The Salming Miles is one of the new additions the Salming line and the most heavily cushioned shoe that Salming offers.  It stays true to the Salming story with a 4 mm heel toe drop but has plenty of plush cushioning in both the heel and forefoot while staying remarkably light for its category.

Although I was never a fan of the minimal running shoe movement I have always tended toward a little less shoe so the Miles was definitely going to be one of the highest cushioned shoes in my arsenal.  The majority of my running is also on trails so I did not foresee myself using this shoe more than a couple times a week, a long run on the dirt roads and any time I was pushing the stroller.  As it turned out I hurt my ankle right after getting these shoes and had to stay off the technical trails for a while so these shoes got A LOT of miles!

Here are the features of the Salming Miles shoe:

• Heelcup: This was designed to add minimal weight to your shoes.
• The Exo Skeleton: This was designed to stabilize your foot in lateral movements by reducing the impact of side forces to your foot. It’s a very light-weight but durable sheath across the flanks of the shoe.
• 2 Layer Construction: The inner layer creates a plush feeling while the outer layer of thin net mesh allows water drainage while it keep out particles like sand and gravel. The lacing is held by eyelets that are part of the exoskeleton.
• 4 mm drop: A drop is the difference in height between center heel and centre fore foot, midsole and outsole included.  A lower drop helps facilitate an improved posture.
• RECOIL™ Midsole: Meant to absorb the negative impact forces and in turn releases a higher rebound energy effect in the toe off phase.
• Toe Box: I like a roomy toebox. This is what they have done in order to allow the fore foot to expand during the landing phase.
• Torsion Efficiency Unit™: Responsive without being stiff
• Outer Sole: The outsole made in TOC66 (Traction Outsole Control 66) compound featuring 8mm high lugs. – Great gripping on both dry and wet surfaces. Great on trails.
• TGS 62/75°: “The distance from heel to the ball of foot (62% of the shoe) has been designed with extra stability, which ends in the so-called “ballet” line, a 75° angle. In front of the 75° line, Salming has equipped the shoe with greater flexibility to stimulate the foot’s natural movements. The TGS 62/75° feature assures that the shoe bends in exactly the right places, stimulating the foot’s natural lateral and forward movements.”

As I said previously I tend toward a little less shoe than the miles so I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.  Right off the bat though the shoe fit well, it had more room in the toe box than expected which is something I always like in a shoe.  Also It was a lot lighter than other shoes in the high cushioned neutral category, and as the manager of a run specialty store for 6 years I have seen them all.

The heel seemed a little loose but simple lacing fixed that and I was off!  I was not expecting to like these shoes as much as I did the first time out.  The ride was incredibly smooth, which may not be the case for everyone since biomechanics differ, but for me this was one of the smoothest shoes I have ever worn, and although it is lighter than other shoes in its cushion category it still packs just much cushy feel without compromising energy return.

After several hundred miles (this became my go to shoe) the Miles is performing just as well as it did out of the box.  If you are a neutral runner looking for a cushioned shoe that doesn’t drag you down this shoe is definitely worth a look!  With how much I liked this shoe I can’t wait to get my hands on some of Salming’s trail shoes!