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Salomon Sense Mantra

40 runs Review of Salomon Sense Mantra trail running shoes

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Salomon Sense Mantra Overview:

  • salomon-sense-mantra-main-imgUsual full price: around $120.00 USD
  • Weight: 270 g (8.5 men’s US)
  • Pros: great fit, light, low drop, keeps you close to the ground
  • Cons: the sole wears out fast on rocks or hard/abrasive surfaces, not the best grip on wet rocks or roots
  • Suitability: running any distances and all surfaces but lots of pavement or running on rocks
  • How we go it: Paid full price (disclosure notices)

Bottom line:

To me, Sense Mantra is a great everyday trail running shoe. Would buy them again or one of the other Salomon models built with the same main design.

Online stores that carry Sense Mantra running shoes:

Photos:

Product description and How we tested it:

When doing research last August on what trail running shoes I want to buy and try this is what I read on Salomon’s website:” A lightweight training shoe for forefoot and midfoot strikers who want natural motion, protection and neutral cushioning for high mileage training.” All that appealed to me since that’s my strike type and that’s what I wanted the shoe for.
Once I had them in my hands I liked the low drop immediately (6mm). However, I like to beat around the bush (BATB) when buying something, so I kept trying the Sense and Salomon SpeedCross 3 on and off. After 20min of BATB-ing I was set on the Sense Mantra since the SpeedCross was putting me into an uncomfortable forward leaning position and high above the ground. This works for some, for me it doesn’t.
Since then I have logged many hours in the Matras. I ran them on sunny days and through some rainy ones as well. I ran them on the softest trails to scrambling abrasive and sharp rocks, all in the Canadian Coast Mountains. Altogether, up to date, this adds up to about 40 runs (or fast hikes) with an average of about 2 hours.
After all this, the cushioning seems to be holding well, it isn’t packing much at all. The fit and feel is still great. However, I would recommend the Mantras more for dry conditions as that’s when they grip well. They are still great on soft ground trails when wet but definitely a bit slippery on wet rock.
The lugs are all still there and doing pretty decent but I can see any time I do a run involving lots of time on rocks that they got just a bit smaller. But I guess the shoe wasn’t really meant for that so it’s OK.
A new thing that I found with the Mantras works well for me is how they don’t really have a tongue but rather a glove-like fitting system that has an integrated minimalist tongue.
Click on the image to the right to see the new Sense Mantra 2 and Sense Pro compared to my Sense Mantra. I don’t know what actually is different about the three of them but the names are.
Before I forget, I want to also mention that I ran and scrambled quite a bit in the Salomon XA PRO 3D Ultra for about 2 years, now wearing them only as dress shoes. Performance-wise, I like the Mantras better but buy the Ultras if you tend to hit your toes here-and-there, they have more protection in the front.
And as a last note, the Mantras are about the 6th pair of Salomon shoes I ever owned – two for hiking, four for trail running.

Pros:

  • These shoes perform absolutely as promised by the Salomon’s marketing department for the type of conditions they are intended for.
  • I prefer low drop and so the only 6mm height difference between the heel and forefoot feels perfect.
  • They fit great on my average width foot.
  • I think that the combination of low drop and low weight they give me a feel of free running like minimalist shoes do but with the added padding I can run in them for much longer, and even strike a heel if I have to.

Cons / What can be improved about this product:

  • There aren’t any negatives about these shoes if you use them for what they were designed for so I won’t repeat what I said about the rocks above.
  • However, they could have better grip on wet.
  • Adding a little bit of more padding to the minimalist tongue would be great as the very thin laces could feel slightly uncomfortable when wearing a thin sock.
  • And my one very personal rant about Salomon running shoes is “give me normal laces for the models I like” J I am not a big fan of the Salomon lacing system but I put up with it their shoes overall are well designed and built.

Online stores that carry Sense Mantra running shoes: