Salomon’s Aero Glide 4 is a high-stack road shoe that’s trying to feel lighter than it looks

Salomon has been quietly getting more serious about road running, and the new Salomon Aero Glide 4 feels like a pretty clear statement: go big on cushioning, but keep the weight and transitions under control.

This is one of my most anticipated running shoes of the year.

It’s positioned as a max-cushion everyday option for paved running, and the Aero Glide 3 (links to my YouTube review) hit this mark spot on, so I’m excited to share the updates here when I release my review (coming soon).

As soon as I’ve logged real-world runs (easy, steady, longer efforts), I’ll publish a full review, in true Trail & Kale style.

The headline spec is ‘max stack, yet surprisingly light on paper’

This is one of those shoes where the numbers are the story:

• Price: $160 at Salomon (best for price and colorway options)
• Drop: 8mm
• Stack height: 41/33mm.
• Weight: 9oz

So yeah… it’s a big slab of shoe, but at ~9oz it doesn’t feel like one.

What’s underfoot: optiFOAM² + a rocker that’s meant to “roll” you along

The midsole is Salomon’s optiFOAM², a lightweight foam built for energy absorption and return.

The geometry piece is their reverseCAMBER rocker concept (it’s been in their lineup for a while, adapted from their ski heritage).

In plain runner terms, the intention is:

• soft landings from the high stack + foam
• less “bog down” than some max cushion shoes because the rocker helps the shoe move through stride and the foam is very responsive
• easier cruising when you’re just trying to keep the legs turning over

The part I’ll be watching in testing is whether that rocker feels natural at easy pace, or whether it needs you to run a certain way to unlock it.

I was a big fan of the Aero Glide 3, so I have high hopes for this one. If you want to pick up a deal on the Aero Glide 3, watch my review first:

The upper story: “inside-out” construction, fewer pressure points (in theory)

The “inside-out” style construction where the upper is designed to wrap more like a second skin, aiming for a seamless interior feel and reduced pressure points is a very curious feature.

That’s the kind of change that can quietly make a shoe better for long runs (less fuss, fewer hot spots), but it’s also the kind of thing that can go sideways if the fit runs narrow or the midfoot feels too locked down; we’ll see but v3 had a nice amount of volume in it.

So for anyone with a higher-volume foot, I’ll be paying attention to:

• midfoot space (especially on longer runs when feet swell)
• tongue/instep comfort
• whether the heel feels stable without needing to crank the laces

And there’s a colorway for everybody!

Who I think this shoe is for (based on design, not hype)

If you want a simple way to decide whether the Salomon Aero Glide 4 should be on your radar:

It’s probably a good match if you:

• want a max cushion road shoe that feels smooth and rolling
• like an 8mm drop (pretty “normal” if you’re coming from mainstream daily trainers)
• want something for easy miles, steady runs, and long-run cruising rather than short, punchy speedwork

Where it sits in Salomon’s bigger running picture

I know a lot of Trail & Kale readers associate Salomon with trails first (fair), but this model feels like them saying: “we can do a modern road trainer too”, they have already proven that with the Aero Glide 3 (review here), and the Aero Blaze 3 (review here) from 2025.

It’s also interesting timing as the road market is full of max cushion shoes that either (a) feel amazing but heavy, or (b) feel light but a bit too harsh underfoot and not durable.

Aero Glide 4 is clearly trying to split the difference with high-stack comfort and a weight that doesn’t scream “recovery shoe only”.

My plan for testing (and when the review’s coming)

Salomon have already mailed the Aero Glide 4 over for testing, and once it’s in hand I’ll do what we always do here on Trail & Kale: put it through real runs and tell you how it actually behaves.

If you’ve run in previous Aero Glide versions, tell me what you liked (or didn’t) about them, and what you’d want v4 to fix. -Alastair