 Alright everybody, here we are publishing two videos today, two videos today. The second one is all about comparing the Solomon Speed Cross 4 to the Solomon Speed Cross 5. I don't quite understand what's going on because somehow I got my hands on this Speed Cross 5 early. It's not available yet in a lot of places. It's not even on the Solomon website yet and it's almost February 2019 right now. So I've actually already put, I believe, 70 miles right under 70 miles into the Speed Cross 5 and so my full review is already available, upper right hand corner, go watch that after you watch this if you want a really detailed analysis of the Speed Cross 5. But this video is all about comparing the 4 to the 5, what are the differences, what advancements did they make and yes by the end I will tell you, okay I would put my money here as opposed to here. And for one last comparison between the 4 and the 5 I just want to give my legs and my feet a little bit more muscle memory between how these two feel so I'm going to go up Mt. Morrison here, it's like I think it's about 1500 feet of climbing, maybe a little more and it's snowy, rocky, mud, perfect for the Speed Cross lineup. Alright, come on. Back to the Shudio, okay discussing and comparing the Solomon Speed Cross 5 to the 4 here in the Shudio, did you know that the first Speed Cross came out in 2006, 2006 so what is that 13 years ago basically, pretty amazing, they were expecting to sell basically about a thousand pairs that first year, well fast forwarding to the present, they now sell over a million pairs of Speed Cross running shoes in Europe alone, so I don't know what their global sales are now but that's a pretty impressive number and anyway I just wanted to throw that out there for you like they have come a long way since 2006 and it's exciting to see the iterations so the versions and that's another way to say birds, the iterations of the shoes over the years and I wish, oh how amazing I would love some day, some day I will get my hands on a pair of the Solomon Speed Cross 1 and a few quick specs, most of you already know this because I've said it so many times but the Solomon Speed Cross 4 and the 5 both have a 10mm drop so that's pretty high and they both weigh basically 11 ounces, the 4 is a little lighter in my sizing, a little lighter in my sizing so 11 ounces which is 320 grams, the Speed Cross lineup is a heavier running shoe on the trails, it's definitely not in the lightweight category and I think they do that on purpose to really make sure you are getting a shoe that is beefy and bulky at times in order to attack the mountains, I don't know how else to say it, this is an attack the mountain type running shoe and the moment you've all been waiting for what are the differences between the 4 and the 5, I've nailed it down to 3 and there's probably more but I am focusing on 3 for this video, the upper has changed, the upper has changed, the collar, the collar of the shoe so around the heel I'll talk more about that and then the outsole and it's an exciting change to the outsole so let's start with the upper, I'm just going to call it on the Speed Cross 4 a rip stop material, I don't know the official terminology for this material but it feels like a rip stop in order to, I think their idea was you're going to be going over rocks, boulders, you don't want the upper to tear in the middle of a run or over time, compared to the 5 this is a much more softer, more supple if I can use that word, more flexible upper especially through the toe box, I prefer this upper on the 5 compared to the 4 and in the 4 if you didn't wash the upper or if you didn't soak it in a little bit of water after a long day in the mountains it got really stiff from the mud, the sweat, just all the dirt, the dust and I noticed over time like the upper continued to get stiffer and stiffer and I actually wouldn't, I wouldn't reach for it out of the closet because I was like I'm just gonna feel too stiff so anyway I think this is a big improvement to the 5 a more soft and flexible upper it feels really good and I'm excited to take it out in the summertime as well it's winter in Colorado right now so anyway that is a big change to the upper so at the end of my run today you saw it on the video when I was wearing the 4 on my right foot and the 5 on my left foot the biggest difference I noticed was through the heel and what is happening here is that the outer wall of the 5 is taller so is the back so this is the collar of a shoe just so you know some terminology this is called the collar around they wraps around your ankle and here in the back on the 5 this is a taller collar in the back a taller collar in the back of this speed cross 5 and I noticed it today when I had both one on one foot and one on the other you can see can you see let me see here can you see this and so that is a big difference between the 4 and the 5 and I guess I prefer the 5's collar it's just a little more of a secure fit and that might be part of the reason why this shoe weighs a little bit more there's a little more material built into the collar through the heel right there especially and oh when you're grinding up that mountain and it's steep and it's hard and you want to start walking like I just feel nice that nice lockdown feel with that collar in the back and moving on to the outsole I don't know if this is the most exciting update but it might have to be the lugs are bigger they're wider on the speed cross 5 they're wider and guess what I felt it today I felt it on the second lap not as much in the snow not as much in the snow but once I got the mud I'm telling you these wider lugs made a difference and they're ever so slightly deeper just a little deeper than the 4's good job Solomon increasing the size and the depth of the lugs on the bottom of the 5's my big question now though is will they make them even bigger in the 6 or the 7 these lugs of course they're gonna want feedback from all of us well I don't know if it can go much bigger but I'm telling you that is the that is another huge difference between the 4 and the 5 like the 4 is a good pattern for the lugs on the outsole but I'm telling you the lugs on these 5's oh I'm telling you it's a good thing it's a good thing YouTube in summary in summary the speed cross 4 $100 right now $100 actually I've seen it a little cheaper and a little more expensive so $100 for the Solomon speed cross 4 the Solomon speed cross 5 is $130 I still don't know how I got my hands on this shoe so early it doesn't appear to be for sale everywhere yet $130 and I think you can find it even cheaper in some places I would buy the Solomon speed cross 5 in a heartbeat in a heartbeat the 4 is amazing the 4 is amazing great shoe I put some serious miles and vertical gain in this shoe in 2018 it's a great shoe great shoe but this guy it's got some good updates now if you are looking to pinch pennies yeah go with the 4 go with the 4 in fact I think I even saw this guy for like 80 bucks just got a look in the right places so anyway that's my thought on price if you have the money I would say bump it up and just just bite the bullet and go with the 5 for so many different reasons but maybe most especially for that outsole pattern in geometry of the lugs and the depth it'll make a difference if you're in muddy snowy rocky conditions wherever you're running off trail it's just a bomber of a shoe and yes through that heel I was pretty skeptical Solomon pulling the shoes out of the box the heel looked a little too beefy a little too bulky but sure enough like it fee I feel very protected and yes it gives me confidence to bomb down the mountains it just does I don't know how to say it it just does and then the upper just soft more supple I don't know how they will improve it in the future this upper maybe they could start experimenting a little bit more with waterproofing that is not full-on Gore-Tex but just a little more because my feet did get soaked today so if I would have been going for like 15 to 20 miles I don't know like I in no fresh socks like I would have been a little cold out there so that anyway that might be a way to improve in the future Solomon thank you everyone for watching this comparison of the Solomon Speedcross 4 versus the Solomon Speedcross 5 I hope you learned something thanks for hitting that subscribe button and yes if you have trail running buddies that are looking for a solid aggressive 2019 trail running shoe send them this video let them know like listen if you are ready to attack the mountains this is the shoe for them all right you're amazing thanks for being there thanks for watching see beauty work hard