Gear Review: Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown

When selecting a shoe worthy of cradling your precious hooves for thousands of miles, the Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown is one you should definitely take for a stroll.   The Odyssey Pro was a different take on a trail running shoe for Salomon.  Unlike other Salomon trail runners, the Odyssey offers a wider toe box, higher stack height, and a long-lasting sole with more surface area for added traction. Salomon took it a few steps further with the Triple Crown, with an updated midsole material, a redesign of the upper with more rugged protection than before, and a narrower yet more flexible heel cup.  This is my review of the Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown hiking shoe, Salomon’s response to the thru-hikers and their need for long-lasting comfort and durability during long-distance hikes.

Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown

Stack Height: 28-18mm
Heel Drop: 10mm
Weight: 13.6oz (Size 12 men’s)

Testing: Varying terrain from dirt, mud, snow, wet rocks, and roots in central Oregon and southern Washington.

Features

After creating the proven Odyssey Pro, Salomon sought out ways to improve on an already great design with a bit more flare. Don’t worry if psychedelic tie-dye isn’t your thing; they have a more subdued version in an earth-tone blue and black. With a switch in midsole material, Salomon was able to save some weight while increasing the comfort and feel and maintaining its legendary durability.  The Triple Crown has simple but effective toe and side protection that isn’t overkill. With a breathable upper mesh material, the Odyssey Triple Crown drains well when wet, dries out fast, and keeps your feet from overheating. A traditional lace system with flat laces provides even, comfortable pressure across your feet. Salomon has created a pretty amazing shoe that will go the distance.

What makes this such a great shoe for thru-hiking specifically?  Most thru-hikers will agree that long-lasting comfort and longevity are the two most important characteristics of a good thru-hiking shoe.  So let’s go over how the Odyssey Triple Crowns stack up.

Durability: I have personally pushed the Odyssey Pro over 1,200 miles on the Continental Divide, hiking on pavement, sand, lava rock, snow, and mud. I expect the Triple Crown will match or exceed the Pro utilizing the Contagrip® tread and tread pattern as before, with an updated midsole and laminated protection on the high wear points.

Fit: Unlike most of Salomon trail runners, the Odyssey is a higher volume option with a wide toe box that has plenty of lateral and vertical room for most hikers. Maintaining a glove-like closeness to your foot in the forefoot area, the heel cup has thick padding that will compress easily for wider heels or maintain its fit for more narrow heels.

Tread: Much like an all season car tire, the tread is not particularly aggressive but has a lot of surface area to maximize points of contact for grip and durability.  The Triple Crown still utilizes the same tread pattern and Contagrip® material as the Pro. So the performance there shouldn’t change much.

Cushion: Salomon decided to go with a softer, lighter polyurethane midsole.  I noticed this results in a softer cushion providing better feel right out of the box with a bonus weight loss of about an ounce per shoe.  The Triple Crown isn’t jam packed with features and technology. It’s a shoe designed for longevity and simplicity that works.

What Makes Them Really Stand Out?

A good hiking shoe should feel like a natural extension of your foot and Salomon executed this well with the Odyssey Triple Crown. With a more secure heel cup and a midsole that maintained its levelness after the foam collapsed a bit, I felt that I still had a solid foot step that gave me confidence to push miles and step on awkward surfaces. My foot felt locked in and didn’t shift around.  Salomon didn’t go crazy with the stack height either. This allowed me to maintain balance and feel on the trail while still providing padding for the longer miles and sharp rocks. Most important to me, the Contagrip® soles prove to wear evenly and last for many miles.  On my CDT thru-hike, I was able to comfortably push a pair of Odyssey Pros over 1,000 miles.  I attribute this to the sole and a well built upper.  The sole is still the same and the new upper feels all around stronger.

Pros

You can almost put a check in all the boxes with the Odyssey Triple Crown.  The long-lasting sole, comfort from start to finish, a breathable upper with good protection, light weight, a wide toe box, and a good heel cup for stability. Plus they look good.

Cons

At $140 they are not cheap. They are Salomons after all. But Salomon knows what they are doing when it comes to footwear.  Keep in mind that the Triple Crown, if anything like the Odyssey Pros I used on the CDT, should last awhile, stretching that price and your miles a bit further. The laces are a bit slick and sometimes want to come untied. It might be worth changing the laces out from the start. I did notice the instep feels a bit off when descending steep trails, but it seemed to go away the more I hiked. Maybe I got used to it, or it was just the new shoe breaking in. Overall, I don’t have many complaints about the shoe.  Salomon did a great job with the Triple Crown and I expect to see more hikers wearing them in the future.

Summary

Salomon has a history being a leader in performance footwear, and it shows with the Odyssey Triple Crown.  These shoes are well worth the investment for the durability alone. Salomon has created a game changer with the Odyssey Triple Crown and I hope they continue to improve the design as they are clearly listening to their audience. So give the Triple Crown a try and I think you will feel and go the difference.

Shop the Odyssey Triple Crown Here

Disclosure: This product was donated for the purpose of this review.

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Comments 3

  • ruben : May 28th

    Great Article, were you wearing a backpack during your test? I will be doing Camino Frances in Spain my backpack should weight around 17 pounds.
    I don’t like boots. Any advice will be appreciated.
    Kind Regards,
    RQ

    Reply
  • Stephen : Aug 15th

    I’d really like to know what type of arch the shoes are built with.

    Could you compare the fit to other shoes?

    Are they for flatter feet, more like an Ultra, etc.

    I’m glad you talked about width but the industry needs some standard ways to talk about fit.

    Thanks!

    Reply

What Do You Think?