Salomon XA Comp 4 vs 3D Pro Ultra

I don't have any experience with the Comps but I am on my third pair of XA 3D Pro's. I got about 750 miles out of the first pair and 800 out of the second pair. The outsoles still looked decent, but the rest of the shoe was shot. I never had the laces break but they looked like they could go any time on my last pair. As far as water resistance, there is none, they are open mesh, but then of course they breathe well and dry quicker, though nothing dries quickly here.

I've got the Comp 4s. I used them on the Wonderland summer 09. I feel a lot of things poking my feet. Oh, I should add that I use superfeet. The forefoot hurt after a few miles on warm up hikes so I cut a thin plastic bucket lid and made a shank kinda thing for the front of my foot. this helped but I still want more protection. I LOVE these shoes other than that. Very breathable and comfortable, and the speed lace is cool too. I think I'm gonna get XT wings next. Oh yeah, the tread was noticeably thrashed after the 93 mile wonderland. My wife's brand new XT wings were pristine. Hope this helps

I haven't used the XA Comp 4 (I think my last pair was the 3 version), but have had a couple of pairs of the comps and a few XA Pro 3Ds. IMHO, the Pros are much better shoes for backpacking, though I like the comps better around town. The comps tend to have issues with a lack of grip going down a steep slope, but not uphill, and the sole isn't as stiff, which means that you're a bit more prone to foot fatigue. The XA's also have a little better toe-guards, so they hold up better on rough terrain.

I haven't tried the GTX version of either, so can't comment on how breathable the waterproof version is. The normal version is pretty airy, though.

I love my XA 3D Pro's. I wore them out the box on a 30mi. hike with no issues. The most comfortable shoe I've owned though the laces take a bit of getting used to.

I have heard about laces/loops breaking. Any particular spot and is there a way to avoid it?

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Funny, I've worn out 4-5 pairs of salomons and never had an issue with the laces. My son, on the other hand, managed to pop the loop the lace goes through on one of his. His laces are intact, but the lacing system is a bit out of wack now.

My first two pairs of laces took about 400 miles to break. The next two died in under 100. You can buy the backup kit, but I wouldn't want to sit on the side of the trail for an hour trying to thread the laces in and tie little knots.

Anyone else notice that every season Salomon adds an extra word to the shoe name and then jacks the price up $10?

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I use Salomon Wings S-Labs for trail running and fastpacking. These are a light weight version of the Wings.
(unfortunately they only come in one color).

The lacing is the same as the COMPS and XA PRO.

First thing I do is cut off the quick pull laces, mostly because I do not like the offset lacing pattern.
I typically replace the quick lace with a normal short trail lace, the thickest one I can push thru the tiny holes with a mini screw driver. I skip the bottom lace loop down by the big toe.

The XA Pros (any style as long as its Pro) are a Kevlar lace and the comps are a cotton core lace. But if your eyelet blows there the same on both. so in theory the XA pros have a better lace. Also there is the boot versions coming out in the spring. (XA Pros and XT wings)

(The lace difference was told to me by my local Salomon Tech rep.)

Also those Merrel Avalanches have a fleece(Polartec) liner inside so that is why they feel warm they have about a -20 rating

I'm on my 4th pair of comps.

Comp2 were super durable for me and confortable. Eventually the interior material fell apart.
Comp 3 were semi durable super confortable. Liner material fell apart after about 250-300 miles.
Compa4 first pair: Wore these on the JMT this fall. After 200 miles of trail use they showed some wear which I determined to be excessive.

I brought them back to REI for a full refund. Which I got. The shoes do not appear to be built to the same standard as before however comfort remains high. I got another pair of Comp 4 at xmas hoping they would last longer and that my fairs pair was an anomally. Not sure wat the verdict is yet.

The sole on my comp 4 seems fine for gripping both on uphill and downhill on a variety of surfaces.

The XA comps are very breathable and not water proof or resistant at all. Nor are they dustproof. On the JMT I had to stop several times a day to rinse my feet. The combination of sweat and large amounts of trail dust resulted in muddy feet inside my shoes and also lots of wear on my socks which had holes in them after 10 days. This proved to be a problem. I've run into this elsewhere before and for short runs or single day trips I can live with it however for long multiday trips I almost want some sort of dust proof membrane. My wife has the Gore-tes version and and has no problem with this.

Laces: Have never broken any.

Thanks for all the helpful comments!

I should make a correction, I have tried on the XA Pro (more padding, thicker padding) and the XA Pro Comps (thinner, more ground feel)

My shoes are actually Merrell Chameleon II velocity FGL (non-Gore-Tex but waterproof) =P apologies if this confused everyone to my "warm" comment, they don't have a Polartec lining inside ^__^

@James – very helpful, I'm going to go back in store to try on each again. Will see if I can try on the 3D Ultras, though the store lacks my size in most shoes (US 7/7.5, EU 41/41.5)

@Martin – thanks for the pictures and the report on water resistance. I'm probably going to pick up the Gore-Tex versions if possible

The general feel is that the XA 3D Ultras would be a good backpacking shoes where I'm going to be mostly in the city, but offers me some versatility to do a bit of trail/hiking. I would want the shoe to keep my feet comfortable and happy through long days of walking