Salomon XT-6 GORE-TEX 'Black / Flame / Scarlet' (L47974900) — Waterproof Trail Silhouette, Guaranteed Weather Protection

What Is the Salomon XT-6 GORE-TEX ‘Black / Flame / Scarlet’?

The Salomon XT-6 GORE-TEX ‘Black / Flame / Scarlet’ (Style Code: L47974900) is the weatherproof version of one of trail running’s most recognisable silhouettes — the Salomon XT-6 built with an integrated GORE-TEX membrane that delivers guaranteed waterproof, windproof, and breathable protection in the same shoe that carries the XT-6’s full trail technical specification. Where the standard XT-6 is built for terrain, the XT-6 GORE-TEX is built for terrain regardless of what the weather is doing to it. The Contagrip® outsole, Sensifit™ upper construction, and Quicklace™ closure are retained without modification; what is added is the GORE-TEX membrane between the upper and the foot — the layer that keeps water out while allowing the moisture from exertion to escape. Black / Flame / Scarlet is the three-colour palette that places the XT-6 GORE-TEX in its most aggressive visual register: deep black as the structural ground, Flame orange-red at the Sensifit™ overlays, and Scarlet — the deeper, less orange red of crimson-adjacent tones — at the accent elements that separate the two dominant colours. The result is a shoe whose colour reads as combustion: not the suggestion of fire, but fire’s actual colour range applied to a shoe built for the conditions where fire is what you want to feel. At $159, the XT-6 GORE-TEX is $15 below the MM6 × Salomon XT-6 ($174) and pays that difference in GORE-TEX technology rather than MM6’s design intervention: the same base platform, one optimised for weather, one for concept. US M4–M11 / W5–W12 / EU 36–45.

Quick Facts

• Brand: Salomon (Annecy, France — est. 1947)
• Model: XT-6 GORE-TEX — weatherproof trail silhouette with guaranteed waterproof membrane
• Style Code: L47974900
• Colorway: Black / Flame / Scarlet — black structural base + Flame orange-red Sensifit™ overlays + Scarlet accent separation
• GORE-TEX: Integrated membrane — guaranteed waterproof, windproof, breathable; not weather-resistant coating
• Midsole: EnergyCell+ — Salomon’s responsive foam compound for all-terrain cushioning
• Outsole: Contagrip® — multidirectional lugs; grip on wet and dry surfaces
• Upper: Engineered mesh with GORE-TEX membrane and welded Sensifit™ overlays
• Closure: Quicklace™ — one-pull trail lacing
• Gender: Men’s / Unisex sizing
• Sizing: US M4–M11 / W5–W12 / EU 36–45
• Price: $159
• Category: Trail Running / Waterproof / All-Weather

Specs

GORE-TEX — What Guaranteed Waterproof Actually Means

GORE-TEX is not a water-resistant coating. The distinction matters: water-resistant coatings — DWR (durable water repellent) treatments applied to the outer fabric surface — cause water to bead and roll off a dry outer fabric, but they do not form a waterproof barrier. A DWR coating loses effectiveness as the outer fabric wets out (becomes saturated), and it provides no protection once water pressure overcomes surface tension. DWR treatments are described as ‘water resistant’ for a reason: they resist water under limited conditions, they do not exclude it.

The GORE-TEX membrane is a different technology. It is a layer of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) — a fluoropolymer that, when expanded in a specific process developed by W.L. Gore & Associates, develops a microporous structure with approximately 9 billion pores per square inch. Each pore is approximately 20,000 times smaller than a water droplet (which prevents liquid water from passing through under any normal-use pressure) and approximately 700 times larger than a water vapour molecule (which allows the moisture from exertion — in vapour form — to escape outward). The result is a membrane that is simultaneously impermeable to liquid water and permeable to water vapour: waterproof and breathable, in the same layer, by the physical geometry of the membrane’s pores rather than by a chemical treatment that degrades with use.

GORE-TEX’s guaranteed waterproof designation is a specific claim: Gore warrants that products carrying the GORE-TEX label will keep the wearer dry under normal use conditions. This is not a marketing claim; it is a product guarantee backed by Gore’s testing standards and their standing offer to repair or replace any product that fails to keep the wearer dry in normal use. In the context of the XT-6 GORE-TEX, ‘guaranteed waterproof’ means: rain, puddles, wet trail, stream crossings at shallow depth — conditions where the membrane is in contact with liquid water under normal activity pressure — will not result in wet feet.

EnergyCell+ Midsole — Salomon’s Responsive Cushioning

EnergyCell+ is Salomon’s foam midsole compound, engineered for the specific demands of trail running and all-terrain use. Where conventional EVA foam (the most common midsole material in running footwear) is selected primarily for its cushioning and durability properties, EnergyCell+ is formulated for a higher energy return coefficient — more of the impact energy from each foot strike is returned as rebound rather than dissipated as heat in the foam. The result is a midsole that feels responsive and springy rather than simply soft: it cushions the impact but also participates in the push-off, returning energy to the stride rather than absorbing it. For trail use, where the terrain variation requires the foot to adapt constantly and the midsole must respond correctly across heel strikes, midfoot strikes, and forefoot contact patterns, EnergyCell+’s responsiveness across the full foot is a functional advantage over less dynamic foam compounds.

XT-6 GORE-TEX vs. Standard XT-6 — What the Membrane Adds and What It Costs

The GORE-TEX membrane is an additional layer between the XT-6’s outer mesh upper and the shoe’s interior. Adding any layer to a shoe’s upper construction has two effects that must be managed: it adds weight (the membrane itself is thin and light, but the bootie construction required to seal it adds material), and it affects the upper’s breathability in conditions where waterproofing is not needed. A GORE-TEX membrane allows moisture vapour to escape — which means it breathes — but it breathes less efficiently than a bare mesh upper with no membrane. On a warm day on a dry trail, the standard XT-6’s mesh upper will feel more breathable than the GORE-TEX version, because the open mesh can exchange air and moisture more freely than a membrane-blocked construction. The XT-6 GORE-TEX is the correct choice when wet conditions are expected or likely — rain, wet trail, standing water, morning dew on vegetation — and the standard XT-6 is the correct choice when dry breathability matters more than wet protection. Neither is universally better; they are optimised for different weather conditions.

XT-6 GORE-TEX vs. MM6 × Salomon XT-6 — Same Platform, Different Purpose

Decision rule: wet weather and trail conditions — XT-6 GORE-TEX. Conceptual design and MM6 Margiela provenance — MM6 × Salomon XT-6. Both carry the XT-6’s Contagrip® outsole, Sensifit™ upper structure, and Quicklace™ closure.

Black / Flame / Scarlet — The Full Spectrum of Combustion

Fire does not have one colour. The colour of a flame varies with the temperature of combustion and the material being burned: lower-temperature combustion produces orange-red; higher-temperature combustion produces yellow-white; the coolest outer edges of a flame, where fuel-rich combustion is incomplete, produce the deepest reds. The three colours of this XT-6 GORE-TEX map directly onto this combustion spectrum.

Black is the absence of fire: the deep ground from which combustion emerges, the colour of the unburned material before the flame reaches it, the darkness that makes the colours of fire visible by contrast. On the XT-6, black is the dominant base — the structural ground of the upper and midsole that makes Flame and Scarlet legible against it.

Flame is the colour of mid-temperature combustion — the orange-red of a wood fire at its most active, the colour of a flame between the red base and the yellow tip. Flame is a warm colour in the orange family with a red shift: not quite orange (which is too even, too settled), but orange pulled toward red by the heat that produces it. On the XT-6, Flame occupies the Sensifit™ overlays — the structural elements that are the largest colour field above the black base, the colour that the eye reaches first when it looks at the shoe.

Scarlet is the colour of high-saturation red without orange shift — a pure red at maximum chroma, the red of the spectrum at approximately 620–625 nanometres wavelength. Where Flame is red pulled toward orange (the warm end of red), Scarlet is red at its purest before it approaches orange or crimson. On the XT-6, Scarlet appears at the accent elements that separate and define the boundary between black and Flame: the colour that is neither the ground nor the primary overlay, but the precise articulation between them. Together, the three colours produce a palette that reads as fire without being a literal illustration of it — the actual colour range of combustion, distributed across a shoe’s technical architecture in the proportions that make the shoe look like it is built for the conditions that palette describes.

Sizing — Men’s / Women’s / EU Conversion Table

The Salomon XT-6 GORE-TEX is sold in men’s / unisex sizing. Women typically size down approximately 1.5 sizes from their women’s US size (e.g., women’s US 7 → men’s US 5.5 / EU 38). The GORE-TEX bootie construction is slightly more snug than a standard mesh upper; true to size for most wearers, but half-size up if you prefer more room or wear thick socks for trail use.

Who Is the Salomon XT-6 GORE-TEX ‘Black / Flame / Scarlet’ For?

Three profiles: the all-weather trail runner who needs the XT-6’s full Contagrip® / Sensifit™ / Quicklace™ trail specification in a shoe that does not require checking the forecast before going out — the GORE-TEX membrane’s guaranteed waterproof protection means rain, puddles, wet trail, and morning-dew vegetation are no longer conditions that change the shoe choice, at $159 as the functional weather-optimised XT-6 specification; the wet-condition urban and trail wearer who wants the XT-6’s iconic silhouette and trail aesthetic in a shoe that handles the daily wet conditions of city streets, autumn commutes, and variable weather without the trade-off of wet feet — GORE-TEX’s breathability means the membrane is not simply a waterproof layer that traps moisture but a system that actively moves vapour outward while blocking liquid water inward; and the Black / Flame / Scarlet palette buyer who wants today’s most aggressive colour statement in the XT-6 family — the full combustion spectrum from structural black through Flame orange-red to Scarlet pure red, three colours that map directly onto fire’s actual colour range and produce a palette that reads as intensity without decoration, on a shoe built for the conditions where intensity is exactly right.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the style code?
A: L47974900.

Q: What is the difference between GORE-TEX and water-resistant?
A: Fundamental difference in technology. Water-resistant (DWR coating): causes water to bead on the outer fabric surface; loses effectiveness as fabric wets out; does not form a waterproof barrier under pressure. GORE-TEX membrane: an ePTFE microporous layer with pores 20,000× smaller than a water droplet (water cannot enter) and 700× larger than a water vapour molecule (moisture from exertion can exit). GORE-TEX is guaranteed waterproof. Water-resistant is not.

Q: Is the XT-6 GORE-TEX good for summer use?
A: Good for wet summer conditions — rain, wet trails, morning dew. On dry warm days, the standard XT-6 (without GORE-TEX) will feel more breathable, because the mesh upper exchanges air and moisture more freely than a membrane-blocked construction. The GORE-TEX membrane breathes, but a bare mesh breathes more. Choose the GORE-TEX version when wet conditions are expected; choose the standard XT-6 for dry-weather maximum breathability.

Q: What is EnergyCell+?
A: Salomon’s responsive foam midsole compound — formulated for higher energy return than standard EVA foam. More of the impact energy from each foot strike is returned as rebound rather than dissipated as heat, producing a midsole that feels responsive across trail terrain rather than simply soft.

Q: How does the XT-6 GORE-TEX compare to the MM6 × Salomon XT-6?
A: Same base XT-6 platform; different purpose and different $15 premium source. XT-6 GORE-TEX ($159): weather protection via GORE-TEX membrane, EnergyCell+ midsole, functional Salomon colorway. MM6 × Salomon XT-6 ($174): MM6 Maison Margiela design intervention, OrthoLite® + EVA midsole, no GORE-TEX. Both have Contagrip® outsole, Sensifit™ upper structure, and Quicklace™ closure.

Q: What does ‘guaranteed waterproof’ mean exactly?
A: Gore warrants that GORE-TEX products will keep the wearer dry under normal use conditions — rain, puddles, wet trail, shallow stream crossings. This is a product guarantee backed by Gore’s testing standards and their offer to repair or replace any product that fails under normal use. It is not a marketing claim.

Q: How does women’s sizing work?
A: Women size down approximately 1.5 sizes from their women’s US size (e.g., women’s US 7 → men’s US 5.5 / EU 38). The GORE-TEX bootie construction is slightly more snug than a standard mesh upper; half-size up if between sizes or if you wear thick trail socks.