Do you ever get a shoe and—while you really like it—there’s just one thing that doesn’t quite work? Maybe it’s small enough to live with, but sometimes it’s a dealbreaker. You may even send the shoe back during the return window, a little bummed that one design flaw (that everyone seems to mention in reviews) makes the shoe less than perfect.
That’s kind of the story with the new-ish Salomon S/LAB Ultra Glide 1.5.
See all our posts on Salomon here!
Yes, you read that right—1.5. If you’ve read our review of the original S/LAB Ultra Glide, you already know what to expect here because, in almost every way, these shoes are identical. The only cosmetic change is that the midsole now matches the rest of the shoe in all red, rather than the red/white combo of the first version.
But the real story is in the heel. One of the main complaints about the original version was the heel construction. In our review, we said:
“It’s pretty narrow and surprisingly tall, and I did experience a little bit of rubbing—not blister level—but still could feel it a bit. Not sure how other foot anatomies will experience this, but just be aware.”
That was actually one of the kinder takes, as heel rubbing was a very real issue for a lot of runners in this shoe.
Instead of waiting for another full cycle to launch a v2, Salomon did something pretty cool: they released this shoe 4 months later, keeping everything great about the original while directly addressing that early feedback. Thanks to their in-house design capabilities, they refined the upper and gave the collar a softer, more comfortable fit.
And it works. The result is a much better shoe overall, still built for long miles with the same responsive ride, just without the nagging heel issues.
If you experienced this in the first go around, or are prone to heel rubbing and steered clear of this, it may be time to check out the 1.5.
