Salomon Men's Speedtrak

It was back in the early to mid-90s, and I was in a military school. They issued us our sneakers. They were Adidas’s if I remember correctly. I really hated those shoes. They had no ankle support and no cushion on the soles, and we had to physical training (PT) in them. Eventually, I got a pair of Nike shoes that didn’t require laces to tighten up; they used Velcro. Then I had a pair that used a rubber band-like pressure; the shoes were very light weight and had a water-like pattern on them. They were good but eventually were discontinued. I find Nike shoes often fall apart with hard use and time. Fast forward years later, and my shoes were again institutionalized when I was in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). The shoes we had there often came from donation money directly to our unit for that purpose. We had a generous budget, and we used Asolo boots, which were garbage. We also had for some occasions issued New Balance 990 series running shoes. They were very stable, had a lot of support and cushion, and were great for long distances and heavy loads. They were a very expensive shoe in Israel at around 850 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) the equivalent of about $200. I would later order the shoes from the U.S. Many years later, I found myself entering boot camp again, but this time in the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in Cape May, NJ. You would not believe it, but the sneakers were once again issued. The same ones even from overseas! The New Balance 996 model. Because it’s the U.S. government with a seemingly endless budget, the shoes were sold to us at a deep discount, half off retail price with free shipping, all for $77.77. The best part is that they were special edition shoes just for us; they were the CG colors of blue with orange accents, had the USCG logo on the tongue and said USCG on the back. A very cool shoe at a great price, so great I purchased several pairs for gifts. My dad and brother had a pair, my friends who wore them years earlier in the IDF had a pair, and I gave a pair as a wedding gift for another couple… After about 3 years or so, the contract ended, the distribution center stopped having the special edition colors and the price went back up. My relationship with New Balance ended, so I looked for a modern high-tech shoe I could use for trail running, hiking, rucking and similar. I had a friend who was a professional mountaineer, and he had a voucher for Salomons he had received in a race package. He gave me the voucher, and I got a pair of Fellraisers. These were great shoes, and I went on to buy three more. They were light weight and felt great. Having no laces was the best part, as all Salomons close with a drawstring that locks with a plastic catch and then tucks into the tongue. The shoes put on fast and dried fast, and they were cheap at $75 a pair. Great shoe. Last year, they stopped making the Fellraiser and went to the Speedtrak, and so did I. The shoes are an improvement from the Fellraiser and are equally as tough and quick. The traction you get from these shoes is second to none. Something else the shoe offers that is not found in too many places is a hidden compartment in the tongue if you turn it inside out. In this compartment in one shoe I keep a plastic handcuff key; in the other shoe, I keep one meter of Kevlar string. You would never know it is there or feel it. But it’s there when you need it, which is hopefully never.