Salewa Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX review

The Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX is worth your attention if:

• you want a flagship hiking and trekking boot with the brand's best technologies
• you need a boot for technical terrain and complex landscapes
• you nave narrow feet or prefer snug-fitting boots (lace-to-toe closure + fit-adjusting footbed)
• you like it when the boot collar flexes on descents

Despite its excellent performance, the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX can be too heavy on one's wallet. Gladly, Salewa offers more affordable boots with a very similar design and features - the Mountain Trainer Lite GTX and the Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX. Both boots are a few ounces lighter as well!

The Mountain Trainer is an advanced and specialised type of boot which can be an overkill for the average hiker who sticks to the less demanding trails. In this case, a positively acclaimed day hiking boot is more appropriate.

We experienced a fine balance of impact protection and ground feel when testing the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX in the great outdoors.

That's why a heel stack of 36.3 mm came in as expected. It is a typical platform thickness for most hiking boots.

The forefoot stack also showed a standard caliper reading of 21.2 mm which is on par with the category average. It muted out the roots, rocks, and other sharp obstacles without compromising a sense of connectedness to the trail.

Having cut the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX in half, we saw a pretty steep heel-to-toe slope in its midsole. According to the brand specs, it is supposed to be 12 mm but our stack measurements showed that the offset is even steeper than that at 15.1 mm!

It should be noted, however, that the two drops feel similar on foot and help to elevate the heel slightly above the toes. This position is more optimal for hiking where the heel strikes the ground first and needs better impact protection, especially under heavy load.

The higher drop also helps to take the pressure off the foot and the Achilles tendon and shifts it up to the knees and hips.

The Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX features a dual-density PU midsole where the primary (top) foam is softer and the secondary (bottom) one is firmer. That way you get some underfoot compression for comfort and cushioning without losing stability on steep and uneven terrain.

But please note that by softness, we don't mean that the boot is as plush as a running shoe. It is VERY far from that. The best way to describe the two foams of this Salewa boot is "super firm" and "not so firm." Pressing our durometer against the "softer" material showed 36.5 HA which is in fact 30% firmer than the average hiking boot midsole!

However, we can't complain because the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX is designed to keep us stable on technical and rock-heavy terrain and we would be surprised if its cushioning was plush.

The boot's firmer foam is thinner and runs beneath the softer compound cradling it from the bottom. With a durometer reading of 47.5 HA, it is 30% firmer than the primary foam.

Even though the boot's midsole is not very forgiving as is, we found that it gets even harder in low temperatures. To be specific, it got 24% firmer after 20 minutes in the freezer whereas most boots show a less drastic change in softness.

The boot's insole is not very generously padded either. Our calliper showed a below-average thickness of 4.3 mm in the heel.

Right from the start, the Salewa Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX created a pretty snug fit around our foot. Its thick suede upper and full-length rubber rand definitely contribute to the close-fitting experience. But is it a narrow boot per se? We poured a gel mould of its toebox to find out.

Measuring the widest part of the replica, we sighed with relief because at 92.1 it is only a tad bit narrower than average yet still within the D medium range.

But if you are a hiker with narrower feet or someone who loves that climbing-like fit for scrambling, you can make the fit of this boot even tighter. This can be achieved by cinching down the boot's Climbing Lacing (aka lace-to-toe closure) or by adjusting its Multi Fit Footbed+.

Some Salewa boots come with two interchangeable footbeds:

• a half-length one for a medium fit
• a full-length one for a narrower fit

The boot's toebox also has some tapering to it but as our gel mold measurement shows, it's not much pointier than the average! With a width of 68.9 mm near the big toe, it is nearly on par with the average. 

The protective rubber rand had a minor effect on the boot's vertical space, eating ony about a milimeter of toebox height. But at 26.0 mm, it is not too shallow to cause concerns.

Stability is this Salewa boot's second name!

The side-to-side containment and platform steadiness of the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX are nothing short of phenomenal. They made us feel 100% ready for high-mileage trekking objectives on challenging terrain including some serious mud and steep scree slopes.

Twisting the boot proved to be impossible in our manual test. All the sturdy midsole and upper components of the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid generate so much torsional rigidity that ankle rolls and foot buckilng feel impossible, even with a heavy load behind the back.

Thus, the boot earned an instant 5/5 score for being one of the stiffest in our catalogue.

The boot's heel counter feels very sturdy as well. This is in part thanks to the 3F system in which a steel cable runs around the rearfoot and connects to the eyelets on top of the ankle.

As a result, the base of the boot's heel counter proved to be completely unpliable earning a high stiffness score of 4.

We took one point away from stiffness because of the boot's Flex Collar design. The latter features pliable padding which allows for controlled ankle mobility during descents. In this case, stiffness can do more harm than good so having a little added flexibility is nice.

The Salewa Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX is meant for complex landscapes where precise footing is essential. That's why it creates stability without relying on a very wide platform.

In fact, its midsole is notably narrower than average showing only 105.0 mm in the widest part of the forefoot.

The boot's heel also turned out to be significantly narrower than average at 78.2 mm (almost a centimetre narrower!) And yet, we never felt as if its shape compromised stability.

Leave them chunky boots to hard-packed and maintained trails.

As expected, the flexibility of this Salewa boot is practicaly non-existentl. Bending it to a 30-degree angle in our controlled stiffness test, the shoe flexing machine showed that it required as much as 56.2N to get there.

It is a very rigid, high-performance mountain boot which also proved to be stiffer than the other Salewa boots we've tested. Compared to other robust backpacking boots, the Mountain Trainer 2 is only second to the Salomon Quest 4 GTX (65.7N).

If you intend to wear the Salewa Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX in frigid weather, you can expect it to feel even stiffer.

Having kept the boot in the freezer for 20 minutes, we repeated the force gauge measurement and it showed a notably higher reading of 64.8N. In other words, 29% stiffer compared to the room temperature flexibility!

According to Salewa's product specs, the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX weighs 21.2 oz (600g) per boot in a men's US size 8 (equivalent to US size 9). However, our lab scale showed that it's markedly heavier at 22.8 oz (645g).

But despite the heft, it actually stacks up competitvely against similar boots with thick suede uppers, full-length rubber rands, and other reinforcements.

However, if you are someone who tries to squeeze out the most use per gramme, you may want to consider the boot's lighter counterparts - the Mountain Trainer Lite Mid GTX (19.5 oz/553g) or the Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX (19.2 oz/543g). They shave off some of the Mountain Trainer's materials and features to keep the weight down but don't make any major compromises.

Our lab tests confirmed that the Salewa Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX is a 100% waterproof and airtight boot that doesn't offer much ventilation. In fact, we gave it the lowest possible breathability score of 1.

All of the boot's seams are sealed and the gaps are tightly closed. As our smoke-pumping test shows, not even a tiny little streak of vapour is able to pass through.

The boot's thick suede is complemented by an incredibly tightly woven textile that leaves no chance to the airflow.

On the other side of the coin, the boot's breathability translates into a highly effective waterproofing.

The Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX features a Gore-Tex Performance Comfort membrane which is the type of GTX that also packs moderate insulation. This makes the boot better equipped for unpredicatble weather changes and temperature drops.

What's more, this Salewa boot also has a fairly high flood level and is ready for a wide variety of scenarios - wet underbrush, streams, puddles, bogs, snow patches, and even torrential rains.

Not every hiking boot can take our Dremel test and come out unscathed but the Mountain Trainer is up for the challenge. Its 1.6 mm thick suede upper and a 360-degree rubber rand didn't seem to be bothered by sandpaper at all!

The boot's upper took all the abuse without any serious signs of wear and earned the highest possible score for toebox durability - 5/5.

We are confident in this boot's ability to withstand slashes and scraped from rocky riges and sharp vegetation.

Considering the boot's price point, we are glad that the brand didn't negate the quality of its inner lining.

The fabric on the inner side of the heel collar showed excellent abrasion resistance to a 4-second sandpaper exposure. Because the scuffing was very minor, we rated the boot's heel padding durability with a high score of 4/5.

Why do we care about this seeminly minor aspect of the boot? Because the strength of the inner lining is proportional to the longevity of its waterproofing. The absense of holes and tears inside the boot also lowers the risk of hot spots and blisters.

The Vibram outsole of this Salewa boot did not disappoint either! As a high-grade trekking boot, it managed to meet our already high expectations.

Before anything else, the boot's rubber blend proved to be rather hard with a high durometer reading of 88.0 HC. This is a good start because abrasion-prone soft rubber is no good for technical terrain.

However, the real durability test did not begin until we touched the boot's outsole with sandpaper. Having ramped up the speed to 10K RPM, we drilled one of the lugs for 18 seconds and measured the dent it created.

At only 0.7 mm, the dent turned out to be slightly shallower than the average and on par with the other robust hiking boots we've tested.

Thus, we expect a lot of life from this Vibram compound.

We were surprised to find that the outsole thickness of the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX showed only 2.2 mm (lugs excluded). But considering the sturdiness of that rubber, Salewa can afford to shave off a few milimeters to keep the boot's weight under control.

As Salewa's most advanced hiking and trekking boot, the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX features one of the most aggressive Vibram outsoles - the WTC 2. Our calliper measured its lug depth at 5.6 mm which is deeper than the average by more than a milimeter.

It is a truly all-terrain type of treading which shows equally strong grip on muddy bog-like stretches, creek beds, wet sand, and loose scree.

As Salewa's most advanced alpine hiking and trekking boot, the Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX is the most expensive one too. Considering its high-quality suede, premium GTX waterproofing with some insulation, and many other technical features, we believe that its price point is justified.

In fact, it is even a bit cheaper than some of the other high-grade backpacking boots we tested!

And the boots which are priced below the Mountain Trainer typically comes with some sort of a trade-off, be it in durability, grip, or quality of materials.

No reflective elements to be found on this Salewa boot.

The Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX packs just enough collar and tongue padding to keep the wearer comfortable. We measured its tongue thickness at 10.7 mm which is in line with the hiking boot average.

A fully-gusseted tongue keeps the boot's interiors free from water, debris, and sand while raising the flood level to the max.

The boot's finger loop may be oddly-shaped but it gets the job done and doesn't snap so easily. It is attached to the stiffer suede parts of the upper because the collar is plaiable at the back.

The Multi Fit Footbed+ insole of this Salewa boot is removable and can be used to adjust the fit as needed.