AltraFWD Experience running shoes

Anyone who knows a little about Altra running shoes knows that what sets them apart from other brands is that they only make zero drop running shoes. Now that’s over, they’ve come out with the AltraFWD Experience running shoe, their first shoe with a drop, albeit a pretty low one at 4 mm.The explanation, simple and plausible: it would be hard to go from the most common 8-10 mm drop shoes these days to a 0 drop running shoe right away, so they’ve made an in-between version.

Not everyone may already know that Altra has two other distinctive features, one is that they make their shoes for multiple foot shapes and widths, and the other is that the outsole follows the bone structure of the foot. The latter two are retained in the AltraFWD Experience shoe, And that’s another reason they came out with a drop-toe running shoe. They want to show these two specific technologies to those who don’t like zero drop running shoes. At the same time, they want to differentiate this shoe so much that the brand is not Altra, but AltraFWD, which comes from the word forward, also indicating that the shoe is tilted forward.

Before I get into my review of the shoe, a few words about the drop, or zero drop. The drop is the slope of the sole of the running shoe (the sole is higher at the heel and lower at the toe, the difference between the two heights is the drop). The lower the drop, the more natural the running motion, but to use low drop, you need good muscles and a good running motion. A sudden and large drop change can indeed be uncomfortable at first, so Altra’s argument is plausible, but it is possible that there are business factors in the decision. If you are interested in more on the drop, I wrote a longer article about it here.

The upper of the AltraFWD Experience running shoe is an engineered mesh material that is soft, pliable, with no separate stiffening layers, but thick. There is an internal stiffening layer on the toe only. The tongue is moderately thick and not anchored, which can sometimes cause it to slip. The heel collar is not very stiff, rather flexible, but quite high, which may be unusual for some people. At the ankle, the heel support is enhanced by two small side pads, which give a comfortable and secure foot support.

The midsole of the AltraFWD Experience running shoe is a compressed EVA foam, which is lightweight and rather stiff, but it is responsive and responsive, helping to make faster runs easier. Compared to the average midsole thickness of 30 mm, the midsole is lightweight due to the compression of the EVA foam. As the foam is less compressed when touching the ground, the 4 mm drop is noticeable. The midsole has a rocker geometry, which helps to roll over quickly and comfortably. The midsole is wide, which gives the shoe good stability. It’s not the most advanced foam in the Altra, there are more bouncy dynamic foams (EGO, EGO Max) but this CMEVA foam also gives good dynamics which is conducive to faster running.

The outsole of the AltraFWD Experience running shoe has received the same foot bone pattern as all Altra running shoes but is not made with MaxTrac rubber compound, Altra’s best compound. The outsole is very grippy on dry surfaces, even suitable for light trail running, but not so good on wet surfaces. The outsole is durable and wears slowly, but it depends on the runner’s contact with the ground.

Over all, the AltraFWD Experience running shoe is a great initiative from Altra. Whatever the reason for starting to make running shoes with drop, the point is that now Altra features are available to runners who don’t like or can’t run in zero drop shoes. It’s the AltraFWD Experience, and it’s a fast, lightweight, dynamic running shoe, though it would have been more exciting if they had used one of their more advanced foams and MaxTrac outsole here as well.