Running Shoe Review: Salming Distance D5 performance trainer

According to Running Warehouse, “The Salming Distance D5 is a standard daily running shoe for a neutral foot motion.” This is quite true, but is it actually a distance shoe? See the verdict below.

The Brand

First, let’s be clear about the brand. The Distance D5 is a shoe produced by Salming. Salming, a company based in Sweden, also has offices in the United States (U.S.). Salming is not Salomon. I point this out because a couple of times I’ve been asked about these shoes and when I tell the interested person that they’re Salming shoes the response is, “Oh, yes, I know Salomon.” No. They are two different companies.

The Shoe

The Distance D5 weighs 7.4 ounces, which is quite light for a trainer. Version 5 of the New Balance 1500 racing flat also weighed 7.4 ounces. The Asics Lyte Racer TS 7 flat weighs all of 8.2 ounces.

The Distance D5 is slip-lasted and built on a curved last. It is said to have a 5mm drop but it may in fact be slightly over 6mm. There’s a midfoot brace in the blown rubber sole which is reminiscent of the stability web once found in New Balance running shoes.

The Distance D5 has a gusseted tongue (a bit unusual for a trainer), a mid-weight and size insole, and what I consider to be a 90s-era fit. It is not what I would term a medium volume shoe, instead it feels secure but not snug or tight. The exo-skeleton upper provides for some “hold” over the midfoot. There is, initially, some pressure over the top of the foot in the Distance D5 but this eases; the upper relaxes with time and miles on the road.

Upfront the toes have room in which to splay. The shoe strings are flat and inflexible. Regrettably, they tend to not stay tied. (They might need to be double-tied before a crucial road race.)

A firm heel counter on the Distance D5 enhances what is a stable ride for a shoe that does not contain a medial post.

When I put the Distance D5 on for the first time, I was struck by how much it looked, felt and fit like a Zoot Sports triathlon/running shoe from the period 2013-2015. The Salming shoe feels low to the ground, like a triathlon shoe, and it is quite comfortable to walk in.

Appearance

The striking Gecko Green colorway upper on the Distance D5 draws a lot of comments – almost unanimously positive ones from other runners, especially younger ones. This also happens to be the case with the Salming Speed 6 shoes in Safety Yellow and Black. The moral of the story is that Salming produces exemplary shoes for those who don’t mind a little attention. Contra, those enrolled in a Witness Protection Program may wish to seek out another brand.

The Ride

The Distance D5 is a great, steady pace trainer on asphalt. You get road feel and a touch of bounce balanced with a nice sense of protection. The shoe is also protective on concrete, with the bonus that foot turnover is fast. If the Distance D5 was simply a city trainer I would stop here. But it’s more than that.

Because there’s a good amount of rubber on the sole of the Distance D5 and decent grip, I decided to test these shoes on smooth trails. The shoe provides an excellent ride on a gravel trail, without slippage and with good side-to-side movement control. Again, road feel is balanced with protection and responsiveness.

It’s on hard-packed dirt trails and fire roads that the Distance D5 is just OK. This is not a complete surprise as this was not designed to be a trail shoe, but in a pinch – such as on a vacation trip – it would get the job done.

Sadly, I was not able to run in the Distance D5 on the local school track which is in the process of being replaced and upgraded. But I have little doubt that this shoe would make for an excellent, fast lap shoe.

Flexibility

At first the forefoot on the Distance D5 seems to have surprisingly minimal flexibility. However, one can feel the flex increase in the front third of the shoe with increased usage. This allows a runner – especially a forefoot or midfoot striker, to feel like he/she is in control rather than vice-versa.

The Heel Strike

A problematic issue with the Distance D5 is the overly-soft heel strike. It kills some of the “pop” in what is otherwise a responsive shoe. I wondered if I was the only one who might hold this perspective until I happened to come across some comments that Sam Winebaum of Road Trail Run made about the Salming EnRoute: “[The shoe] is held back somewhat by heel softness. The EnRoute would benefit from more and firmer heel rubber to liven things up.” Exactly!

All in all, I’d prefer an overly soft heel to an overly-firm, stiff or hard one. This is because the latter type of heel surface can punish one’s heel bone over time. However, I’d like to see Salming move from their currently quite soft heels to at least semi-firm/semi-soft ones. And, yes, there should be more rubber present at the rear of a not-inexpensive shoe like the Distance D5. I found that my heel landed on the rear lateral edge of the shoe, which was awkward and sometimes produced a “falling off” feeling.

A Four-in-One Model

It eventually dawned on me that the Distance D5 has aspects of four different shoes in one. At low speeds it feels cushioned, if a touch dull. At medium  speed levels, it’s a very consistent, reliable pace shoe. And from there it ramps up pretty fast – like a Volkswagen Golf GTI with a dual-clutch transmission, to become a lightweight shoe that’s as fast as you want it to be, as quickly as you need it to be fast.

This is a trainer with the heart of a racing flat.

Oh, wait, there’s a fourth aspect, which is that this road trainer-racer is a capably decent performer on smooth trail surfaces.

The Verdict

The Salming Distance D5 delivers a fine amount of quality, as it should for a premium-priced shoe. It’s an “A”-level trainer – rating 93 out of 100 points – which can also deliver the goods on race day. But is it a true distance shoe? I’m not sure about that.

I think most runners will do well using the shoe for distances from a 5K to a half-marathon. And gifted light, small, quick runners will be able to draw out its best features for distances between 10K and  50K to 50 mile distances.

Perhaps the best compliment that can be paid to the D5 is to say this: Careful, because once you know this shoe is in your closet, it’s one you will want to take out and run in on most training days. With this shoe and a new puppy, you might never take a rest day!

Highly recommended.

Joseph Arellano

Note: Salming has recently released the Distance D6 running shoe, which is extremely similar except that, “Minor tweaks were made to (the) upper overlays in order to enhance the fit.” It can be ordered ($130.00) in the U.S. from Running Warehouse.

A media sample was provided for review by Salming Running.

 

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Zoot Your Own Horn

Running Shoe Review: Zoot Ovwa 2.0

Back in the 2000s (2001-2003), Nike produced two excellent racing flats/lightweight trainers: the Air Myriad and the Air Ghost Racer (shown below). These were shoes built for runners who needed the smallest modicum of pronation control; technically, they were stability racers, but just barely. The best feature of these models was that the sole cushioning pads seemed to have been located in just the right place to support the runner moving at a steady pace. (I spent years searching for every pair of the Air Myriad and Air Ghost Racer that I could find in my size, or close to it.)

I had given up hope of seeing a modern version of the Air Myriad or Air Ghost Racer until I opened a box of shoes sent to me by Zoot Sports and saw the Zoot Ovwa 2.0. The Ovwa was originally designed for triathlon athletes and it’s a slip-on model. The Ovwa is so wildly colored — in brighter than bright blaze, safety yellow and green flash — that it makes neon-colored running shoes look conservative! (Those jogging beside you may need to wear sunglasses.)

The Ovwa is a snugly-fitting shoe for those with narrow to medium feet; however, it is not uncomfortable because the foot is surrounded by elastic. If you wear ultra-thin socks, you may feel a bit of irritation on your ankle bone; switching to standard or medium weight socks eliminates that. A half-size up, the fit seems to be just about perfect.

This shoe is a trainer for minimal pronators who want to run quickly. The forefoot’s blown rubber cushioning appears to be just as protective — and likely a bit more so — than that found on the front of the Tempo Trainer from Zoot. The heel cushioning is soft and it’s contained within a flared, squared-off heel. Squared-off heels not only look different, they also feel different in action. I’m a fan.

The Ovwa sits on a semi-curved last, it’s slip-lasted under the mid-weight insole, has a traditional looking grey colored medial post, and weighs 8.8 ounces. The 10mm heel drop means that it’s friendly to heel-strikers, while facilitating mid-foot landings. The rounded toe box is medium-low, not too high or low. Some runners will elect to wear this model without socks, as it has a fully lined interior.

The Ovwa is a very good track shoe. This shoe lets you land and bounce on the balls of the feet with relative impunity. The underfoot pads are placed in a way that makes it easy to maintain a quick and structured tempo on a track or on sidewalks.

The Ovwa provides decent protection for the feet on a crushed gravel trail and a close to heavenly ride on asphalt. The energy return from the shoe’s cushioning system allows you to kick your feet up high. Despite this, there’s a touch of European-style firmness in the mid-sole (something that was true of the Air Myriad and Air Ghost Racer). The shoe is cushioned but not overly soft.

Most will be able to use the Ovwa for competitive runs ranging from a 5K to a half-marathon. It should make a fine marathon shoe for small, lightweight individuals who need a smidgen of support underfoot for the 26.2 miles. The Ovwa is also a pretty good trail runner. It allows for controlled lateral movements on a hard-packed dirt trail, which supports fast-paced running on this type of surface.

The Ovwa makes for a comfortable walking shoe, so much so that I found myself keeping the pair on even for Plebian-style trips to grocery and hardware stores. If I rode a bike, I’d likely keep these on when doing so. (The shoe can, of course, be used if you suddenly decide to compete in a triathlon.)

I felt like these shoes were made for me. Maybe you’ll feel the same way.

Verdict: The Zoot Ovwa 2.0 is a shoe that’s light but very well cushioned for training runs on almost any surface. It’s a great shoe for mid-foot and heel strikers opting for fast-paced training and racing. The Ovwa should serve as a more than competent marathon shoe for mildly pronating, efficient runners.

Highly recommended.

Joseph Arellano

The Zoot Ovwa 2.0 retails for $120.

Note: The Sneaker Report website selected the Nike (Air) Ghost Racer as one of the 100 best running shoes of all time. The “Ghost” came in at number 75.

This article originally appeared on the Blogcritics site:

http://blogcritics.org/running-shoe-review-zoot-ovwa-2-0/

Coming Up Next…

A running shoe review! We take a look at the Zoot Ovwa 2.0 trainer/racer.

Ready to Run

Running Shoe Review: Zoot Banyan

A few weeks ago, I would have told you that I do not like running shoes with soft heel cushioning and a bouncy ride. That was true until I wear tested the Zoot Tempo Trainer model provided to me by Zoot Sports. That shoe is impressive, and so I decided to purchase another model from Zoot, via Road Runner Sports, to see if I would be equally impressed with it. I selected the Zoot Banyan. Read on to see the verdict.

The men’s version of the Banyan comes in a tri color scheme that Zoot describes as black, green flash and safety yellow. I would describe the colors as bold black, lime green and electric green but I’m color blind. The color scheme in the women’s version is so jumbled that I won’t even attempt to describe it. (My wife says the color mix on the women’s version reminds her of Disney toys.) You can look it up online at the Zoot Sports site.

The Banyan has a virtually straight last, which means this neutral trainer can be used by minimal to moderate pronators. The Banyan’s fit is excellent and the shoe is comfortable; neither tight nor loose. The lacing system is off-center to relieve top-of-the-foot pressure, and it has a secure gusseted tongue. The shoe has a firm heel counter, which is protective, but you will not feel it as there’s plenty of interior padding around the ankles. The Banyan’s soft heel padding carries on a family tradition.

The Banyan has a low to the ground feel but this is not a minimal shoe. After a number of runs in the shoe, I thought of a way to describe its ride. If you could breed a Mizuno shoe (with a traditional 12mm heel drop) with a current Asics running shoe (most of which have an 8mm heel drop), their offspring would feel like this. It may not be totally coincidental that the heel drop on the Banyan is right in between the Mizuno and Asics levels at 10mm. Heel strikers will feel right at home in this model.

The Banyan is lighter in weight than the Tempo Trainer (9.4 versus 10.3 ounces). You might think this difference cannot be felt on the road but it is most definitely noticeable. The Banyan has a blown rubber forefoot, a ZVA midsole and a set of durable rubber pads in the heel. There are a total of 8 pads or pods underfoot, five up front and three in the rear.

There is a concern about these pads/pods, which is that they are glued on the sole. Will they stay on for 300, 400 or 500 miles? I don’t know.

One consumer noted on the company’s website that the Banyan running shoe is “a bit stiff out of the box.” This is a statement I disagree with. I found the shoe to have an almost broken in feel right from the start. And the sock liner seemed to be perfectly matched to the shoe, something that’s increasingly rare these days.

The Banyan’s forefoot sole looks like those found on a more traditional running shoe as compared to the Tempo Trainer. The appearance and feel of the forefoot sole reminds me of early 90s running flats, and the shoe appears to be more flexible than the Tempo Trainer. The Banyan is a less expensive shoe, but for the savings, you get a reduced amount of protection for your feet.

The Banyan is well padded enough to provide an enjoyable and bouncy ride on concrete. On asphalt, the ride is comfortable and steady. This would be a fine shoe to use for a 5K or 10K organized run.

The Banyan feels competent on crushed gravel, but the features that make this shoe special do not stand out on this surface. Because of this, I would choose another shoe for long training runs on crushed gravel trails or tracks.

The Banyan shines on a hard-packed dirt trail, as it’s both flexible and stable enough to deliver a fun run. If this was a car, we would say that it has a great suspension. I’m looking forward to locating a grass-covered trail for a Sunday drive in the Banyan.

Verdict: The Zoot Banyan is a very good to excellent shoe for urban and suburban pathways. It will appeal to those who like a bouncy ride combined with a soft heel strike, and those who prefer a lighter, non-minimalist, shoe for fast paced training runs.

Highly recommended.

Joseph Arellano

This review originally appeared on the Blogcritics Sports site:

http://blogcritics.org/sports/article/running-shoe-review-zoot-banyan/

The Zoot Banyan retails for $110.00. Since writing this review, I have had feedback from two runners, each of whom has run 300 to 500 miles in their Banyans. They have experienced no material or construction flaws with the shoe.

Coming Up Next…

A running shoe review! We take a look at the Zoot Banyan trainer.

It Keeps You Running

Running Shoe Review: Zoot Tempo Trainer

Does the Zoot Tempo Trainer work just as a running shoe, or does it succeed as an all-purpose shoe?

Last week I had the frustrating experience of stopping by a major outdoor goods retailer to try on some trail running shoes. Although I have narrow and thin feet, it was difficult to find a fit among many of the trail runners, even at a full size up. Several of the shoes — including those from Saucony and The North Face, felt quite tight and snug; even more so than racing flats.

Fortunately, fit is not a problem with the new Zoot Tempo Trainer, a stability running shoe with a comfortable medium-wide fit. I hadn’t previously run in a shoe from Zoot (“1983… Born in Kona.”), thus I had no preconceptions about this model that was provided to me by Zoot Sports. But then I have maintained a couple of preconceptions that were transformed into misconceptions by this virtually distinct running shoe.

I say virtually distinct, because as soon as I put on the Tempo Trainers and began jogging, I was reminded of the original Adidas Supernova trainer from the early 90s. This was true for both the fit and the feel. The classic Supernova, a bit wider than most running shoes of the time, provided a smooth ride and a bit of extra stability on rainy days.

The Tempo Trainer is a mid-weight shoe (10.3 ounces in the men’s version) with a two-density midsole. The firmness provided by the small second density post above the arch insert may be just enough to allow a runner to maintain his or her natural foot striking pattern when tired. It is not significant enough – and this is a positive – to force the feet either inward or outward.

My first preconception was that I do not favor running shoes that provide a bouncy feel. The Tempo Trainer’s Z-bound maximum cushioning midsole provides a bit of bounce over crushed gravel, something that’s appreciated by those whose feet regularly get beat up by this supposedly “softer” surface. The same minimal-to-moderate bounce cushioning feels like a protective force when jogging on both concrete and asphalt. The Tempo Trainer’s ride on asphalt is so pleasing that you might find yourself wondering when’s the next time you can sign up for a full or half marathon.

My second preconception was that as a heel striker I do not like soft heels. I’ve continually searched for running shoes with a firm or stiff heel plant. This shoe might have cured me of a strange obsession. The Tempo Trainer has a very soft heel which nevertheless provides a pleasingly smooth ride.

The Tempo Trainer arrives in a Graphite/Black/Blaze color scheme, which most of us would describe as orange and black with neon green laces. If you’re an introvert who disdains attention except when you’re out jogging, these shoes will get you noticed! If you’re on a Most Wanted list, substitute jet black laces for the neon green ones.

The forefoot of the Tempo Trainer is wide enough for your toes to splay at will, and forefoot runners will enjoy the sweet blown rubber section up front. Reflective materials are sown onto the forefoot for night running protection. And speaking of protection, I’ll reiterate that these trainers provide enough cushioning that even those with minimal padding on their feet and/or metatarsalgia will want to sing the Beatles song, “I Feel Fine.”

Well, no running shoe is perfect, so what issues cropped up with the Tempo Trainer? The first is that the sock liner is quite thick – mysteriously so (a friend mentioned that it looks like an aftermarket insole). This Bare Fit shoe was constructed to be run in without socks. Simply replace the provided insole with a standard one from another pair of running shoes — and add socks! — and presto, the fit reverts to feeling normal.

The second issue is that this trail runner feels only competent on a hard-packed dirt trail. The width of the shoe makes it feel more like a ride in a family sedan than in an exciting personal sports car. But the Tempo Trainer gets the job done, making this a bit of nit picking.

The Tempo Trainer is well named as it permits the runner to maintain a consistent running tempo in a style that favors mid-foot landings. The shoe makes for a relaxing walking shoe; it feels Asics-like at walking pace.

All in all, this trainer from Zoot presents a close-to-perfect blend of strengths that should overwhelm any minor weaknesses in it. It’s an all-purpose shoe that may eliminate the need to buy separate shoes for running, walking, visits to the gym and for casual wear. With the Zoot Tempo Trainer, it may be “one and done”!

Highly recommended.

Joseph Arellano

The Zoot Tempo Trainer retails for $120.00.

This article was first posted on the Blogcritics Sports site:

http://blogcritics.org/sports/article/running-shoe-review-zoot-tempo-trainer/

Coming Up Next…

A running shoe review! We take a look at the new Zoot Tempo Trainer.