Salomon Thundercross Review

Serious mud grip at the cost of a snug, firm ride

The Salomon Thundercross is Salomon’s all-rounder trail shoe: the one the brand positions between the aggressive, mud-specialist Speedcross and the softer, more road-friendly Sense Ride. It arrived in 2023 as a new name rather than an update to an existing model, which is unusual for a company with as many long-running trail lines as Salomon has.

What it is really built for is messy ground. If your usual loop involves churned-up bridleways, wet roots, loose gravel and the occasional stretch of rock, the Thundercross is designed to stay glued to all of it without feeling like a specialist mud shoe you can only wear three months a year. It is a neutral shoe, meaning it has no built-in wedge or frame to slow the inward roll of the foot, so it suits people whose feet track reasonably straight.

It also has a broader audience than trail runners. Hikers and fast walkers buy it for the same reason, and at its price it competes with shoes that give you either grip or comfort but rarely both.

Specs

Here are the specifications for the Salomon Thundercross:

Pros

These are the reasons to put the Thundercross on your shortlist:

• Outstanding grip in mud and on wet ground, which means fewer slips on the descents you would normally walk down
• Lugs are spaced far enough apart that they shed mud instead of packing solid and turning into slicks
• The firm midsole keeps the shoe from rolling sideways on off-camber trails, so your ankles do less work
• Excellent heel and midfoot lockdown, so your foot does not shift around inside the shoe on steep ground
• Priced below most all-terrain trail shoes with a comparable outsole

Cons

These are the things that put people off it:

• The fit is snug and low-volume through the midfoot and toes, so wide or high-volume feet will feel squeezed
• The ride is firm, and over four or five hours the lack of soft cushioning catches up with your legs
• Those tall lugs feel lumpy and noisy on pavement, so it is a poor choice for routes with long road sections
• The foam is pleasant rather than bouncy, so the shoe never feels fast
• No wide option, which rules it out for a lot of people who would otherwise like it

What is new about the Salomon Thundercross

The Thundercross is not an update to a previous version, so there is no older Thundercross to compare it against. It is a newer name in Salomon’s trail line, introduced to fill the gap between two shoes that had drifted apart from each other.

On one side sits the Speedcross, which has spent years as the go-to shoe for genuinely soft ground. Its lugs are savage, but the shoe is narrow, firm and awkward on anything hard. On the other side sits the Sense Ride, which is comfortable and cushioned but gives up grip in the wet. Salomon’s answer was a shoe with close to Speedcross-level lugs on a wider, more forgiving platform, with a bit more foam underfoot and a more relaxed shape overall.

In practical terms that means you can wear the Thundercross on a dry, rocky summer trail without hating it, then take the same pair out in February when the same trail is ankle-deep in mud. That versatility is the whole point of the model, and it is why we rate it as the sensible first Salomon trail shoe for most people rather than the Speedcross.

Who should buy the Salomon Thundercross

This is a shoe for people whose trails are genuinely rough or genuinely wet, and who do not want to own two pairs. If you run or walk on forest tracks, farm paths, moorland or anything that turns greasy after rain, the outsole is the reason to buy it, and it is a big enough reason on its own.

It suits neutral feet, normal to slightly narrow in width, on outings of up to about three hours. It is also a strong hiking shoe. The stiff, grippy outsole and the secure heel do as much for a loaded day hike as they do for a run, and the low drop keeps you feeling connected to the ground on steep, uneven descents rather than perched above it.

Budget matters here too. Getting a full Contagrip outsole and this level of foothold for a mid-range price is unusual, and for someone buying their first proper trail shoe it is an easier decision than spending half as much again on a specialist model.

Who should probably skip it

If your trails are mostly hard-packed dirt, crushed gravel or a mix of pavement and park path, the Thundercross is the wrong tool. Those tall lugs have nothing to sink into, so you feel them poking up through the shoe, and you pay for grip you are never using. The same goes for anyone who wants a soft, cushioned ride for long slow miles: this shoe is firm by design and does not soften up.

Wide feet are the other clear mismatch. Salomon builds on a narrow last and does not offer this model in a wide, and no amount of lacing adjustment fixes a shoe that is too tight across the ball of the foot. If any of that describes you, look at these instead:

• Hoka Challenger 8: a softer, lower-lug shoe that handles dirt trails and the road sections between them without feeling clumsy (check price | read review)
• ASICS Trabuco Max 4: a tall, heavily cushioned trail shoe with a rocker sole that rolls you forward, built for long easy hours rather than technical footwork (check price | read review)

How does the Salomon Thundercross fit?

The Thundercross fits like a Salomon, which is to say close and precise rather than roomy. It holds the foot firmly from the heel through the midfoot, and the toe box gives you a little more space than the Speedcross does without ever feeling generous. Most people take their usual size.

Fit and sizing

Order your normal running size. The shoe runs true to length, and there is enough room ahead of the toes that you will not bruise a toenail on a long descent. Width is the issue rather than length. The midfoot is deliberately narrow so that the Quicklace cord can pull the upper tight around the foot, and that works beautifully if your foot matches the shape and pinches if it does not. Anyone who normally buys a 2E or wider should treat this shoe as unavailable to them.

Upper and step-in comfort

The upper is an engineered mesh with welded strips over the sides, which keeps the weight down while stopping the material from stretching out when it gets wet. The tongue is gusseted, meaning it is stitched to the sides of the shoe so grit and water cannot get in around the edges, and that makes a real difference on a muddy run. The Quicklace system is a single cord you pull tight and tuck into a pocket on the tongue, so there are no laces to come undone. Step-in comfort is good but not plush. There is modest padding around the collar and the footbed is thin, so the shoe feels businesslike from the first wear rather than pillowy.

Check Latest Price

How does the Salomon Thundercross perform?

The Thundercross is a grip-first shoe, and everything else about how it behaves follows from that. It is stable, secure and confident on ground where most shoes are tentative, and it is unremarkable on ground where grip is not the question. Here is how that breaks down.

Cushioning and ride

The midsole, the foam layer between your foot and the outsole, is Salomon’s EnergyFOAM: a blend of EVA and olefin that is firmer than the supercritical foams showing up in newer trail shoes. The amount under the heel is moderate by current standards, and it is tuned for control rather than softness. You feel the trail underfoot, which is exactly what you want when you are picking your way down a rocky descent and exactly what you do not want three hours into a flat, easy outing.

Ride and running performance

There is no plate and no rocker sole here, so nothing is actively pushing you forward. The shoe rolls through each step under its own steam, which makes it honest and predictable but never quick. At easy and steady paces it feels fine. Push the pace on smooth ground and the tall lugs get in the way, because they compress slightly under load and give the shoe a vague, spongy feel that firmer-lugged road-to-trail shoes avoid. This is a shoe for covering ground safely, not for racing.

Stability and support

The Thundercross is a neutral shoe, so it has no medial post or guidance frame and makes no attempt to change how your foot moves. What it does have is a wide base and a firm foam, and on a trail that combination matters more than any support feature. Sidewalls rise slightly around the heel to cradle the foot, and the effect is that the shoe stays flat under you on cambered ground instead of tipping. People who overpronate noticeably, meaning the foot rolls inward more than usual as it lands, will not find correction here and should look at a stability trail shoe or use their own orthotics.

Outsole, grip and durability

This is the headline. Salomon’s All Terrain Contagrip rubber runs the full length of the shoe with deep chevron lugs, and it is the best thing about the Thundercross. In deep mud the lugs dig in and the gaps between them clear themselves as you move, so the sole does not pack up and go smooth. On wet rock and wet roots the compound stays tacky where cheaper rubber goes glassy. Durability is solid: the rubber is hard enough to survive rock, though as with any deep-lug shoe the lugs round off if you spend much time on pavement. The usual 300 to 500 mile guideline for replacing running shoes is a rough guide here rather than a promise, and trail shoes tend to die at the upper rather than the sole.

Is the Salomon Thundercross good for walking?

For walking on trails, yes, and it is genuinely one of the better options at this price. The grip that makes it good for running makes it better still at walking pace, when you have time to place each foot and can use the edges of the lugs on rock and root. The secure heel and gusseted tongue keep grit out on a long day, and at under 10 ounces it is far lighter than a hiking boot while giving up little in traction.

It is not an all-day town shoe. On pavement, in an airport or around the shops the lugs are uncomfortable and wear down fast, and the firm foam offers little to standing feet. If you want one shoe for walking holidays that mix city and countryside, this is the wrong compromise. For a day out on real trails with a small pack, it is an excellent choice.

Salomon Thundercross vs. Salomon Speedcross 6

Because there is no earlier Thundercross, the comparison that matters is the one against the Speedcross, which is the other Salomon most buyers are weighing up.

Buy the Thundercross when your trails change with the seasons and you want one pair that handles all of it. Buy the Speedcross 6 when your ground is reliably soft, when you want the most bite available and when a narrow, close fit suits your foot.

Salomon Thundercross Alternatives

If the Thundercross is close but not quite right, these are the shoes worth looking at instead.

• Hoka Speedgoat 7: the choice when you want the same confidence on technical ground but far more cushioning underfoot, which matters once your outings stretch past three hours (check price | read review)
• Brooks Cascadia 20: a roomier, more forgiving shape for anyone the Thundercross squeezes, with a steadier platform and lugs shallow enough to tolerate road sections (check price | read review)
• Saucony Peregrine 16: lighter and livelier if you want to actually run fast off road, with grip that gets close to the Thundercross on a nimbler shoe (check price | read review)
• Salomon Speedcross 6: the sibling to pick when your ground is soft all year and you want the most aggressive traction Salomon makes (check price)

Price and value

At its $140 launch price the Thundercross sits below most shoes with a comparable outsole, and the outsole is where the money has clearly gone. You are paying for a full-length grippy rubber sole, a well-built upper that keeps water and grit out and a lacing system that stays put, on a shoe that will survive a couple of hard winters. What you are not paying for is a modern, energetic foam or a plate, and the ride reflects that.

Judged as a grip-and-durability purchase it is very good value. Judged as a comfort purchase it is only fair, because there are softer shoes for the same money if traction is not your priority.

Check Size Availability

Final verdict

Best for: neutral runners, hikers and fast walkers on muddy, rocky or mixed trails who want one shoe for all seasons.

Avoid if: you have wide feet, your routes include long stretches of pavement or you want a soft, cushioned ride for hours on end.

Fit: true to size in length, snug and low-volume in width, with no wide option.

Verdict: the Salomon Thundercross does one thing better than almost anything at its price, and that one thing is staying upright on ground that makes other shoes slide. It is not soft, it is not fast and it does not suit every foot, but if you have been walking down wet descents because you did not trust your shoes, this is the fix. Check the latest price.

Frequently Asked Questions for Salomon Thundercross