How have the shoes soles held up?

I was really surprised to see this review and that Altra is offering these again unchanged from 5 years ago. I was looking at these really hard back when they were new the first time. Almost bought them, but then when I wanted to get them I couldn't find my size. I'm going to the Altra website to get a pair before they run out this time.

Good review, thanks. Is that rock plate removable? I’m also looking for something of a unicorn shoe, less minimalist than a Vivo Primus Trail but not as squishy as the Superior, which isn’t great in mud. The sole on the MT looks perfect but I’m not sold on that stiff mid foot. I’ve low volume feet so Freet don’t work for me as I can’t get them tight enough around the mid foot heel and ankle. My search continues!

I ordered them, believing they would provide a compromise between my Superior shoes and my Vivobarefoot Primus Trail shoes; however, your video suggests I was mistaken, as they are closer to the former and the Lone Peak. I am still searching for footwear that offers less cushioning than my Superior shoes (which are quite cushioned for minimalist running) but more cushioning than purely minimalist shoes. Thanks for the review!

Does it squeek? My escalante 3s squeek a lot, and it annoys me so much!

I am 42 on vivobarefoot. A 9 in Xero Shoes. My feet measure just about 26.3 cm . I chose to go with size 9.5 US for ESCALANTE 4 SW. Did I make the right choice? Ive been barefoot 2 yeard now. I use to spreaders.

i've been a barefoot runner since 2009. cushioned shoes were giving me shin splints. started out skin to concrete, then graduated to vibram fivefingers. my max back then was 3-5 miles. i was happy when i found merrell since they looked normal, but merrell's stack height kept growing, so i went back to just socks at the track. i'm noticing a lot of achilles and ankle fatigue now that i'm running 8-10 miles, so i'm thinking about trying these altras. i'd like to keep my foot strength, so i'm thinking of walking around in xero shoes, and running long distances in altras. we'll see how it goes. tried on altras today, and they felt super thick and weird.

Could you please stop using the microphone from the earbuds. the sound is really shrill. It is really hard to listen to.

Nice video! Can’t wait for your review of the Altra King MT2! 🙂

Thanks for the insole tip. Game changer. Coming from lone peaks the stiffness was the 1st thing i noticed and the snuggier fit which i did like. They feel more like a fitted glove. The mid sole is also a refreshing comfort.

I was considering it but read they made it narrower and longer than the superior 5 so idk if I should get it. I don't have the superior 5 either but I want a show that has enough space.

I don't run (at least not at the moment) and I just am looking for a zero drop shoe for walking dogs and casual wear. I prefer something thicker than typical minimalist shoes which are usually very thin. I have the Feelgrounds with cork insole at 8mm. it is fine but I want something thicker. idk if Escalante 4 and racer 2 are good options but they're on discount now so are they good options ? if so which one would be better ? difficult to decide (I'm aware of lems but where I live they're too expensive)

I had the opportunity to try both the Escalante 4 and the Escalante Racer 1 at a local shop a few weeks ago. One thing I noticed that is very important for some people is that the regular Escalante has some mid-sole arch support while the Racer is completely flat. I have fairly flat feet and noticed in the past that whenever I run in shoes with arch support, it feels uncomfortable and I get both knee pain and (sometimes) blisters where the arch support presses against my foot afterwards. Studies have shown that wearing arch support orthopedic inserts reduce foot muscle thickness significantly within just a few weeks. Running shoes with arch support likely have the same effect. For me, having started wearing barefoot shoes 12 years ago (Vivo barefoot casual shoes, Merrell Trail Glove 1, Merrell Vapor Glove 4 & 3 Luna Leather in this order), not exclusively but regularly enough to adapt a more natural running strike, I had been longing for shoes that were less rough on my feet for long runs than Merrell Vapor Glove, and more roomy and thicker than racing flats (which are difficult to find these days; I'm still hanging on to my Saucony Type A5) for faster, but not quite race effort runs. The Escalante Racer has been a good match for this so far. The tongue is not gusseted and tends to fold when you enter the shoe, yes, however it's usually fast enough to resolve within 5 seconds by pulling it out and wiggling it left and right slightly. On my Saucony Kilkenny XC9, which I bought for race days, the tongue is orders of magnitude more frustrating to deal with. (And they are not roomy in the toe box at all, which is bad for every day relaxed or long runs, but great for sprints and short races with many tight corners.) The name "Racer" is probably best understood as the shoe being for people with race experience or ambitions, but for workouts rather than actual races (except maybe half marathon and longer). Two small issues I have with it are: (1) while the inner side is super roomy for your big toe, the outer side does not leave any spare wiggle room for my smallest toe. I feel that they could have positioned the start of the taper even further out at the front. (2) the fairly dense, firm and bouncy foam does not leave much ground feel, and the bounciness in particular is something I have mixed feelings about. In the past, whenever I tried a shoe with bouncy foam, it's been rough on my knees. With fully barefoot shoes like Vapor Glove, or fully cushioned shoes like Asics Nimbus (still run with mid/forefoot strike), I never had knee pain). I think it's because the cushion of slow-rebound soles is similar to the natural softness of grass or mud, whereas the bounciness of fast-rebound soles is unlike anything you'd encounter in nature when running barefoot and doesn't help the body to absorb the impact forces with minimal damage to the joints. That being said, if the denseness and bounciness of the foam really helps with longevity, and even gets softer over time as you said, I can get behind it. I just know from the past that I had knee pain when running in Asics Novablast (bouncy foam) that I had never had when running in Asics Nimbus (cushion, slow rebound foam), so I'm a bit wary from that experience.

Two months later, any further thoughts?

Good morning! I admire this type of Altra tennis shoe because of the wide toe and the sole of the sports shoes, here in Brazil you can't find this type of tennis shoe. Is there a website that sells this model of tennis shoe, or similar, for Brazil?

Would these be good for 10k races?

Good review, one more thing is that their sizing is very weird. To me they feel much longer than Lone peaks. Next time I will size half size down when I buy them. They also run quite well on pavement. Good shoes! I have about 300k on mine

british people have the worst teeth in the world.

Wow , I better stop complaining about vibram five fingers v-run😂

This review is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

i'd be happy with 1000km. i don't understand their 5000 claim - think it's just how you sell shoes in america oh, see if you can get a pair of 'brant footwear' shoes. they look like these but claim to be super durable

Bought these after watching this review. I'm 150 miles into them. Pavement, trails, everything. It's a phenomenally comfortable shoe. My feet and legs have come on leaps and bounds. Actually feel strong now. Thanks for the review.

Just picked up a pair today! I mostly JumpRope. So I’ll update my views after a few jumps 😂 🕺 🎧 👟 ➰ Thanks!

I'm currently running with the Topo ST 5 which has a 14mm stack height. I know you don't like the Topo because of the excessive arch support. It doesn't bother me since I have high arches. Will I still get the foot strengthening benefits of a barefoot running shoe with the excessive arch support? I was planning on purchasing the Altra Escalante Racer 2 for my spring marathon and rotating it with the Topo ST 5. Do you think that would work out pretty well?

What's the range on these shoes before the rubber is gone? I have an old pair of La Sportiva's that have just about 1500 miles on them (if you can believe that), but every shoe I've purchased since them (especially Asics) seems to be down to the foam in under 300 miles. And all I'm doing is walking; none of my shoes are getting the beating of road runs.

I have heard certain weight lifters mention they had grip issues/slippage on bench press and leg press with the Tolos

I heard people had grip issues with this one on incline bench press and leg press machine with slipping

What shoes are known for durability?

These look great. But I need a wide toe box with a more narrow mid section and heel. Which trail running shoes might I look for in that case?

It’s funny I went to REI and I’m a 10 1/2 and they had an 11 and I heard other people saying they at the downside and the 11 really almost really fit me and maybe slightly big really strange. I’m now for me. I didn’t have any ground feel so I don’t know, but these were return so of course I can get them real cheap like $50 or something, but I’m gonna think about it for they just save it for the last stage of my hundred mile races or something and it might be fine. I got one coming up and I want to run my sandals, but I’m not in shape for that so I thought this will be easier, I’m confused about the sizing because like I said these are 11 and they actually fit almost normal but I talked to somebody and they said they downsize on those so it’s kind of confusing

I hate the racer 2 and the escalate 4, I was using the OG racer but can’t get them anymore, is this a good replacement to the OG racer?

The future is the same as the past. We don’t need the shoes

Superior and Escalante are where Altra shines the most

Enjoyed 👍

Spot on review. I've ran 400 miles in them and agree with everything you've said. As you predicted, my upper tore exactly where you said, around 350 miles, but the midsole is still good.I also have experience with the superior 4 and 5. Good job!

i have been running in the superior 5s and they worked for me when i removed the insole for the first 600-700 k and then put it back in and kept using them for another 300 ish km. the upper in the forefoot is super stretchy so i guess thats why they worked. the durability was horrible on the front part of the upper and it ripped open after only about 80k. i decided to retire them and get a pair of superior 6 but they dont work for me at all. its narrower and shallower and they kill my feet even with the insole removed. so bummed about that. only current altras that i have tried that work for me is escalante 4 and lone peak 8 but the lone peak feels narrower then my old superior 5. that was alot of rambling. =P

I have version 5. Its biggest fault, like many, is its ineffectiveness on greasy or wet stones. This shoe offers a good compromise between minimalism and maximalism.

Could not get this to work for me. Super stiff, narrow and shallow toe box. Somewhat better with a thinner insole but still not good. Version 4 was far superior (pun intended). I think trailfly speed from inov8 is a much better shoe in the same category.

Want to read the full review on the Altra Superior 6? -> barefootrunreview.com/altra-superior-6-review/ Want to support my work? Affiliate links are the way of doing this right now -> Altra US - fave.co/4dk807z -> Altra EU - fave.co/3zx2pNz

Pity that they are so narrow minded. are the escalante wider?

Is the wideness same as Altra lone peak 6?

is this one softer than the escalante 3? i have pruchased the escalante 3 but i'm thinking moving on to the racer 2 (around 20 € more expensive)

It's sad that I only dicovered your review after ordering the Lone Peak 8 via internet (you cannot buy them in a shop in The Netherlands). I ran on them today and felt they are too wide. I have what I believe you mean by "shallow"feet (narrow) and I felt a lot too much space in the shoes. These are my first trailrunning shoes. Next week I am ging to the Czech hills (quite hard and steep terrain with lot of rochks) to run on them, but now I'm afraid I made the wrong choice. Can't really sned them back now I tried them out. So I should heve got the "Superiors"? I normally run on Lunasandals or Vivibarefoot Primus LIte. Do you have an advice to make the best of the situation? Thicker toe-socks?

Hey there, would you recommend the Altra Timp 5 for hiking as well?

US9 corresponds to 27cm, so you only leave 0.5cm more than the length of the foot? Don't you have problems even on long distances?

Does the escalante 4 is original fit or slim fit? Im looking for the original fit. I have wore before the escalante 1 and the provision 4 and were great. But now i have a hard time with altras because my right foot the arch is lower than the left so they feel too tight in midfoot and unconfortable at the arch. I need advise to find and altra that resemble the altras that were before

I have the original Escalante Racer at 700+ km (used only on road). Except some tread wear and a bit softer, it looks like new.

Cool review! Just please consider lowering the noise cancellation. The lack of bsckground noise and isolation feels very robotic and inhumane. Thanks :D

Unfortunately, Vivobarefoot have very poor corporate ethics. For example, they promote the pseudoscience of 'earthing' or 'grounding'. When I wrote to them about it, their reply was basically that they don't care what the science says, it sells well to their customers. They're willing to lie about health and wellbeing (and physical reality) to make a few quid, so I just don't feel like I can trust them.

great shoes