These Salomon hiking boots were great on long hikes, but struggled when the mud hit

The Salomon X Ultra 5 Mid GORE-TEX boots are part of a growing wave of hiking footwear that borrows heavily from the world of trail running shoes, aiming to deliver the comfort of a trainer with the protection and support of a boot.

I’ve worn Salomon shoes on hikes before, but this was my first proper test of their mid-height design hiking boots in a variety of real-world conditions, including multi-hour treks in the Lake District.

With their padded ankle cuff, aggressive chassis, and waterproof membrane, these boots are built for longer days on mixed terrain. They’re not the lightest in the range, nor the most technical, but they strike an interesting balance – and they’re offered in both standard and wide fit, which is increasingly rare.

I laced them up, hit the hills, and put the X Ultra 5s through their paces to find out where they shine – and where they struggle.

Salomon X Ultra 5 Mid GORE-TEX review

Price and availability

The Salomon X Ultra 5 Mid GORE-TEX boots are priced at £165 in the UK and are available in both standard and wide fit directly from Salomon UK. In the US, they’re available for $175 via Salomon US, and in Australia, they retail for AU$300, also from Salomon AU.

These boots are widely stocked across outdoor retailers globally and frequently appear in seasonal sales, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for deals.

Specifications

• Weight: 440g
• Upper: Abrasion-resistant Matryx
• Midsole: Salomon EnergyCell
• Waterproofing: GORE-TEX membrane
• Outsole: Rubber
• Lugs: Not stated

Design and materials

The X Ultra 5 family from Salomon is the brand’s dedicated hiking range, featuring a lightweight chassis coupled with plenty of grip as a general recipe. The boot I’ve been testing is the mid-height variety as opposed to the low version, which is essentially a trainer height shoe. The mid version brings enhanced ankle support for long days on technical terrain.

The upper is made from Salomon’s in-house Matryx material, which they say is a high-performance textile designed to resist abrasion thanks to the inclusion of Kevlar and technical yarns.

It’s paired with PU-coated leather for enhanced durability and offers some contrast to the various mesh panels. The front of the shoe is protected with a solid-feeling toe cap that still looks brand new after weeks of testing in the Lake District.

Unlike some other shoes in this category, the X Ultra 5 uses a traditional lace closure, allowing tension to be evenly distributed over the foot. One of the eyelets is integrated into a large flap that wraps from the outside of the foot, which should offer a more secure fit. The ankle cuff is highly padded and should improve comfort on long days on the trail.

On the inside, Salomon has used an Ortholite midsole, which claims to match the contours of your foot to provide superior cushioning and breathability. Paired with the advancedChassis outsole, a large focus of the design of this boot seems to have gone towards ensuring a cushioned, comfortable fit without sacrificing stability.

The outsole features a relatively high density of mid-height lugs, concentrated towards the instep of the boot, with geometry slightly altered between those on the very outside edge of the boot. Salomon says its advanced chassis moulded insert provides lateral support as well as protection.

In practice, this insert looks like a hard plastic material that runs between the upper and outsole unit and adds noticeable lateral and torsional stiffness around the instep area.

The X Ultra 5’s feature a Gore-Tex membrane to keep your feet dry in even the most torrential downpours and should keep your feet dry when submerged up to around 5”, which should help on those treacherous river crossings.

Performance and comfort

Hiking boots are a very personal thing and everyone has their own opinions and specific use cases, but I think the Salomon X Ultra 5 Mid’s would be a great choice for a wide range of hikers.

The raised ankle cuff provides more support versus a trail running style shoe without adding loads of weight, by my maths the mid height boots weigh around 120g more than their low cut sibling. I will admit, though, my feet got pretty warm in these boots on hot days, and it’s in these conditions I would go for a low-cut, trailer runner style shoe over these boots.

I noticed that because the ankle cuff is heavily padded, I needed to tighten the laces to get a secure fit. Over time, the cuff will mould to your feet, but it’s something to bear in mind when first wearing the boots. I would also like to see a locking eyelet used on the laces, as it’s tricky to dial in your preferred tension whilst keeping the laces taught.

In terms of fit, there’s plenty of room in the toe box, and they don’t feel overly narrow through the midfoot like some other shoes I’ve tested recently. The instep has plenty of support, and overall, I felt very stable with little risk of rolling my ankles. The advancedChassis technology is noticeable in that there is very little twist in the outsole, again adding to the overall feeling of stability.

I did feel lacking in absolute grip on wet and greasy surfaces, and I think this is down to the edge blocks on the tread not being aggressive enough, especially given the lack of torsional flex in the sole unit. The stiffness meant I was relying on the edge blocks of the tread much more than in a more flexible boot, where I could tilt my foot to use the whole tread to find grip.

Verdict

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Salomon X Ultra 5 Mid. They strike a great balance between being lightweight yet offering plenty of cushioning and protection. If you’re regularly tackling technical terrain, I’d look for something with slightly less bulk and a more aggressive tread pattern, but for long days on non-technical terrain, these were great.

Also consider

I was a big fan of the Merrel Moab Speed 2 Mid boots I tested a few months previously but they come unstuck (quite literally) in similar conditions to the Salomon’s, falling down ont heir grip in wet and greasy conditions.

Still, my go-to boots of 2025 are the Danner Mountain 600 Evo boots. Featuring a full-grain leather upper and grippy Vibram sole, they’ve been on a number of adventures from scrambles in Scotland to trekking across Denmark. They look great and are super comfortable, but they are at the top end in terms of price.