Are any of the Altra shoes even a little durable?

I don't own Altras but they seem to be pretty popular, especially on the PCT. I haven't heard of the durability problems you have. Anish did the FKT in Lone Peaks, and I doubt she was getting a new pair of shoes every FIVE days.

I got about 600 mi. out of a pair of red Lone Peaks last year on the PCT. The last 150 I had duct tape keeping my little toe from pushing out.The material seemed to shred on the creases pretty fast. I have an older pair(pre-red) of Lone Peaks that have about 500 mi. on them and still look great.Thank you Lint for sharing your lacing method.
Just got a pair of Black Lone Peaks.They're the only shoes I've found that give me ample toeroom.My 2 cents.

I have about 200 miles on a pair of Lone Peak 1.5s and they are doing well. I'm just into the wear markers on the soles. All lugs are still in place. The uppers are unscathed, with the exception of one scrape on the inside armor of my left. No de-lams, blown stitching, or mesh tears.

PM me in a month and I'll give you the 500 mile report.

You need to try on the Olympus. The foot bed as well as the sole/mid-sole is Very different from a Lone Peak, and probably their other models. Lots of rocker. Lots of metatarsal support. Very weird for the first 5 minutes, then great. But not for everybody, I'm sure.

Depending on your concerns versus costs, the Altra site sells with a "no questions asked, anytime, any amount of wear" guarantee. (Use it, don't Abuse it)

I have heard that there is zero traction with the LP's on wet rocks and roots, typically found on the east coast trails. For this reason I stuck with my Inov-8's.

However, other than the traction issues I have heard good things about them…

I found the traction on the Superiors to be terrible , I stopped wearing them .
Here is what Andrew Skurka said to me about his thoughts on Altras

Altra shoes, I was given pairs of the Superior and Lone Peak. I like the Superiors more, as the Lone Peak fit is clumsy. However, durability is awful on both models; underfoot protection is non-existent so they are unsuitable for long or technical runs or hikes; and the original Lone Peak has a badly placed strap that bruises the bony protrusion on the outside of the foot near the pinky.

“I found the traction on the Superiors to be terrible , I stopped wearing them .
Here is what Andrew Skurka said to me about his thoughts on Altras

“Altra shoes, I was given pairs of the Superior and Lone Peak. I like the Superiors more, as the Lone Peak fit is clumsy. However, durability is awful on both models; underfoot protection is non-existent so they are unsuitable for long or technical runs or hikes; and the original Lone Peak has a badly placed strap that bruises the bony protrusion on the outside of the foot near the pinky.”

Anna,
What year/version for the Superiors?

This was a conversation you had with Skurka?
How long ago?

Thanks.

Also, in case anyone missed it: Ryan Jordan’s Review

Altra Olympus for the win!!

The Olympus has taken the Ultra running world by storm – it has a massively huge following by many of the top winning ultra runners out there.

Probably the only shoe out there that will get me away from the Inov-8's that I have used for the last 5000+ miles.

The conversation with Andrew happened late summer early fall 2013

I wore the lone peak 1.5 on the PCT last year and got at least 500 a pair. In fact I thought the more they worn in the better, but eventually would die around 500-600.
I love the lone peaks but they are not perfect. They are the best shoes ever untill they are not. I want to see what the 2.0 versions will be like.

I got the Olympus in today. I have only tried them on. At first glance they are better than I thought. As a running shoe they are probably great but I have seen no feedback as a hiking shoe.

BTW it is critical for me to take the insole out any altra shoe I have owned. It make all the difference in the world.

I just bought a pair of Lone Peak 1.5. I liked the old version better but my pair doesn't have much life left in them.

I understand all the negatives but I don't see much choice. I have wide toes and the Altras are the only shoe that fit my feet without being ridiculously long. Also I prefer zero or near zero drop, again hat limits my options.

I also bought a pair of Merrell Ascend Gloves for cheap on Amazon.com. They offer slightly less protection then the Altras and the top doesn't look any more durable. However they do have a vibrum sole. That that the fact that they are more flexible may make them better for rock scrambling. Right now I'm thinking I'll use the Altras for long hikes and us the Merrells for shorter hikes, and hikes where the better friction would be an advantage.

I ordered two pairs of New Balance M80 shoes in size 9.5 and 10. Basically they are a beefed up version of the Minimus Trail with a vibrum sole. They just didn't fit right even sizing up so they went back.

I've looked at all the usual suspects and just don't see another shoe that offers a wide toe box, zero drop, and moderate underfoot protection like the Lone Peaks. Golite Shoes has a couple models that might work but I've heard very little about them. I did try on the previous generation of Golite Shoes and the fit wasn't great.

If anyone turn up something new I'd love to hear about it. I heard somewhere that Innov8 is planning to offer wider shoes at some point. I sure hope they do.

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I have to say I'm still a bit baffled by the wildly varying durability reports on these shoes.

The Olympus isn't the greatest shoe out there.
There are so many nuances that I don't like about them that add up.

If they just built it off the Torin platform with more padding.
The toe shape is amazing and the bottom has the ability to last a while.
Love the amount of padding to.

Then everything else about the Torin blows away (any other shoe) in every other aspect.
But does it last and good for 500+ miles, no…

I just finished up a trip in New Zealand and killed off a pair of superiors I got just before Christmas, probably with max 200 miles on them… Previously I had lone peak 1.5s that died in a similar fashion after about the same distance. Both pairs suffered substantial blow-outs in the fore foot area.

I'll also agree that their performance in the wet is shocking, to the point of being dangerous.

However, I don't know what else to go for… I bought some Trailroc 235s just before this trip but they were too narrow to wear out of the box… I think they'll stretch out and be ok, but they won't match the Altras…

I'll probably pick up close out superiors as I see them (better fit than lone peaks) and hope someone gets it right soon. Probably inov8 going even wider is the best hope.

I think the Lone Peak 2.0 is going to be the best hope. If Altra does not get the 2.0 closer to perfection then I'm really going to loose faith in Altra.

For me, the superiors have been nice, but too minimalist.

I wanted to like the Lone Peak, but they are really clunky and just seem poorly designed.

The Olympus is the most refined in terms of design and build, without the goofy elements of the others. The cushioning is great and as long as your logging miles of established trails, are fine…but the maximalist stack is a real liability for scrambling and side-hilling. The tread isn't the greatest for traction either.

I also really don't like the little flap on the back of the sole, which catches on all sorts of things. I don't have the miles in them to gauge durability.

A mixed bag…I hope they get better, or perhaps the best thing will be their influence on the industry

Instinct 1.5
i do a nice 14 mile trail loop run/walk every weekend lately, and they are the one thing that makes it easy.
no signs of early death in any form. (it will probably be me before the shoes)
there's parts of leg tendons that might get sore, but me feets are doing Great in them !

i am certainly not pushing any way as hard as the more elite trail runners on this list.

grip is a funny thing in shoes. at some level of proficiency, there is a stage that it is more a function of body strength than shoe design.

v.

I have done alot of reading on them too and at best it's 50-50 for the Altras. I got very excited about them after reading how Seth Brewer got 1200 miles out of a single pair, so I of course went off looking for more reviews and was severely disappointed. Hearing how they were good for 100-200 miles before major blowouts is very concerning considering the shoes are $100+. I do hike pretty well groomed and not so rocky trails so maybe they are worth a try. The wide toe box and zero drop are very attractive atributes and if nothing else they will be expensive mowing/water shoes. I have them in my favorites I just haven't pulled the trigger.

I had been looking for a shoe that fit my flippers for a long time. I've been wearing NB MT10's for a few years – the width of these wasn't that important because of the smooth last-upper connection and the forgiving materials used. My feet simply stretched them out, and I didn't experience any hang over the last.

That being said, other NB shoes in 2E are not even close to wide enough. And I've been looking for something that is like the MT10 but with a rockplate – and there's nothing that fits.

So, I got my hands on a pair of Superior 1.5s. These are beefy. It's like wearing a skate shoe. They weight 13.4 oz, which was a blindside. BUT, the width of the forefoot makes Altra's the only trail shoes I can wear, at least until other companies adopt this type of last shape.

They weigh 13.4 oz because they've changed materials in an attempt at making the shoe more durable. At least that's what I've been told. We'll see how that goes.

The stack height is 18 mm in the forefoot, and they have a rockplate. I haven't had much time with them, but foot protection seems ample and comfort if off the charts. I just wish they cut down on the upper material to get the shoes <10 oz. The cushioning of the heel cup is really excessive.

I can't comment on the Olympus' – and I've never used a shoe with that type of cushioning.

I have both the Lone Peak 1.5 and Olympus. Both are sketchy on wet and snowy conditions, but for 3 season use in the Rockies I'm happy enough with them. And until inov-8 redesign their trail shoes (apparently not until 2015), I don't see many alternative for my wide feet.

The Olympus stack height doesn't work for side-hilling, but it is soooooo comfy for fast downhills on established trails.

As for durability, it's too early to tell from firsthand experience. However I was at a presentation recently where Liz Snorkel Thomas, a Triple Crowner, said she managed over 700 miles on her original Lone Peaks (not the updated version) when she did the CDT a couple of years ago. She put the longevity down to the zero drop, as many of her previous shoes with traditional drop would have midsole failures under the forefoot, as her weight wasn't evenly spread across the entire shoe.

It's a minor point, but the Lone Peaks look they were designed by an aspiring Marvel Comics artist.

The snow is gone on our local trails and we have transitioned to Dirty Girt gaiters only to find that the GaiterTrap on the Olympus is to high –

The Lone Peak on the left has good placement, but on the Olympus a flexing shoe pops the Dirty Girl above the shoes "scree collar".

It's easy to fix – just glue on a DG velcro patch where it needs to be.

But Altra should have caught this. Hopefully the new shipment, due this week, will will be better.

Edit to Add –
No issues with stack height on contouring, off-camber trail/routes (~ 20° to 30° slopes)

I have used my pair of Olympus almost daily for a couple of months now, and they seem to be quite durable. I use them for jogging and hiking. They're probably the most comfortable shoes I've ever hiked in, to be honest. The only problem is that they are sized small, for me at least. I normally wear a 10, but I need an 11 in the Olympus.