Altra Olympus 6 Evaluate – iRunFar

Get married. Have a child. Transfer to the suburbs. Begin working loads of miles within the Altra Olympus 6 ($175).

Whereas tongue in cheek, this sequence will sound acquainted to many people as we hit peak adultness. A few of us get slightly heavier, slightly slower, and slightly extra involved with consolation. After many days in numerous terrain, the Altra Olympus 6 is a cruise-y shoe in your mid-life period.

I prefer to run quick (or at the very least strive exhausting); I do monitor exercises, races, and intervals. I’ve reviewed numerous short-distance, light-weight racing sneakers for iRunFar, so this shoe is an enormous detour in my rotation, however one I’ve come to actually take pleasure in, significantly on lengthy and rambling mountain runs with my higher half.

I can not persuade myself to squeeze my foot into sneakers just like the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 or the Brooks Catamount Agil, until I’m searching for excessive efficiency in races or for exercises.

When the order of the day is lengthy and gradual (and never very technical), I now attain for the pontoon-like bulldozers which might be the Olympus 6. This shoe packs creature comforts, whether or not it’s the “Achilles pillow” on the heel, the claimed 33 millimeters of comfortable foam, or the toebox that’s accommodating even together with your thickest run or hike socks. In trade for that consolation, the Olympus 6’s precise weight is a not gentle 12.5 ounces (354 grams) for a U.S. males’s 9, whereas sustaining Altra’s normal zero-drop platform.

My historical past with Altra over the previous couple of years has been extraordinarily restricted because of the truth that, particularly with at this time’s sneakers, I really like a rockered form, carbon plates, large stack, and many heel-to-toe drop. Towards these qualities, Altra can really feel extraordinarily flat and uninspiring. I used to be very stunned to seek out that the Olympus 6 can be my gateway again to the model after a really lengthy absence.

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Altra Olympus 6 Higher

Altra has by no means had an aesthetics drawback. Regardless of the precise efficiency not being favorable for my explicit type of working, I’ve all the time actually preferred the way in which they give the impression of being. If you add a gorgeous aesthetic to a mega-cushioned and heavy shoe, you get an surprising enhance of enthusiasm for utilizing them, and the Altra Olympus 6 doesn’t disappoint. It has a really trendy look with its carved and contoured shapes across the medial and lateral sections of froth.

From the Altra Olympus 5 to the Olympus 6, you get extra breathability via the tongue part and the toe, however that’s about it. This shoe, with its bulldozer demeanor, is all concerning the overlays. There are beefy textured overlays on high of easy overlays (underlays?) on both facet of the forefoot, all the way in which as much as the basic Altra toe cap (with a Vibram emblem stamp).

These overlays will assist preserve the integrity of the higher as a result of they’re in most, however not all, of the excessive impression areas. Altra ought to have added an overlay on the fore to the midfoot space on the medial facet, since this space of mesh is unprotected. There is no such thing as a deterioration there but, but it surely appears more likely to happen as a single swipe from some talus or different sharp rock might shred it.

The shoelaces are a few of the beefiest I’ve ever seen. They’re extra more likely to remind you of leather-based mountain climbing boots from the Nineteen Seventies than a path working shoe in 2024. A extra light-weight or streamlined set of laces would make this a way more svelte-looking and feeling shoe bundle.

Altra’s trademark Achilles pillow is a pleasant add for additional cushioning within the heel; it additionally has the good thing about lessening the overall gaps across the collar to forestall particles from coming into. The Achilles heel pillow is connected to some of the huge pull tabs I’ve ever seen on a working shoe; it’s simply one other indication of this shoe’s “extra is extra” philosophy.

Altra Olympus 6 Midsole

The Altra Olympus 6 doesn’t use proprietary or branded midsole foam from Altra (i.e., Ego Max); it makes use of compression-molded EVA, just like what was used within the Altra Olympus 4.

My historic main gripe about zero-drop sneakers is the dearth of roll via the stride, feeling extra like my ft are simply slapping on the floor. (This sensation has adopted me all the way in which to different trendy Altral modesl, like the brand new Altra Timp 5, which I examined within the spring). As a really comfortable shoe, possibly my expectations have been inherently altered, however I discover this midsole compound to be the easiest I’ve used from Altra in a very long time.

There are 33 millimeters of stack, so it’s a pleasant huge chunk of froth underfoot, however there’s palpably extra pop and spring when rolling alongside, whether or not on flat or uphill terrain. However this does come at a price. The place the aforementioned race sneakers from Salomon and Brooks are sensational downhilling sneakers, the Olympus doesn’t declare to be, neither is it.

Exact foot placement is simply not a factor right here. It’s extra like, decide a line after which smush–and–smash no matter’s beneath. Touchdown on awkward surfaces could be nearly immediately nullified as the large contact patch of the outsole grabs on the floor and the midsole simply smooths it proper out.

Altra Olympus 6 Outsole

The Vibram Megagrip outsole acts as a little bit of a governor for the Altra Olympus 6. It’s a extremely succesful and versatile outsole, however its lack of aggression will stop you from placing this shoe in locations it doesn’t belong, similar to in deep mud or up and down fells.

The outsole sample is in a largely unchanged configuration from earlier variations within the Olympus lineup. I’ve used the shoe in scree and in tight areas on ascents of some San Juan Mountains 14ers in Colorado; there was mud, creek crossings, and simply extremely dry and free grime and this outsole stands as much as all of it.

Altra’s common outsole sample, the place lugs line the silhouette of your foot’s sole, is in place right here and this strategic sample actually helps from catching errant zingers from touchdown wrongly.

A big drainage port from the midfoot to heel helps stop mud buildup. One thing I appreciated after amassing a reasonably sizable quantity of mud elsewhere through the 14ers runs.

Altra Olympus 6 General Impressions

Although I could have entered (or I’m at the very least toeing) a slowed-down period of my working, the Altra Olympus 6 has been a really comfortable entry into this world.

The expectations are clear: it is a max cushioned, max consolation, and max mileage shoe for path runners and hikers, however additionally it is one way or the other probably the most enjoyable Altra shoe I’ve examined in years. There are few rivals for a shoe with this DNA and it’s no marvel that this has change into a franchise in Altra’s path lineup.

The New Stability Extra Path V3 and Hoka Stinson 7 are among the many closest present challengers within the ultrarunning “tank” class, however not like these sneakers, the wide-footed amongst us will discover a lot consolation and room to breathe with the Olympus 6.

With wider than common ft and bunions, years of cramming my ft into light-weight and slender path trainers makes the Olympus 6 a protracted, full-bellied breath of recent air for path working on lengthy and straightforward days.

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Name for Feedback

• Have you ever tried the Altra Olympus 6? What are your ideas on it?
• How does this shoe evaluate to earlier variations of the Olympus for you?

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