Salomon X Ultra 5 GORE-TEX vs Topo Athletic Traverse
Weight and specs compared for 2026 — and which one to choose.
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Same kind of shoe, so weight is a fair tiebreaker.
Both are low hiking shoes. The Topo Athletic Traverse is 160 g a pair lighter than the Salomon X Ultra 5 GORE-TEX.
What the extra 160 g of the Salomon X Ultra 5 GORE-TEX buys you
- A waterproof membrane (GORE-TEX), so wet grass, puddles and rain stay outside.
What the Topo Athletic Traverse offers besides the lower weight
- No membrane, so it breathes better in the heat and dries faster after a stream crossing.
Weights are per pair as Alpinetrek lists them, usually for a medium size, so a few grams either way can come from the size they weighed. The other specs were checked on 19 October 2026 against Alpinetrek (Salomon X Ultra 5 GORE-TEX) and Alpinetrek (Topo Athletic Traverse). "Not stated" means the source does not mention it, not that the shoe lacks it. List prices are the full price shown by that source, not a sale price; where sources disagree we show none.
Choose the Salomon X Ultra 5 GORE-TEX if…
…you want a sturdier sole and more protection than a trail runner for day hikes and lighter backpacking, without the weight of a boot.
Choose the Topo Athletic Traverse if…
…you want a sturdier sole and more protection than a trail runner for day hikes and lighter backpacking, without the weight of a boot.
Building a pack? Add either one to your HikeLoad list, or drop its weight into the base weight calculator, and see what it does to your total weight.
See where both rank against everything else in this category on the lightest footwear page, or browse the full gear weight database.