Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 Review

The Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3. All photos: iRunFar/Bryon Powell

The Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 ($200) has the few crucial tweaks we needed in order to finally give this shoe the full praise that we couldn’t give its predecessors. The third iteration of this super lightweight trail racing shoe has a 6-millimeter drop, by way of reported 24- and 18-millimeter heel and toe stack heights, and an actual weight of 7.1 ounces (202 grams) in a U.S. men’s 9. The shoe is unisex.

Lately, the trail racing shoe landscape has changed. Some brands’ trail super shoes have come to market as basically a lugged outsole on a rocket-fueled road midsole. Results are mixed. In a straight line, shoes like the new adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra and The North Face Vectiv Pro 2 are incredibly fast and very fun. The rockered shape and carbon fiber plates transfer energy like no trail shoes before them, but these shoes are caveated by their downhill performance. Very smooth trails and fire roads are fine, but add rock features or camber, and they become a skittery adventure.

A few brands are racing into this territory, innovating on the fly, and seemingly hoping to find a fit for some runners or be the first to market. The innovation is, by and large, coming from shoe brands that have impressive road technologies, not ones that come from a strictly trail or mountain-oriented background, with The North Face being an exception.

And, although Salomon is not shy about its road intentions with fully carbon-plated shoes like the Salomon S/Lab Phantasm 2 and many more options for daily training or stability, they’ve left the S/Lab Pulsar 3 largely alone from a super shoe standpoint. It has no carbon plates or nitrogen-injected super-foam, and, in my opinion, that’s a good thing.

Where those aforementioned shoes fall down with their stability, weight, and outsole dynamics, the S/Lab Pulsar 3 does not. It is a straightforward, super lightweight shoe that is as good for going up as it is down.

Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 Upper

A lateral view of the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3.

Because of its built-for-speed qualities, the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 is not a mountain running shoe in the tradition of La Sportiva or Dynafit, but the upper might be more robust than options from those brands, whose aim is to be burly and fit for the alpine. While those shoes stand up to tough trail conditions, they are extremely un-fun to use, trading bouncy midsoles for precision and ground feel.

Taking a racing shoe off-trail typically means a death sentence for the uppers, but talus running in the mountains has not damaged the S/Lab Pulsar 3’s upper. This impenetrable material is made of Matryx mesh, the super textile that is becoming de rigueur in any high-performance (and high-priced) trail shoe designed to last.

Salomon has used Matryx uppers in all three editions of the S/Lab Pulsar, and not one from the line has suffered damage. In fact, all three versions remain in my rotation to this day. The integrity of this abrasion-resistant material makes it an eco-friendly option. Now, with a much beefier outsole, this shoe will last hundreds of miles, with wear happening at a more equitable rate between the upper and outsole.

As I remarked in previous reviews in this line, the SensiFIT lace system is almost redundant. The upper remains as snug as ever. For my wide feet, there is virtually no use for the laces.

Time and miles have battered my feet to the point where I don’t notice additional discomfort from this narrow shoe (maybe I’m overdue for a podiatry appointment), but if your tolerance for precise-fitting shoes is low, you might have problems with the S/Lab Pulsar 3. That said, there is a tiny bit of extra room to be had by running sockless, and to credit the Matryx material again, while being extremely tough, it is actually more pliable than you would expect. My feet, spilling over the sides, actually find enough give to sit comfortably.

This is a one-piece upper, meaning that there is no gusset, and the tongue is tack-stitched to the rest of the shoe. One large section of TPU overlays line the front of the shoe near the toe and along the lace eyelets.

The S/Lab Pulsar 3 has the most successful fit profile of all three editions. The first one was comically snug, requiring many minutes to get your foot inside. The second was much improved because the upper simply had more give. The S/Lab Pulsar 3 slides on in seconds, like you’d expect from any other shoe, even without a still-lacking heel pull-tab. I’m not sure if Matryx has been reconfigured over the years or if the whole package now just has a little more give. Sock-like is an overused descriptor, but this shoe truly is.

For the record, all three editions of the S/Lab Pulsar I’ve tested have been the same size, a unisex 12.5.

Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 Midsole

A medial view of the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3.

Energy Foam is Salomon’s long-used midsole tech. In the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3, it provides quick response and mild bounce, a sensation missing in the aforementioned mountain running brands’ midsoles, even in new models like the La Sportiva Prodigio (review), which for me, still miss the mark.

Of all three editions of the Pulsar, this version of Energy Foam, combined with the 6-millimeter drop, gives a nice amount of roll through your stride.

This is the more rockered shape of any previous Pulsar — and those were also quite rockered — and makes the shoe adaptable to the road when you’re not hammering on trails.

Despite the shoe’s intention for speed, the midsole is simply not as firm as you would expect. Salomon struck a very inviting balance between energy transfer and that “want to run in” feel we look for, especially when your access to expensive shoes is limited and you need your one or two models to do more than just be reserved for racing.

Underfoot protection is adequate, probably mostly due to the outsole, although the S/Lab Pulsar 3 uses Salomon’s ProFeel film, a very thin plate in the forefoot.

Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 Outsole

The outsole of the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3.

Of all the updates to the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3, it’s the outsole that is uniquely redesigned. The Contagrip material is the same, but the lug depth expands to a whopping 4.3 millimeters, compared to the S/Lab Pulsar and S/Lab Pulsar 2’s 2.5 millimeters.

With hindsight, Salomon’s flaw in under-equipping the original versions’ outsoles made it a less obvious option for many trail situations. The 2.5-millimeter versions simply underperformed in a variety of conditions — from loose, dry trail to technical rock to wet and muddy trail. Sliding and treading lightly was a hallmark of those shoes and something that kept them from being truly all-around racing weapons.

When I first got into trail running around 2006, the Salomon Speedcross was a flashy option. I can still recall the aggressive and super luggy outsole of that shoe from that era. While the S/Lab Pulsar 3 is not that extreme, it is reminiscent and a bold update for this particular line. Now you can basically throw any trail condition, dry or wet, at the S/Lab Pulsar 3 and be confident with your choice.

Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 Overall Impressions

A top view of the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3.

Where the original S/Lab Pulsar was in fairly rare air, this year, a string of comparable shoes have come out that give stiff competition to a shoe like the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3. In particular, these include the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 (review) and Brooks Catamount Agil. These shoes also come in a featherlight package while providing slightly different dynamics in midsole ride with materials like Pebax and carbon fiber. Both have an equally adept outsole to match the S/Lab Pulsar 3’s new design, and the Merrell also offers a Matryx upper.

Still, Salomon has risen to a new level with the S/Lab Pulsar 3, and it should remain atop the pile, or at worst, just alongside comparable shoes in this class.

Lightweight racing shoes were a somewhat deserted category in trail running for a while because of the emphasis on shoes for ultramarathons, but now, as consumers are finding more interest in shorter-distance running and racing, we’re benefiting from the depth of options and competition.

Call for Comments

• Have you tried the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3? Did you enjoy them?
• How does this third edition compare to the first and second for you?

Our Favorite Trail Running Shoes

Check out our Best Trail Running Shoes article to learn about our current favorite trail running shoes!