2017 Salomon X-Drive 8.8 FS

Last season Salomon pulled off a bit of sleight of hand when it slipped in a layer of basalt, the most common mineral in the earth’s crust, in lieu of the Titanal (less common) laminate that the first year 8.8 deployed to improve high performance. Our test crew barely batted an eye, because the material that actually rules the energetic response of the X-Drive 8.8 is carbon, the key component in an X-shaped matrix of fibers that mellow out the ride longitudinally and stiffen it torsionally.