TreeLineBackpacker

Designed for moving fast and training in the mountains, the Pedroc PTX blends high high performance, high end construction, and features such as Kevlar reinforced eyelets, a Powertex waterproof membrane, and a grippy Pamoca sole. My review:

The Pedroc PTX is a fully synthetic design with materials carefully chosen and used strategically throughout the body. Starting where the shoes hit the soil, they’re built upon a grippy yet robust Pomoca (a Switzerland company known for their ski skins) Speed Hiker outsole with medium sized and carefully spaced lugs. The upper is constructed from a combination of rip-stop PE, ripstop mesh, and an integrated waterproof/breathable Powertex membrane. It features Kevlar reinforced eyelets, an embedded nylon pull tab on the heel, and and cushioning yet supportive MFF+ footbed. They weigh 345 grams for the pair, come in multiple colors, and offer a non-waterproof, highly breathable version as well. This version retails for $179.95.

What I liked

The prevailing thought whenever I hit the trail with the Pedrocs is always just how form fitting these shoes are. They perfectly wrap around my feet, the heals, toes, even the top of my foot with a precision that is extremely uncommon. The fit is truly excellent which translates into a shoe that locks in place and doesn’t move, which is ideal for any footwear that is built to move fast. This in itself brings forth a whole host of advantages, which I felt the need break down into their own categories below.

The trail responsiveness of these are fantastic. Thanks to the above fit and a relatively light weight, the Padrocs move exactly when my feet do, and never when they don’t. The heel is stiff and really locks into place, providing great stability for a low-cut shoe. Shuffling between or over rocks and roots if fast, agile and relatively effortless. I found that I was easily able to navigate angular rock structures while ducking under low limbs, even in uneven and slanted terrain with relative ease without having to slow down too much. Even rock scrambling feels predictable and instills a lot of confidence.

Traction is also quite good here. The medium sized lugs dig into soft dirt and mud fairly well, while really providing their best effort on hard pack dirt and rocks. Wet and damp surfaces typically lock on with confidence against the softer compound of the sole, making these perform well in wet weather as well. The only place that the shoes lose some performance is when slowing down and stopping downhill as they don’t have very distinct brake lugs on the rear. Still, performance in that aspect is still more than adequate with the shoes feeling overall very grippy and tacky, be that on dirt, stone, or tarmac.

While I mentioned fit above, I didn’t directly talk about comfort. Thankfully, these feel good on the foot as well. The materials wrap snugly around the feet but don’t feel constrictive or tight. The seams and joints of the shoe are all smooth and frictionless inside, while the footbed basically just gets out of the way while providing a small amount of cushioning. Repeated impacts over time are handled well, with my arches staying relatively pain free on longer trips. The laces feel really nice and cinch in tight and snug without stretching out when wet. This helps maintain agility and performance miles into the trail without having to adjust eventually, which a lot of shoes do not tolerate very well.

Build quality of the Padrocs are excellent. The fabrics are thick, rugged and well reinforced at all the seams. Details like the Kevlar reinforced lace eyelets, wrapped heel, and lack of seams around the outer big toe provide a lot of extra durability to areas that are typical fail points, providing additional reassurance for long trips. The laces are thin but stout, and the stitching all around is very clean and consistent, devoid of frays. I’ve not experienced any unexpected wear on the shoes and they break in relatively fast too. The tread is likely going to be the first point of wear as it is a softer material, which is great for grip, but even that feels like it will last several seasons and has shown little wear even against tarmac.

Waterproofing and breathability are both fine. My feet stayed relatively cool for a membrane based shoe and they have kept me dry while stepping through puddles, shallow water and while cutting through wet grass. Nothing standout but competent.

Visually I’m a big fan of the aesthetic here. The materials have a wide variety to them with smooth matte sections complimenting a semi-gloss sheen on the heel, punctuated by the soft, textured uppers that provide variety and interest, without looking gaudy or in your face. The single color pop on each lace adds a little excitement too. It’s a restrained, but sporty design that I’m all for.

What I didn’t like

The biggest con I’ve found with these is a strange “tongue” design. While well built, the tongue is essentially two flat layers of durable materials, sewn together at the end. While this looks clean and will hold up very well, it does create this angular piece of relatively stiff fabric that points directly into the fold of the ankle, where the foot meets the shin. With a decent thickness sock this is fine, but low, thin or no-show socks don’t play well here as it becomes a mild friction point. This would have been more comfortable if the seam was rolled down and sewn into a curve, instead of being a fin-like shape.

The form fitting design can create some pressure points on the toes and toenails with very long downhill descents, but nothing too bothersome. Those with very wide feet may find them too snug around the toe box and they don’t appear to have a wide variant.

While the waterproof membrane does breath, it can still get warm on days that exceed 85 F (about 30 C). I found that even on mild days I would build up perspiration inside, but they do dry quickly once taken off to air out.

Other thoughts

Being a shoe built for speed, it doesn’t support heavy pack loads very comfortably and this is expected. I found it best to keep my pack weight under 15 pounds to avoid negating the benefits of the shoe, as heftier weights aren’t well supported by the footbed or low ankles of the design. They could be used for backpacking, but I wouldn’t recommend it necessarily. Not a con, just a note.

While these are fast shoes, I don’t quite recommend them for running. They’re too stiff and don’t provide the impact absorption for that purpose in my opinion. Can it be done? Sure. But it wouldn’t be my recommendation.

Overall

The Padroc by Salewa are fascinating shoes. They’re fast, nimble, and lock to the terrain better than almost any footwear I’ve ever tested. The snug, form fitting design provides excellent responsiveness, which makes it great for negotiating tricky, angular rock structures, root laden climbs, smooth dirt paths and tarmac alike with little issue. The narrow toe box can be a slight sore spot on long steep descents and the pointy tongue is an odd design choice, but otherwise they’re exceptional footwear suited for lightweight hiking, fast hiking, and casual use as well. They’re built to last, feel great to wear, and look extremely nice on top of it. For their purpose, they’re easy to recommend.

Highly Recommended

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