Now and then, I think about the original specs for the Salomon XT-4. Why? Well, the recent leaked Salomon x KITH XT-4K edition had me on a search, a search that led me to finding this cool website. Coming across Pascal Stryjak’s Design Portfolio, his time at Salomon included a great insight into what I’d been searching for this whole time.

Finally, the XT-4’s original 2012 build was brought to life. Today’s Sportstyle version is very close to the original, but Salomon’s offerings in trail running have since improved thanks to advancements in the S-LAB series; the XT-4 has been resigned to the streetwear category.

Many argue that this has removed the XT-4s soul and sports-built attributes, yet while I cannot say I’ve taken a run in my pair, I think they could be right. Whether or not details have actually changed since it first came out in 2012, or it is simply down to expectation versus reality, we ultimately do not know.

Only the design team at Salomon can deny or confirm this … or unless Rose Anvil end up chopping them in half and dispelling the rumours. Either will do!

Here, Stryjak has provided photos of the original samples, 3D renderings, schematic drawings and CADs of the uppers. As well as this, you can find a behind-the-scenes making of the XT-4, providing a neat insight into athlete interactions.

Of course, just like all of your basketball professionals, Salomon’s trail athletes are provided with their own unique last. This ensures that each model has a tailored fit for all of the sponsored runners, which they need for maximum efficiency. In the BTS video, you can actually see Killian Jornet being introduced to his pair of then-called XT-Wings S-LAB (AKA the XT-4).

You can tell Jornet has accumulated some serious outdoor miles via the state of his blackened toes. During my brief spell of running my local trails in a pair of Speedcross 4 GORE-TEX, it didn’t take long before the downhill descents had all but stamped my toenails blue.

One could argue that a unique last makes a bigger difference to the trail runners than Nike’s NBA players. One slip across a rocky terrain could leave them stranded with a broken ankle during a practice run or competitive ultra, as opposed to sustaining an injury within the safety of a stadium. Would you rather break your foot in the middle of nowhere when people can’t see you fail or under the lights of Madison Square Garden?

Although the average trail athlete carries very little in relation to body fat, their physiques are fine-tuned for running Ultra-level distances events at a variety of altitudes. That said, the average basketball player exerts enormous force with each step, especially when descending from a vertical leap. Essentially, you could make a strong argument for either side.

I actually owned this colourway back in 2024 until I stupidly sold it for a couple of tuppence on Vinted. Knowing Salomon issues its first prototypes in a bright red, I wanted to feel like a sponsored athlete each time I tightened the Quicklacing system.

Alas, I clearly fell out of love with the XT-4 thanks to the questionable fit. If only I’d actually been a sponsored trail runner, they’d have sure fit perfectly around my two feet in what would have effectively been my Cinderella moment. Albeit in a really manly and alpha way … hoorah?

Thankfully, my connection to the silhouette has been reinvigorated thanks to the Footpatrol x Salomon XT-4. A relationship you can delve into via the piece I wrote during my time in the Dominican Republic.