Customer Reviews Altra Escalante Racer

Take the best attributes of the One and the Escalante, mash them together, and you get this shoe. Light, fast, springy, with just the right amount of cushion. These have worked well for me in both speed workouts and long runs and I look forward to racing in them. The only thing that I don't like is the large "18" that has been splayed across the sides (looks like the number on the side of a NASCAR) but I'll certainly live with it given the overall quality.

This was my third pair, first two I loved and was excited for my third set. I have loved the light weight, breathable, flexibility, natural foot shape, and zero drop. I have used my previous pairs to train and race everything from 5K to marathon. The only problem I have had is my newest pair, something in the heal is different and not matter what I do they rub and give me a blister. I have put 55miles on them trying to break them in and still no luck but I'll keep trying.

Have a pair of wmns from a few years ago, love how flexible the soles are for ideal movement. Was excited they released in an all black but in men's sizes so I got them, size is fine but the sole is definitely stiffer. Also wish they made them with a closed knit for colder months. All white too!

I bought the Escalante Racers thinking I wouldn't be wide enough. They fit just right. I'm yet to rough them up running. Great for walking around in.

great shoes. favorite pair of running, exercise, walking, and weekend running errands shoes. horrible new colorways. go back to the lime green/black, grey/blue, white/orange/red.. and hire an all new team that oversees new color releases, because you keep missing the mark on that. i skip buying new releases because the colors just ruin it every time.

These are awesome shoes. I use them for cross training and my martial arts warm up in the morning. Light weight, lots of toe room, and close to a barefoot shoe. Like the Escalante 3, they are a bit too tight in the mid shoe, but I can deal with it since I only wear them during training and not as an all around shoe. My one big complaint is the poor choice of colors. Seriously. No black?

I've purchased 5 different varieties of Altras this year (Escalante 3, Rivera 2, Torin 6, Lone Peak 6, and these). I haven't enjoyed any as much as my original escalantes. The current Escalantes have a little too much stack height, are a little too firm, and the fabric is a little too dense/firm. By comparison, the Racers at least get the stack height and foot contour close to the earlier Escalantes, albeit with a little less cushion. Be aware that the fabric is actually mesh/nettingso while it does a great job keeping your feet cool, your feet will be cold in cold weather and your socks will be instantly wet with any water or precipitation.

My favorite shoe for the last 3 years. Only problem I have currently is that the laces are much shorter now. I've written customer service a few times and was told to buy laces from a third party. If you use the runner loop on the show you Cant even tie them let alone double knot them. Also not crazy about the current color offerings. Bring back the black or white version.

Great for any activity where you use your feet.

New Altra shoes are awesome, not to flat to mess up my calf again. Let's me easily land on balls of feet and kiss the ground with my heel. When I started with a flat flat minimalist shoe, I only ran on my toes and pulled a muscle in my calf in the first mile. I switched back to my ASICS and the heel was to big not giving me a chance to land at the sweet spot of the balls of my feet without hitting my heal. The heel on these are perfect, not to much, not to little. I took a star away because customer service ghosted me. I asked about military discount, they told me yes 15%, then kept having me go back and forth adding info to the shopping cart. After the third add of info, they stopped responding. I gave up, looked in my email and used a 10% off code for creating an account. If you didn't want to give the military discount, you should have just said so instead of giving me the run around. I still bought them.

Shoe is great- but Altra can't design a shoe to save it's life. Every single product line they release more and more hideous shoes and refuse to create something people actually want to wear. How hard is it to use neutral colors?

I have gone through probably about a dozen of these things. As far as fitting the philosophy (as I see it) of the company, I think these are the Altra flagship shoe - minimal, light, comfortable, big toe box. It has the right amount of foam stack to allow lots of miles (both fast and slow) but it's minimal enough that when that foam starts to break down, I don't get weird pronation issues. It just gets less soft. Which in my mind is the right way for a cushioned shoe to break down. That being said there is a trade-off, because that breakdown does happen very quickly so your first 200 miles are much different that your last. The main reason why these are so much superior to the non-racer Escalante version is that when that model's foam breaks down, you get weird imbalances. It rides completely different in the late stage uses. The racer is a much better shoe. Also, this shoe has the weirdest stocking issues. Maybe it's not as profitable as other models and that's why, but it's seems like whenever I need to buy a pair all that's left is some weird color way or nothing at all. The longevity on this shoe is very low, which is fine, but then keep it in stock because frequent customers are going to need to shop around while waiting and may find another shoe that works. Lastly, please fix the color way thing. No one actually wants a bunch of weird colors. Shoes are for training, and subtlety looks a lot cooler, cleaner.

Fantastic shoe. Love the toe room and the uppers. The tongues slip badly though. Altra designers: gusset the tongues or add eye loops on them like Topo.

Let's get this out: I'm tired of models changing drastically every few years. Just when I find a shoe that's perfect, it changes. LP 7s are not LP 5s and these Escalantes are not quite their predecessors. What brought me to Altra was exactly what made those shoes special: zero-drop, just the right minimal amount of protection from the trail/road, wide fit, and tough as nails - I've abused my LPs and Escalantes and have never had them fail. Altra's recent regression to the feature mean has been frustrating. Now that I've got my feelings out, let's get on to the shoes. Overall, the shoes are butter when running on the road. The fit is solid, the sole is minimal, they are light, and I barely notice they are there. In other words, they're great running shoes for my feet and style. I'd like to use them daily, but... ... (the cautious optimism part) I'm not convinced they're going to hold together. The mesh is very sparse. My city runs typically take me on road and gravel paths. The holes are big enough to fill the shoes with dirt over a short stretch of trail. I worry that this will break the shoes down faster. I also don't trust that the mesh will survive a brush with a curb, rock, or root. While the shoes are great when I'm cruising on a road, any change in terrain causes me to switch to careful rather than carefree running. Maybe I'm just paranoid and the shoes will be as bomber as the others or maybe, given the "Racer" appellation, these are meant to be for special occasions only?

After ruining the Escalante (the 3 is awful, collapsing toe box, no road feel, loss of flexibility, switch to standard fit) and the Solstice (now a gym shoe), the Racer is my go to for now. The Racer is still what made Altra. Foot shaped. Flexible. Zero drop. For Runners.

I use these shoes for running outside on pavement and in the treadmill at the gym and they are perfectly comfortable. I've tried barefoot shoes and for whatever reason they gave me a lot of discomfort. I'm sure I wasn't running correctly but no problem with these shoes. I didn't want shoes with a lot of cushioning since that just seems unnatural. I still have my Escalante 2.5 which have some cushioning but Altra was sold out in my size and the reviews on the Escalante 3 said that there was too much cushioning so these seem like the perfect choice for me. I took a star off just for the price.

I've now gone through four pairs of Racers. I keep buying them because they feel great but buy them more often than I'd like because they wear out in the same spot every time. I wear them for fast walking about 35 miles a week and they end up with a hole in the heel - not just worn out - but with a hole I can put my index finger through in its entirety. When they're getting close to done, usually at under 300 miles, I'll actually get rocks and other debris coming through the hole. And although the uppers are incredibly breathable they also let dirt and gravel enter in fairly sizable quantity. Be careful if your road runs involve any dirt or gravel segments. So why keep coming back? I have a Morton's Neuroma and Altra is the only shoe I've found that makes me forget about the neuroma entirely. These shoes are ridiculously comfortable and have amazing road feel.

The escalante racer feels great on foot. I like the breathable knit. Althought the midsole isnt that soft and feels kind of cheap. The shoe needs to be broken in a little when you first get it. That being said I wish it was a little bit more premium feel. I'd love it if they would come out with a updated model of the racer. The racer needs to be updated like the new escalante 3 but keep the breathable knit. I recommend the escalante 3 over this it's midsole it much more cussioned.

since Vanish R and XC have vanished i gave these a try. i found that they offer a bit too much toe room for me and the heal outsole is overly substantial (around its perimeter). i had planned to use them for a recent marathon but ended up going with a more minimal shoe instead. I'll expect i'll get some good training mileage out of them but i'm hoping to see more from the Vanish line.

I love this shoe. The soft, breathable mesh upper is perfect for summer and faster-paced runs. My feet feel locked in and secure without being confined. My toes party in the ample toe box without the hint of bumping or pinching, even when running downhill. The midsole is sufficiently cushioned without feeling bouncy. It's almost not noticeable but does provide sufficient comfort for longer runs on hard surfaces. However, the outsole does wear more quickly than I'd like and noticeably more so than the Escalante 2 or 2.5 sole. At 180 lbs, I'm getting about 300 miles out of a pair before they start to feel different and are relegated to shorter runs. With a more robust outsole, I'd likely get the 500+ miles I have been getting in the Escalante 2.5's. I like the black and lime colorway but do wish the white and red colorway was still available. I keep buying another pair ahead of needing them just in case Altra decides to change the design.

I am normally a size 13 and ordered as such. At least a half size too big. Great shoe otherwise!

great design