping them in place with a cord lock. For those who have experience with this cord lock mechanism — do you expereience slippage and does the lock wear/fray the shoe laces with time?

[Ken Helwig]

Ben, I have used Salomon's now for 4 seasons. Not once have I had the chord lock to slip. I am about to purhase a new pair of trail runners and yep, you guessed it, Salomon!

[EndoftheTrail]

Good to know, thanks, Ken.

I'm going to do another day hike this weekend. If I am still happy with my Salomon (and I expect to be) — I may just buy another pair. Things I like always get discontinued!

[Joshua Gilbert]

Ben,
As long as you have a fairly neutral stride (don't over pronate, supinate, etc.) that kind of lacing system seems to work fine. However, if you have any gait abnormalities, stretchy laces don't give as much support as solid, non-stretchy ones, and can lead to injuries on high mileage days.

I found this out the hard way, 15 miles into a 20 mile training run, felt like someone stabbed me in the top of my foot. Good times.
Josh

[John S.]

Is the lacing of those shoes Kevlar like on the tech amphibian? They don't stretch at all.

[Joshua Gilbert]

If they don't stretch, it's a moot point. The ones I was using were like little bungy cords, they were marketed to triatheletes for easy on/off.

They don't work well, imho. (they weren't salomon shoes either)

[Ken Helwig]

The lacing is made out of kevlar and does not stretch.

[EndoftheTrail]

Josh:

The Salomon laces on mine are non-stretchy. Good to know about the potential peril of stretchy cords though. Thanks.

[Russell Swanson]

Ben,
I use the Salomon XA Pro 3D's which have the same "Quickfit"…or whatever they call it…Kevlar laces. I've read lots of stories about the laces snapping, and similar horror stories about how difficult they are to fix in the field (there is a replacement lace kit available but I've never owned one).

So far, I have yet to have a lace break and I'm on pair #2, with well over 750 miles between both pairs, probably approaching 1000 miles as I still use my first pair for 'around town/gym/mow the grass' shoes. On the older pair, I am noticing the laces are fraying where the laces cross over each other. I'd recommend keeping an eye on these spots…I plan to use a bit of electrical tape to provide some friction resistance.

[Eric Noble]

Ben,
I use the Tech Amphibs with the same laces. I'm on my third or fourth pair and have had one set of laces snap. It was obvious that their days were numbered because I could see the inner white fibers underneath the worn black casing. They wore where the cord goes around the would be eyelets. I've never had the plastic adjuster slip. When the laces snapped it was time for new shoes anyway so I didn't replace the laces.

[EndoftheTrail]

Gentlemen:

Thanks for the additional info. Sounds like the laces are fairly durable — just not forever. I'll add that to my pre-trip gear examination checklist.

[Rod Lawlor]

Ben,

This is actually one of those incredibly rare products that hasn't been discontinued. Well, not completely anyway.

The design of your Comps actually started as the original XA Pros. The original XA Comps were pretty ordinary IMHO, but the Pros were great. Then the 2nd gen Pros came out, and they weren't too flash. I thought I was done with Salomon. But when the 3rd gen Pros came out, they changed the Comps…..to the same design as the original Pros. I'm sure I wasn't the only happy camper. Same great shoes, 25% cheaper.

So just keep watching the XA Pros. When they change that style drastically, that's the time to grab a couple extra pairs of Comps.

Rod

[Mark Verber]

I have had laces fail on me after around 100 miles. I didn't try a second pair because I had just found Inov-8 which I prefer. I never had the cord lock slip… and liked the fast on/off of the system. One downside is that you can't custom fit by changing the lacing pattern.

[Brett Tucker]

The replacement lace kit can slip, probably because the tolerances on the "wheel lock" aren't quite as good as on the original (one threads the lace through the wheel lock when installing replacements – a fiddly affair to say to least).

As others have pointed out, the vulnerability of the laces to fraying isn't at the lock, but at the eyelets. The molded plastic eyelets found on some XA Pros seem to be less of a problem, but neither the current model Pro nor any of the XA Comps use these. Friction, exacerbated by water and grit, commonly frays these laces before the shoes themselves are worn out.

[Max Hoagland]

I have a pair of the Salomon XA Comp 3D (same lacing) which I use for running, hiking and backpacking. I have never used these on a long backpacking trip and wouldn't want to because the lacing system seems to just tighten the shoe rather than conform the top of the shoe to the contours of your foot. Thus, whenever I am descending steep downhills on trails, or accidentally over-tighten the shoe, the pointiest part of the top of my foot always feels, as Joshua said, like someone was stabbing me. The pain isn't always there and it isn't a huge inconvenience, but it is something to think about, especially if you like your shoe tied really tight.

[R K]

To replace a broken lace in the field just skip the very first lace attachment point (the one by your big toe), then you can lace it up just like a regular shoe. The cord you use has to be pretty thin to be able lace it without too much trouble. I usually have some extra guyline (Kelty triptease) that could be used in a pinch.

The same idea applies if you need custom lacing.

[John Stafford]

I've been pretty happy with the performance of my waterproof Salomons, they are very nice for sledding and such in the winter because if you wear these waterproof shoes, with snowpants over gaiters, then you have the mobility of shoes with the waterproofness of boots! They can get warm when hiking in the summer, but that doesn't mean you can't wear them in the summer, you just might not want to wear them all day long. And that warmth is appreciated in the winter.

I've never had to try to relace the shoelaces on my Salomons in the field, but I just replaced mine at home with very little trouble. I was intimidated by the volume of horror stories I'd read online about people trying to relace their shoes and spending hours, only to end up cursing Salomon.

But I discovered that with just a pinch of ingenuity, it's really not very difficult at all(read: If I can do it, anybody can). I did one shoe in maybe 10-15 minutes. I don't mean to excuse Salomon's terrible, or even non-existant, customer service, but isn't it better to figure out a solution to your problem yourself, rather than just whining about it?

I have a multi-tool that has an awl-type tool in it, this I used to enlarge the big plastic loop that is down by your big toe. The problem I'd read about with getting the lacing through that whole was that it was too tiny. But the problem isn't that the whole is tiny, but that it's flat, so if you open it up a bit, getting the replacement lace through it really isn't very difficult. Once you have the lace through that loop, you can lace it up just like a regular shoe. Then thread both ends through the clamp piece, stick the sprocket into the clamp from the top, spreading apart the laces. Pull down on the laces to lower the sprocket into position, then attach the spring backing onto the clamp by sticking its pointy part into the whole in the sprocket. You have to press HARD. Now the only problem is that you have two loose ends of lacing sticking out of the clamp. If you kept the rubber lace-pull from your previous lacing, then you can push one end of lacing through the lace-pull, and, I haven't quite done this yet, but I'm planning on it: superglue two sections of opposite ends of lacing together and then duct tape them together to ensure a hold that won't fail. And voila, your lacing looks almost identical to how it was when your shoes were brand-new!

[joe newton]

I was reading this thread this morning as I drank my coffee before heading out into the hills for the day. I remembered reading those same horror stories about these laces failing prematurely and being a pain to replace. "Good job I've never had a problem with mine!" I thought to myself as I headed towards the door and my Salomons. I had a peek at the laces on my Comps and would you believe it – they're bust! The white core was visible and worn down until a mere thread of dental floss looking material was holding them together. Luckily I have another pair of lined shoes (Keen Targhee II mids) to use in the snow today but I think I'm gonna be returning these puppies to the shop to see if I can get a replacement pair.

[Greg Mihalik]

Joe,
Replacement laces are available, 2 to a package.
The first time takes about 30 minutes.
It's not difficult, but they ain't cheap.

[joe newton]

Thanks for the info Greg. Let's hope that I can get hold of the replacement laces over here!

[Greg Mihalik]

Joe,
I didn't notice your locale. If it's a problem I can mail them. It wouldn't be any larger than a (US) business sized envelope. I can get them for (US)$8.

PM, or greg at smgm dot org.

[joe newton]

Cheers Greg! I'll be in touch if I don't have any joy with the local shops.

[Michael DeHart]

The laces on my shoes have broken several times each time I replaced them with the replacement laces….however I now have a different solution….I went to Basspro shop and bought the split rings used on fishing lures…installed the rings thru the lace eyes and now I can use reguler shoes laces….plus you can skip eyes if you like to customize your lacing

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