Salomon S Lab Light Jacket 2013

Posted on February 20, 2013 by talkultra

Salomon need no introduction to the trail and ultra running community. Born in 1947 in the French Alps. For more than 60 years the brand has progressed to now offer some of the most innovative and ground breaking products to be used on the trails and mountains. With constant athlete feedback and collaborations, Salomon have progressed running apparel to new levels with innovative solutions.

The Sense and Sense Ultra shoe models are now one of the most talked about footwear options in the trail and ultra community. A shoe that was developed closely with Kilian Jornet.

Apparel has also been developed, tweaked and modified to provide todays runners with specific clothing designed to excel. Welcome the 2013 Salomon S-Lab clothing range.

Salomon S-Lab Light Jacket

This is the jacket that the Salomon racing team have been using on the trails and mountains throughout last year. The 2012 season threw some really bad weather at the team and this jacket was put to great use at races such as Zegama, Cavalls del Vent and Templiers.

Andy Symonds at Templiers copyright Ian Corless

Weighing in at just 70g this jacket rolls up into nothing and can be added to the pockets within the S-Lab shorts/skort range (see follow on posts) or added to a waist belt. It is ultra light, windproof with a super soft and comfortable feel. It has a simple design and is ideally designed for racing situations when a light and additional layer is required. Should conditions be particularly cold or continually wet, a more durable jacket may well be required.

Specs

Fully windproof CLIMAWIND™ material

Featherweight at 70g

Highly breathable

Full length Zip for easy/quick on and off

Highly Packable and will fit in the palm of your hand

Reflective branding

Active fit jacket – unrestricted movement

Fabric:

CLIMAWIND PRO™

Available in white and black.

Salomon website: HERE

Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set

Posted on January 22, 2013 by talkultra

No pun intended, okay, it is a pun… but I got my hands on these babies in 2012 at Transvulcania La Palma and Zegama. I was with the R&D guys from Salomon at Zegama and was provided with a couple of these beauties try while out on our run up to the top of the Zegama course.

The Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set is an interesting concept. Many of us have struggled and played around with many different ways to carry fluid while out on a run. For many a bladder is too problematic; you don’t know how much you have drunk, awkward to refill, sometimes they hold a taste, potentially un-hygienic if you don’t clean them properly. Of course an option is a pack that takes bottles on the rear or on the front in chest pockets. For me, if I am doing a longer race or training run this is my preferred option. Bottles are user friendly, easy to refill and of course you can see how much you have drunk.

An issue can arise though when running lighter, faster or shorter. A pack may very well be just too much… bottle belts? Mmmm, well so many of them are just not comfortable. Way too much bottle bounce (that is until THIS came along, the S-Lab Skin Belt).

For me an option has always been hand bottles for my hydration and if required a light belt for carrying essentials (but not bottles).

Hand bottles, you either love them or hate them. Personally I love them… they help free up your body and make drinking easy and regular. However, they can have downsides. Start with a bottle that is too big and you will know about it in the arms, shoulders and neck after a first run of any length… so start light and small.

Another problem is, quite obviously, your hands are ‘full’. Now on a non-technical or easy terrain this may not be an issue but as soon as the trail becomes ‘technical’ your hands may well be required, or at least your fingers. Bottles then can be a problem…

Step in the Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set.

On first look you may very well think that this is a simple drink method over engineered. I guess in some ways it is… BUT it works and it works like a dream.

It’s simple and comes in two parts – the glove and the flask.

Imagine a cycling glove that just slips onto your hand with all 4 fingers poking through a large opening and your thumb through a separate gap. The glove fits tight offering a secure comfortable fit with no seams to cause irritation.

Turn the hand over and you have two large elastic straps. Quite simply pull your soft flask through the securing straps and then pull the loose elastic cord that sits on top of the glove over the nozzle and pull to the required tension and there you have it. A bottle secured in your hand but with full hand movement.

Currently the soft flasks are available in limited sizes but apparently the range will be available from 150 ml to 1000 ml. Now I am not sure if a 1000 ml flask would sit comfortably in the hand but I do know a 500 ml flask does!

In use I found not only the freedom of my fingers a revelation over previous bottles I had used but I also found that when I slipped, stumbled or had to use my hands to move debris or trees I could do so without having to worry about what was going to happen to the bottle. In addition, opening gels or food wrappers was equally no problem. I had full hand and finger movement (admittedly not as free as if I had no bottle) but certainly I had more finger dexterity with the Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set than any other bottle I have used.

The other plus? The back of the glove is soft towelling… get a runny nose or a sweaty brow, no problem. Just use the back of the glove and wipe away in comfort.

A perfect fit can be found as they come in an option of sizes S, M and L and I understand the standard bottle will be 250 ml. Just as a note, my size was medium but I also had a large so if I needed warm gloves I could then put the Sense Hydro S-LAB Set over the top and keep my hands warm.

This product has been tested in race environments by the Salomon Team and if you look back at Western States and say Transvulcania La Palma you will see this product being put through it’s paces by the likes of Kilian Jornet, Andy Symonds, Rickey Gates and so on…

In summary, it works, it’s comfortable and it provides added dexterity. Recommended.

Salomon Running can be viewed HERE

Salomon Sense Mantra

Posted on January 18, 2013 by talkultra

The Salomon Sense Mantra may very well be a shoe that introduces ‘new’ runners to mid or forefoot running with cushioning and comfort and a 6mm drop or provide efficient runners with a shoe of greater comfort over longer distances.

The ‘Mantra’ is the the second brother to the S-Lab Sense that Kilian Jornet used in winning the 2011 WS100, the first brother being the ‘new’ S-Lab Sense Ultra.

Why the Mantra?

Well, the Sense and Sense Ultra at 4mm ‘drop’ may very well be two of the most desirable shoes in the run market place at the moment, but for many it may very well be a step too far… especially if coming from a conventional road or trail shoe with a 12mm drop.

Drop? What’s that then… well in the Mantra the ‘drop’ is 6mm. Clearly shown in this image.

Drop is quite simply the difference between heel and toe height. The ‘lower’ the drop, in theory, the more natural the foot strike. It has long been proven that a mid to forefoot strike is far better for efficiency. However, until the ‘barefoot‘ and ‘minimalist‘ movement primarily fuelled by Chris McDougall’s book ‘Born to Run‘, many of us probably didn’t even know what our shoe drop was…

Drop isn’t everything though. Cushioning is also really important. In the Mantra the cushioning at the front of the shoe is 10mm and 16mm at the rear, so, a cushioned shoe!

This additional cushioning combined with a 6mm drop clearly means that the Mantra is firmly placed at enticing two types of runner:

Firstly, Sense or Sense Ultra users who want a low drop shoe with additional cushioning for longer races or training.
Secondly, runners who have been using ‘conventional’ shoes who would like to move to a lower drop and improve run technique with a mid – forefoot strike.

The Mantra in a nutshell offers a little more cushioning than it’s S-Lab brothers, a little more protection and a longer OS Tendon to return more energy. The lower heel drop will allow tendons/muscles to absorb more shock from the running motion and remove stress away from joints. Ultimately, this improvement in run technique will provide greater running efficient for less effort, less injury and a more balanced runner.

OS Tendon? This provides a balanced flex within the shoe and according to Salomon provides improved energy return.

Key Features of the shoe:

Endofit : This is one of the key features of the Sense range that I love. It is an internal sleeve within the shoe, almost like a sock. It does mean that the ‘Sense’ range can be a little awkward to get on at first making you even question if you have the right size shoe. But once your foot slides in you are rewarded with a tight fitting shoe that grips the foot providing a firm, secure and confident feel. Designed for Kilian Jornet so that he could run without a sock. Please keep this in mind. I have gone true to size and use a thin sock and they feel great. If you are planning on using a more padded sock you may need a half size larger.

Dynamic Traction : A Salomon patented system allowing for maximum surface area and traction. Designed for ‘Road to Trail’ the Dynamic Traction grips in the dry and provides security in mud.

Profeet Film : Quite literally a thin fim that runs through the top of the midsole to provide security and protection from the trail that you will run on.

Sensifit : The upper wraps the foot for precision.

Quicklace : A renowned feature of all Salomon shoes with a ‘garage’ the top of the tongue to store excess lace.

Weight is around 260g for a UK9.5 so it compares well to the Sense Ultra at 230g and The North Face Single Track Hayasa at 280g (this shoe has a 10mm drop).

Testing

Early days yet but as one would imagine, this shoe brings many benefits to an already growing shoe collection. As an alternative to lighter and lower drop shoes such as the Sense or Sense Ultra, the Mantra will provide some welcome additional comfort on those longer days on road or trail.

Watch this blog and I will be back with an update as the miles and mud accumulates.

Salomon Running available HERE

Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab 12 2013

Posted on January 9, 2013 by talkultra

The 2012 version of the Advanced Skin S-Lab 12 and the smaller Advance Skin S-Lab 5 (review HERE) had runners all over the world pre ordering and searching websites for product. Expectation was high for the pack that Kilian Jornet had developed with Salomon specifically allowing him to carry all the required kit for the TNF UTMB.

Of course, as soon as we all got our hands on the product the general consensus was that this was ‘almost’ the perfect pack. Some runners didn’t like it… of course! We are all individual. But the Advanced Skin S-Lab 12 moved a running pack to a new level.

It fitted like a piece of clothing and actually came in two different sizes so you could get the correct fit. It contained a bladder that sat in an open pocket So you could refill quickly) with the feed pipe cleverly coming out of the bottom (usually the top) and running under and inside the pack to come out close to the mouth. It had pockets galore with options to make one large or two smaller pockets in the main compartment. It had a detachable velcro phone pouch, two bottle holders on the straps, to large open pockets on the side and two large zipper pockets. It had a whistle, it included a foil blanket and it had straps to secure ‘run poles’. It was a break through piece of run clothing/kit… You could fit everything required for a tough mountain race that required compulsory equipment. So popular, the Advanced Skin S-Lab 12 has now been tweaked for a new 2013 version.

In 2012 the pack was being put through it’s paces at races like Transvulcania La Palma but I guess the perfect testing ground was the TNF UTMB. Of course we all know the course was shortened but conditions deteriorated so badly before the race that mandatory kit was increased, luckily for the male winner, Francois d’Haene he was using the new version of the Advanced Skin S-Lab 12.

Copy Droz Photo – http://droz-photo.com/WordPress/en/

The new 2013 version in principal is very similar to the 2012 model but the key change is the chest pockets. Gone are the small bottle pockets that many struggled to find bottles to fit. They have been re-worked and will accommodate bottles easier and hold the new larger ‘soft flasks’ perfectly.

New versions of these flasks will be available in larger sizes

The overall pack is approximately 30g lighter. Hardly worth mentioning considering the size of the pack and the amount of contents it will hold. It has a new colour, the all important 2013 ‘Red & Black’ colour way! Important as it will match the ‘Sense Ultra‘. The pack will also be available in ‘XL’.

Ultimately if you liked the 2012 model, you will love the 2013 model. The reworking of the front of the pack and the new pockets will make the user experience so much more enjoyable.

Specifications:

Dimensions: 43 x 22 x 18cm
P.A.C.E Fit
Sensifit Twin Link
Sensi compression
Split volume in main compartment
2 compressable side pockets
1 mobile pocket
1 removable chest pocket
2 chest pockets to fit larger bottles
1 Zipped back pocket
1 safety pocket with foil blanket
Underarm routing system for bladder
Soft 1.5L volume bladder – PVC, Phthalate, Bisphenol-A FREE
Bite Valve with on/off system
4D bladder insulating sleeve
Custom system
4D pole holder
Wide lateral opening with side sliders
Whistle and Reflective trim
Soft trims
Apparel sizing

Fabrics:

Elastic Power Mesh
Fast wicking fabrics
3D mesh

Salomon S-Lab Skin Belt

Posted on January 8, 2013 by talkultra

Red and black is the new black… at least as far as the 2013 Salomon S-Lab range of products are concerned. The Sense Ultra has this colour way, the new S-Lab 12 Set Pack and the new S-Lab Skin 2 Belt.

I first saw the S-Lab Skin 2 Belt being used at ‘La Course des Templiers‘ in the latter stages of 2012. Several of the Salomon Team used the belt.

As with all products in the S-Lab range it is about finding a solution to a problem! Light, minimalist, practical and comfortable are all important key elements that go into the design of a product like this.

At some point, many of us will have used a belt pack and like so many other people the biggest problem has been ‘bounce’ from the bottles. Salomon are getting around this problem by providing a belt that fits close to the body. It is provided with 2 small 200ml bottles but actually the belt pack may actually be far more comfortable and versatile using the new ‘Soft Flasks‘.

The soft flask when first released was only available in small sizes but Salomon are now releasing a range of new larger sizes to be used with the new 2013 range of products such as the new S-Lab 12 pack and the new Hydro handheld flasks with glove.

Other key elements are storage options. It has zipped pockets, stretch pockets and bottle pockets. It has 2 bottle pockets on one side and six pockets on the other, two of which have zips.

The belt is really two halves coming together to make one whole item. The two halves are connected with Salomon’s snap clip closers, which are lighter than alternative buckles. They ensure the pack remains very secure once fastened. This secure fastening can mean that fastening and unfastening can be a little fiddly but once on the fit is great! You have the option to choose which way round to position the bottles and pockets depending on your requirements or personal preference, realistically it has no front or back.

It really is practical and spacious. It has a large, well thought out pocket system. A total of six pockets. I added small zip cord to my belt as a lack of a ‘pull’ on the zip pockets means they are not easy to open on the move or if wearring gloves. A small omission that is easily rectified. The zipped pockets are ideal for valuables such as money, keys, phone, camera etc

Two large pockets sit on top of the zipper pockets, they are open and ideal for energy bars or items you may need to access easily. Two narrow, angled pockets at the edge of the belt are perfect for holding energy gels or salt tabs etc as they can be easily pulled out as and when needed.

Ultimately you either like belt packs or not. But if you have used a belt pack in the past and just not liked it through poor fit or bounce, then you may well find that this is the product to convert you! The Skin S-Lab Belt is made with Salomon’s high attention to comfort and fit. Using ‘Sensifit’ the belt fits really well to the contours of your body. Adjustable waist straps offer flexibility to enable runners to get a comfortable fit and reducing bounce even when fully loaded in addition the mesh construction keeps it breathable

Salomon Running website HERE

Salomon Sense ULTRA

Posted on October 26, 2012 by talkultra

The long awaited ‘Sense Ultra‘ has arrived. THANK YOU Santa……

As many of you will know, the ‘Sense‘ has become the shoe of choice for those who are wanting to run on trail with a minimalist and responsive shoe. However, we can’t all be as efficient as Kilian Jornet or Andy Symonds.

The Sense Ultra offers a little more but holds true to all the elements that have made the ‘sense’ so popular.

The Salomon S-LAB Sense Ultra Racing is one of the lightest trail shoes ever made. It is heavier than the Sense but has added strengthening of the sole for longer and harder races.

It has the new lacing system: Quicklace this reduces the weight of Sense.
Dynamic Traction: allows the Salomon S lab Sense optimum grip in all conditions. It wasdeveloped by Solomon with the greatest athletes without any compromise. It has different grip and texture which has been designed to optimize grip when it is necessary.
EndoFit: has an inner liner to the shoe designed for positioning the foot optimally.
Drop: a low 4mm drop to provide a natural contact and feel with the ground.
OS TENDON: Thanks to this system inserted in the sole of the S lab intermediare sense, there is a natural flow with excellent energy return.
Profeet Film: is a protection film that will protect your foot area from angular or sharp objects that are on the trail. The Sense offers maximum protection despite its lightness.
Weight: 240g in 8.5 U.S.

When you lift up the box you think wait a minute… they forgot the shoes! Not so. These ‘runners’ are super light.

The lacing system as with all Salomon in reassuring and holds the foot firm.

The addition of the internal ‘Endofit’ makes the shoe more comfortable than you would ever imagine. They can be a little tight to get on at first and you may initially think; uh oh, wrong size. But once your foot is it is snug and supremely comfortable. The most comfortable shoe I have ever worn.

I am not a small guy and the therefore I always felt the original ‘Sense‘ was maybe just a little too minimal for me… certainly on longer runs! not so with the ‘Ultra’. The additional cushioning is immediately apparent.

The sole has grip but nothing like the ‘SLab Softground‘ or ‘Speedcross‘. The shoe is therefore certainly more suited to road and hard pack (or rocky) trail. If your running in soft ground they perform perfectly but if you are a great deal of mud the added grip of the Soft Ground or Speedcross may be a better choice.

In use they are a dream to wear. On the roads they are light, responsive and provide that feel that I have had with traditional racing flats. The bonus with the ‘Sense Ultra’ is the hold of the foot. The speed lacing and Endofit provide supreme comfort. On the trails this becomes even more apparent as the foot moves from left to right with changes in terrain.

It’s early days in testing but this shoe will not be of my feet for a while… they are so comfortable I would even be tempted to use them as slippers.

Now then, I need to go run…..