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Review: Salomon’s Lightweight Hiking Shoe Made Me a Believer in This Growing Outdoor Trend

I used to be a skeptic of women’s-specific designs but the X Ultra 4 GTX has changed my mind.

woman hiking through the woodsSalomon

By Hayley Helms

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You’ve probably heard this one before. Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Well, I’d like to suggest the same for the shoes themselves — which is what I did with Salomon’s X Ultra 4 GTX lightwight hikers. In fact, I walked a lot more than a mile.

salomon x ultra 4 gore tex women's hiking shoesSalomon

Salomon X Ultra 4 Gore-Tex Women’s Hiking Shoes

Pros

  • Women's model is thoughtfully designed
  • Supportive without feeling too luxe

Cons

  • Feel heavier than they are

How I tested the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX

Over the course of my time judging the X Ultra 4 GTX, I paid attention to three factors that I considered important above all: fit, weight and grip.

When I’m hiking on hot and dusty terrain, strewn with rocks, leaves and the prints of creatures that have walked before me, these three factors matter more to me than any other.

It’s important to note that the pair I tested were “women’s specific” — a growing trend that I usually roll my eyes at and not because I don’t find value in the idea of a shoe constructed to best support a women’s morphology.

“Almost every women’s specific shoe I’ve tried feels like it was designed by someone who’s never encountered a human female foot before.”

No, usually I meet that marketing language with disdain because almost every women’s specific shoe I’ve tried feels like it was designed by someone who’s never encountered a human female foot before.

However, that was until I tried Salomon’s X Ultra 4 GTX. This hiking shoe made me a believer in the concept, and shattered the low expectations I had for female-specific footwear. Here’s why I liked it so much.

Every product we review is independently selected and evaluated. Learn more about our testing methodology.

The X Ultra 4 GTX’s cushioning is supportive without feeling too luxe

I don’t know about you, but when I hike, I like to feel connected to the ground I’m passing over. The balance of connection and protection can be a tricky one but Salomon pulls off the balancing act with the X Ultra 4 GTX.

salomon x ultra 4
The quick-lace system takes some getting used to if you’re more familiar with traditional laces, but once you’ve got it down, it’s really a cinch.
Photo by Hayley Helms for Gear Patrol

The cushioning is stable, and the 11mm drop feels supportive. There’s no perfect drop (which refers to the difference between the height of the heel compared to the ball of the foot) but this one works for my foot.

The X Ultra 4 GTX is lightweight but sturdy

The pursuit of technical advancement and weight reduction in the last decade has meant that shoe tongues have become slimmer, heel cushioning has decreased, upper textiles have become more porous and breathable and anything superfluous from a shoe has been scrapped.

salomon x ultra 4
Salomon’s Terrain Contagrip is built for a wide variety of terrains. I wore mine in sandy, muddy and hard-packed conditions and maintained grip and stability throughout each and every hike.
Photo by Hayley Helms for Gear Patrol

When I first stepped into the X Ultra 4 GTX, I was pleasantly surprised by the out-of-the-box comfort achieved by the soft materials around the collar and heel, the padded tongue and the super-stable Advanced Chassis molded insert.

However, compared to other technical hiking shoes on the market, Salomon’s felt weighty. That’s why I was surprised to find out it’s only 13.8 ounces. It’s a blessing in disguise that the X Ultra 4 GTX is lighter than it feels, but I did go through an adjustment period of getting used to the shoe’s heft and feel.

The women-specific fit is accurate and doesn’t skimp on technology

Developing this female-specific hiker meant exploring what a woman’s foot needs in protective footwear. Salomon addressed the specific morphology of a woman’s foot in the newest version of its popular hiking style with a few key features: a softer cuff, cradling anatomical design and lower density “Advanced Chassis” for greater stability.

salomon x ultra 4 gtx hiking shoe
The X Ultra 4 GTXs, after their river baptism.
Photo by Hayley Helms for Gear Patrol

These features are backed up by the tried-and-true protective features seen across both men’s and women’s hiking shoes and boots: water-and-weatherproof PFC-free Gore-Tex, a grippy Terrain Contagrip outsole (which features a unique chevron lug pattern for multi-directional grip), a protective mudguard, welded upper, and more.

It sounds like a mouthful, but the short of the long here is that along with a women’s specific fit that actually fits, Salomon didn’t skimp on the traditional performance features found in any other shoe.

During one of my hikes in the X Ultra 4 GTX, I was running out of sunlight and time, and I had a shortcut presented to me: I could cross a stream, submerging my feet and cut off a mile of backtracking, or I could stick to the trail.

I hesitated at the water’s edge until I remembered which shoes I was wearing — then I plunged right in. The Gore-Tex didn’t protect against full submersion, as I anticipated, but the grippy outsole helped me maintain footing across slippery rocks, and the cushy OrthoLite sockliner dried in no time.

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