Altra Olympus 4 Trail Running Shoes

Product Information

Footshape: Making shoes that actually fit the anatomical shape of a human foot is what Altra is all about. His work is regularly featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC and the likes as well as peer-reviewed journals. If you’ve written off Altra shoes due to a history of heel slippage, or stayed away from them out of concern for your ankles, I’d implore you to revisit models with their reworked heel collars, which now include the Olympus 5 and Timp 4. That’s the same general design they’ve been using for a few years, but this version’s minor changes shine through. As with most maximal shoes, the Olympus has some limitations because of its overall fit and stack height.

To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below.That first run had a bit of everything: mud, rocks, pavement, gravel, roots, standing water, and hills. The Olympus 5 is substantively a quiet repackaging of its predecessor into a sleeker looking silhouette, much in the way wearing vertical stripes is said to be slimming, or maybe a more germane example, donning split-shorts with the highest inseam is said to make you run faster. g seems to be the upper limit a shoe can support while still managing to feel runnable; an ounce more and I fear most of my outings in the Olympus 5 would be slowed to a walk. Fans of the model who’ve come to past iterations seeking an accommodating fit and a towering stack height won’t be disappointed by what many consider the Olympus 5’s nominal updates. Personally I like the wide toebox of the Olympus, and my style of running tends to favor the less technical terrain, but I can definitely see why the Speedgoat is a trail favorite.

Heel drop is the measurement in mm of the difference between the height of the heel and the toe of the sole. Despite the brand's statement that all of its shoes have a 0-mm drop, the Olympus 5 comes with a 2-mm heel-to-toe differential, based on our measurements: 33 mm (heel) - 31 mm (forefoot) = 2 mm.Generally speaking, I favor models with broader lasts, soft midsoles that allow for sensitive ground feel, and low to neutral heel-to-toe drops; shoes that check these boxes tend to work well for my slightly wide, high-volume feet.

While trail runners will never be as protective as a pair of burly boots, the Olympus 4’s did a great job of shielding my feet against bangs and bruises. Grip: I have no doubt about it, the Vibram Megagrip is grippier than Altra’s house brand MaxTrac, which is found on their other trail shoes. While the varietous terrain was often frustrating, it provided a comprehensive, and suspiciously subjective, understanding of what these shoes can do. The shoe has held up well to everything I’ve thrown at it thus far, and save for some stubborn mud looks no worse for the wear.I kind of expect it from a max cushion shoe, but I was really hoping for a supremely secure fit like that found in the Altra Timp 2. is a workhorse of a trail shoe, though I’m not ready to say it’s my new go to for my time out on the trails. The extra room afforded by Altra’s Original last also became more advantageous the farther I ran, granting space for my feet to swell, but the gusseted tongue, restructured heel collar, and engineered mesh upper still guaranteed a more or less locked-down fit through the midfoot / hindfoot when I needed it. That’s mostly rhetorical and I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but it has a very smooth roll-through; maybe it’s just a combination of the Innerflex grooves in the outsole and that sweet, springy Abound.

Out of the box, I was a little surprised at how much shoe was actually there thanks to a 33 mm stack height. While I might get 700 miles out of a pair of shoes, a hiker weighing more than me may see significantly less before the tread wears flat and the cushioning packs out. With the added support, I never felt even a hint of heel slippage when running in the Olympus 5, something I’m sure goes a long way in preventing irritation in that area. Running in the Olympus 5 has been much like I imagine seeing the vestiges of an old friend in one of their grandchildren; its looks are younger, perhaps more stylish, but its spirit remains the same.

Altra will claim that their footwear is suitable for all foot types, and while that may be true to varying degrees, I’ve found that runners with narrow, high-volume feet struggle with many of their models. Its midsole material is similar to the Olympus 5, with a more robust outsole, and a much more dialed in fit, especially in the toebox.