I started running in Altra shoes about a four
years ago. I wrote several reviews
during my ”Week of Altra,”
last year. To say I am a fan of the Foot
Shaped Toe Box and Zero Heel Drop is an understatement. Altra
ventured into the world of running apparel within the past few years and
strives to make running gear that will improve your running experience. Altra
seems to just keep getting better from their clothing, to jackets, to shoes.
The Olympus 2.0 is a max
cushioned trail shoe that I reviewed last year.
It’s perfect for running longer distances on the trail where your feet
need a little more cushion and support.
They have a stack height of 36mm, which is a lot, but doesn’t feel
unstable in any way. I was impressed
with the Olympus 2.0 for the most
part. They had a decent amount of
cushion and had grip for days. There
were a few areas where I saw room for improvement. The upper let way too much debris in and created
some issues for my feet on a few runs.
Also, I like a shoe that is more flexible and because of the stack
height and design of the midsole/outsole, the Olympus 2.0 was not very
flexible. I heard that the newest
Olympus had been completely revamped and I couldn’t wait to check it out.
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||
Weight
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11.0 ounces
|
10.7 ounces
|
Stack Height
|
36 mm
|
33 mm
|
Outsole Material
|
Vibram® MegaGrip
|
Vibram® MegaGrip
|
Midsole Material
|
A-Bound/EVA
|
A-Bound/dual-layer EVA
|
Upper Material
|
Mesh
|
Abrasion Resistant Mesh
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Heel Drop
|
Zero
|
Zero
|
Gaiter Trap
|
Heel Velcro only
|
4-point gaiter attachment
|
The Olympus
3.0 was redesigned to provide more support, stability, and traction than
its predecessors. Like the Olympus 2.0 the newest
Olympus has a midsole made with both EVA and A-Bound™
materials. They changed the EVA top
layer to a dual-layer EVA to help take some of the impact from the trail while
the A-Bound™ bottom layer to adds a spring to each step. The Olympus
3.0 did feel like it was more cushioned compared to the
previous model. There were able to
increase the plushness while not making the shoe feel sloppy. All of this was done at 10.7 ounces, which is
0.3 ounces lighter than the Olympus 2.0.
Like the Olympus 2.0, the outsole is made of durable rubber with
strategic sections of Vibram® MegaGrip. This is a super-grippy material that really
helps on technical and rocky trails as well as in the mud. The Vibram® MegaGrip is center gray area on
the picture below. The teal area of the
outsole is the durable rubber. The tread
is awesome! It has both forward and
reverse facing lugs. The lugs will help
give you grip when running up a hill and traction while running down
hills.
I have used this shoe in wet conditions as well as on dry
technical trails. I have used it in
shorter fast trail runs as well as at the Skyline 50k last weekend. I had
an absolute blast in this shoe for over 30 miles. There was plenty of cushion to protect my
fragile feet. I have been running with
Plantar Fasciitis for over a year now and it’s often painful to run for longer than
10 miles. While the pain didn’t
disappear with the Olympus
3.0, it was much more bearable than with most of my other trail
shoes.
The redesigned upper material is made up of abrasion
resistant mesh, which flexes with your feet, but does a great job of holding
your feet down so you don’t slide around and blacken your toe nails. It’s
also due in part to the overlays and the lacing system, which works really well
together. The upper is breathable and
drains well if you have any creek crossings.
The tongue is thick enough to prevent the laces from biting into the top
of your feet, but not too thick to make your feet overheat.
Like other Altra
shoes the Olympus
3.0 puts your foot in its natural position with its zero heel
drop (that’s how you would walk if you didn’t have shoes on). The FootShape™ toebox allows your toes to
spread out and will eliminate issues of compressing your feet/toes like many
shoes out there.
One of my favorite features of this shoe is the Gaiter
Trap. It is a piece of Velcro on the
back of the heel that you can attach your gaiters too. It’s also on Altra’s other trail shoes (including
the Superior, Lone Peak, and Timp) and it makes securing your gaiters much
easier. What Altra has done recently is
included side gaiter traps so you can use Altra’s 4-point
gaiters. I absolutely love this feature
as most shoes don’t have attachments on the sides for the gaiters. The 4-point gaiter system really does a great
job of keeping debris out.
Pros:
Very comfortable
Zero heel drop
Wide toe box.
Great grip with the Vibram® Megagrip outsole
4-Point Gaiter Trap
Plenty of cushion Dual Layer EVA and A-Bound
Lightweight at 10.7 ounces
Altra’s Social Media
Links:
I have been looking for a shoe that had enough cushion and
support to handle those long, tough days on the trail. I am training for my first 100 miler (the Rio
Del Lago 100 Miler in November) and the Olympus
3.0 will be one of the shoes I use, not only in training, but during the
race. The Olympus
3.0 has great grip thanks to the multi-directional lugs and
Vibram® MegaGrip outsole. It really gives
you confidence on the trails, no matter the conditions. You can get the Olympus
3.0 for $150 on the Altra website.
Note:
I received this product in exchange for a review. The review is my
personal opinion of the product and I was not required to give a particular
opinion of it. I am not a doctor, so
please use all of the products that I review at your own risk.
Wow, you have done a lot of reviews Brian. Great how you have compared the Olympus 2.0 and Olympus 3.0. Those foot shaped toe boxes do look very comfortable.
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