New Salomons deflowered today

I've been very interested in the Hawk 1 or 2 as an ultra trail running shoe but can not find a store that stocks them to try on.

Do you have any actual trail experience in this shoe ?

Russel,

First I switched to the Montrail Continental Divides. And now I'm on another new generation of shoes. Either the La Sportiva Wildcats (on my first pair, they're pretty good) or the Brooks Cascadia. All my shoes provide decent foot plate protection, hold my heel well and have plenty of room to wiggle my toes. They also breathe and dry well.

I'm on either my fourth or fifth pair of XA Pros and second of XA Comps. Never had any wear on the laces, very slight wear on the mesh. For me the midsole goes to the point where I'm overpronating, which is a pretty common wear pattern for me. I've found that the XA Pros last longer, and appreciate the extra traction on a steep downhill, though the comps fit me slightly better.

I was disappointed to find that the XA Pros were not a good fit for me– but I was able to try on the 3D Fastpacker boot and it was a very nice fit, and REALLY light. Does anyone know if the shoe version of the Fastpacker has the same fit as the boot (narrow heel, wide toebox)? Campmor has a great price on the shoe version…

I've been trail running in the Hawk 2 for about 6 weeks (4 runs a week) and did one 6 mile day hike in very muddy conditions. So far there working great. I think they will excel in hotter climates do to being mostly mesh in the toe box and sides. There are very breathable, very light and have a deep heel pocket.