It has been a real joy to run in the new Salming Miles. These shoes have been a great addition to my running shoe collection, providing a well cushioned feeling while still staying quick.
The company makes a superior product that has held up well over quite a few miles while testing. Although they are pricey, I think anyone who gives them a try will be happy with what they receive.
Salming Miles General Info
The Salming Miles is a trainer designed to take a beating and keep going. Designed by Salming in Sweden to deal with the conditions routinely seen there, the Miles are a high quality and well put together shoe.
This is a brand new model to the Salming line up, to provide a more cushioned alternative to their Distance model and a shoe designed to take the pounding of asphalt and concrete miles.
Salming Miles – Toe
This new model will be in direct competition with the likes of Brooks Ghosts and ASICS Cumulus in the amount of cushioning, while seeming to be much lighter than their competitors’ offerings.
They fill a hole in Salming’s line up, needing a road shoe that possesses ample cushioning for the long-distance road runner, while still fitting into the company’s running ideals.
In this manner, these shoes truly fit the bill. They are a top-of-the-line trainer that look and feel like a top-of-the-line trainer.
The initial impression of these shoes were positive. The color is a bright, and eye-catching green. They look very well put together with a great, soft material covering the whole foot.
When I first put them on, the shoes felt soft, but not pillowy, firm in push off spots while not hard. On my first run — a quick 5k to see how they felt — I felt great push and a quick turnover while my feet were quite happy.
Salming Miles Sole Unit
Salming Miles – Sole
The sole unit of the Miles is that of a well cushioned yet lightweight trainer. Giving enough cushion to make all runs, short and long alike, feel good.
The sole uses a signature midsole called Recoil — a newly developed compound designed to absorb negative impact forces and release higher rebound energy effect in the toe off phase — a well designed foam that provides good cushion with minimal weight.
Unlike the Speed model, Salming uses a durable, lightweight compound on the outer sole to provide extra traction and durability to the sole unit.
After more than 120 miles, this rubber looks as though it is still in near perfect condition.
This compound worked amazingly well on the pavement of most of my runs, giving great traction even in rainy and sometimes snowy conditions.
Unlike the miles, having a full outer sole unit allowed this pair of shoes to preform quite well on multiple surfaces — handling crushed gravel, single track and cedar chip trails as well.
I wouldn’t recommend them for too many single track or cedar runs, but if you need a quick jaunt on them, these can do the job.
Just as with the Speed, one of the nicest feature of the sole, and maybe the whole shoe, is Salming’s TGS 62/75° principle.
This is something Salming puts on each of their shoes, where they have designed the sole so that the first 62% of the shoe (heel to midfoot) to offer extra stability before a “ballet” line — a 75° angled line — before the rubberized forefoot which is much more flexible.
The added flexibility in the forefoot makes for a much better toe off and quicker turnover.
Another point to keep in mind with this sole unit is that there is only a 4mm heel-toe drop, which is much more minimal a drop than the typical trainer (10-12mm), even though it has plenty of cushion.
This make this shoe a particular transition from your prior shoe if you are used to a larger drop, because it puts more strain on the calves as you are forced to land and push off your midfoot.
If you are used to the larger drop, then you should slowly work your way onto this shoe until you are used to it.
Salming Miles Upper Info
Salming Miles – Heel
The upper is seamless, made mostly out of a breathable and soft material that feels pleasant on the foot. The construction of the upper uses two layers to increase durability and support.
The lowest layer is the soft breathable mesh. With that breathability that means water will come in as well. On my runs in the rain, my feet ended up getting quite wet.
Above that layer is the trademarked Salming Exo Skeleton, a layer of structured materials to help stabilize the foot in lateral movements.
Just as with the Speed model, I must point of the company’s claim that the Exo Skeleton layer relieves pressure of the Metatarsophalangeal (MTC) joints.
And although I noticed that this layer did its job and stabilized on lateral movements, I still don’t know that I ever felt any pressure benefits from the layer.
My favorite part of this model is how that Salming decided to splay out the toe box of the shoe for more natural landing. It allows the possibility for the forefoot to expand properly in the landing phase.
Salming Miles Conclusions
My favorite type of running shoe is a cushioned trainer that feels fast. In the past I have had a few of these to try out — the Brooks Ghost 8, ASICS Cumulus 17 — and I would place the Salming Miles right up there with them.
During the 2015 year, the Ghosts were my favorite shoe of the year, and I would put the Miles on the same list with them. Salming provides a shoe that runs fast, cushions and supports your feet.
All this, while keeping the weight of the shoe low enough to rival much less cushioned trainers. Frankly speaking, running in these shoes was a complete joy.
The biggest drawbacks for the shoes is the price — $160 — compared to the Ghosts ($120). However, it may just be worth the extra money for a great product.
After 120+ miles, my pair still look and feel like they were almost new. They have held up remarkably well, and seem more than worth their price tag.
The next issue is that these shoes are hard to find, seeing as Salming isn’t in most regular shoe stores yet.
To find them in person and try them on, you will have to find them at a race expo, or look for them in one of 27 stores (none west of Austin, TX) in the USA.
The best option you have for purchasing them is on their website, however, it is hard to pull the trigger sight unseen. For those of you on the fence, I would recommend you go for it.
I had my own trepidations about running in a brand I had never seen before this year, but now these may just be my favorite shoes.
The thing I can leave you with is that these shoes truly will take you miles and miles before you need to worry about them.
We thank the nice people at Salming for sending us a pair of Miles to test. This did not influence the outcome of the review, written after running more than 50 miles in them.
