Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 4

So I have about 360 miles on this pair. After my Timps failed (fabric started to tear on both shoes at the bend point) Altra was awesome and gave me credit for another pair. So these are a free pair. I loved the fit and comfort of the Timp, but was sorely disappointed in the life of the shoe, failing before 300 miles. In other brands I usually retire my shoes after 500 miles when they have lost their support and just don't run well anymore, not because the materials are tearing or falling apart. Well I have to report that the Olympus 4 has started to tear at the same points as the Timp, just extremely frustrating. The upper fabric where it meets the rubber/rand is tearing. I have had Altra's since the first version of the Olympus and really have liked them, but I am sorely disappointed in the their current quality. As to the performance of the Olympus, meh. Not what I would expect for their max cushion shoe. I found the Timp more supportive and agile on the trails, these just don't feel like a max shoe to me. The fit is loose, and not just where expected in the toe box. The shoe is wide at the midfoot and heel too. I don't have trouble locking in, but it just feels sloppy especially on technical terrain (rocky scree lined trails). Sad to say I will be waiting for an update or two and trying a few other brands before I come back to Altra. I do have to give Altra credit and respect for great customer service. Replacing my last pair free of charge was the right thing to do.

I really liked the look and concept of these shoes--(the vibram skimp midsole notwithstanding)--but they just came of too stable for me; I don't know if it was the stack, outsole or what, but after a week or so of trying, I ultimately couldn't adjust and gave up: (bought primarily for Road / Trail walking). I run in Escalante's.

Had to return, just too narrow - the cushion felt good. I would recommend to someone with less wide feet.

I walked in these about 150 times on streets. The left one started squeaking every step months ago, then stopped briefly, then started again and continues. Toe box and cushion are great. Warranty claim is in process. I'll update this if they honor their warranty. These are expensive shoes, so hopefully Altra will stand behind their brand.

One shoe lasted about 200 miles on the AT before it began to fall apart. Usually the Olympuses go 400 miles which is bad in itself, but these shoes reach a new low.

Had the lone peak 5's for only 2 months I'll the grip was completely worn down to flat, got these as a warranty replacement hoping to have longer lasting grip woth the vibram soles. Well had no idea how sloppy these shoes would be. Not sure why on earth they would put soft foam in the entire middle of the outer sole especially for a trail running shoe, one trail run and they are already getting torn up, the only vibram rubber is a thin outer edge and under the toes on these shoes. Completely dumb. The heel in these are incredibly loose, my feet were sliding around all over the place on the downhills. I even used the additional lace holes which just made the shoe extremely uncomfortable. I literally couldn't get these shoes tight enough to be comfortable downhill. The only positive of these shoes is what part is actually vibram grip and the extra cushion added the lone peaks don't have is pretty nice for the long runs. But goodness. They need to work on fit way more and quit cheaping out on the outer sole! Use a full vibram outer sole, or make a better rubber because that maxtrac stuff is garbage. Way too soft and wore out in 2 months, and like not even a lot of running in those 2 months. I need a shoe that can handle rough trails and long distance. I'm running the Grand Canyon rim to rim and with that much downhill I will not be using these as they are much too sloppy.

I wear a 14 in every shoe or boot I own. This pair of shoes is extremely wide. I think I could fit 2 more toes in each shoe. I don't think I could use these shoes for every day use.

At first glance, this looks to be the best Olympus yet. Upon testing the shoe, it has a major design / material flaw. I managed to blow out both shoes at the same time ( left and right) at the inner sides, where the breathable mesh meets the more durable support. This was actually an similar issue back in the day for Olympus and potentially fixed by Olympus 3.5. Anyways the pros are that Olympus 4 is far less bulky, has much better lugs / grip, and is aesthetically awesome. The con is that it only lasted me 6 weeks! The rest of the shoe has a lot life left, sad. Will give the Olympus 4 one more chance. I want to love this shoe! But not durable.

Trying to replace my old olympus (not sure what version but they are 3 yrs old), old shoes were 11.5, this was great for backpacking, order new olympus 11.5, way too big, sent back. Just got the same shoe in a 10, right foot feels good, left foot to narrow??? Last try is a 10.5. How can your sizes be so different??

Sizing is a bit off, compared to my LP 4.0 (11.5) they are about half a size shorter.

The Good: Ample toe room. Great cushion, not too soft or stiff, just right. Good stability for the high stack. Tread is good for dry conditions. Plenty of toe room. The Bad: Sloppy heel. They either need to add padding around the heel collar or make the heel more narrow. Terrible lacing. The laces won't stay tight when you pull them. This makes it impossible to get the shoe dialed it. I find myself having to adjust it several times even on a short run. As I now tend to lace them on the loose side I find my foot sliding around a lot. Maybe more padding on the tongue would help out with this. Clogged Tread. The tread design is spaced really close together. When you run in any sort of damp mud the treat becomes packed and won't release the mud. It weighs the shoe down and hinders grip. The shoes are not that far away from being a great shoe. The fit is simply off and the tread design could use some work. The shoes are still usable and while they are in my rotation I have yet to go for a run and not curse that sloppy heel.

Let me say- I have used many Altra shoes. In fact I only use Altra for both road and trail running. Wanted to love these shoes. Good fit, good looks, very comfy out of the box. However, it turns out they are comfy for standing around but not for running or even hiking. The shoes have a lot of cushion, but no comparable structure of the sole. This leads to the foot bending and sinking in pressure points which, in my case has led to unbearable pain under the bones on the outside of the foot. Switching back to my other Altra shoes, the issue goes away. Attempted to address with Altra but they declined as more than 30 days passed after the purchase. Unfortunate. If you do get these, test them well within those 30 days. I realize, not everyone may experience this issue but I bet some will.

The only thing I liked was the sticky feeling of the vibram sole to the wood floor, but then they went back into the box to be returned. They fit true to size, but the first thing I noticed was not enough height in the toe box. There was an uncomfortable rubbing on the top of my foot in the toe box. I also felt like my foot did not get locked into these shoes well. My heels felt loose and sloppy. My favorite shoe of all time was the Timp 1.5. I can't find a shoe anywhere in the Altra line up that fits like that one did.

I love the 3.5 version of this shoe. I've been wearing this version for months now. But I have to lace the shoes sooo loose. Otherwise the laces put too much pressure on the top of my foot and it starts to hurt. Really was hoping for a repeat of the 3.5.

The Olympus 4 does not fit the bill for a classic Altra shoe. The toe box is narrower and suffocates the toes. The sole is incredibly big. If you like walking on a one inch rubber insulating sole that has no feedback, then you may like this shoe. Reminds me of the Hoka philosophy, which I thought was the opposite of Altra. I had a lot of trouble balancing and using these shoes after wearing Lone Peaks for a year. Further, the shoes did not feel like they were zero drop. I could not find anywhere on the website if they were or not, but wearing them makes me think they totally aren't. I would not recommend these shoes and was severely dissapointed.

The first few runs I loved these shoes. But soon started noticing wear on the mid-sole and could feel every stone under my feet. I thought this shoe was intended for rugged trail running? Why would Altra use foam? The lugs wore off completely! Poor design. After about 100 miles running I contacted Altra customer service because warranty stated 300-500 miles. They said this was normal wear and tear and they would offer me 15% off my next pair of Altras. They also told me that maybe this happened because of the zero drop sole! Not going to buy another pair of Altras. I want my shoes to last more than 100 miles. Poor design and poor customer service.

I really really wanted to like this shoe. It checks off so many things I want. Open toe splay, vibram sole and they look "sick". However the tounge is paper thin and short, laces suck and are to short. But mostly I couldn't for the life of me stop the heel slippage. Every sock, every lacing method I tried I just couldn't get rid of heel slippage.

The olympus was a huge failure for me. I have flipper feet so the wide toe box was very nice. But that is it. I couldn't get the heal to lock down for me at all. I wear a 12 in the LP and tried a 12 and a 12.5 in this shoe and experienced tons of heal slip. Also lace bite. The tongue is too thin, no padding at all and for me came up a little too high. Surprising these issues are all over the internet. Lots of folks recommended adding padding to the tongue and better laces. I can't justify adding more $ into an already expensive shoe. Sent them back.

Not at all what I was expecting from stability shoe.

Altra Olympus got me back into running again. Started with version 2.0 and loved them 2.5 was the best Olympus yet. 3.0 was a step back as I blew 2pairs out. 3.5 was an improvement from the 3.0 but still didn't have the cushion of the 2.5. The 3.5s were good enough I bought 4 pairs because I was afraid I might not like the next version. 3.5s got me through 2 50 milers and several other races. I bought the 4.0 with high hopes and within 100 miles I had the worst planter fasciitis ever. I just can't run in these shoes. Unfortunately the 4.0 was the last straw and I have switched brands. Please bring my cushion and stack height back and stop fixing things when they are not broken. We'll still buy your shoes without changing them every year.

I waa in the hospital and my nurse was wearing these shoes I had to ask her about them she just raved about how comfortable they are and yet I wear a size 17 4E why can't I get this shoe in big and tall size

Owned 3 pairs of Olymp shoes: 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5. Got the 4 & returned. Heel so big it pulled my socks off while walking and size too long. Uncomfortable. A great design gone. Looking outside altra first time.

This shoe is easy to fall in love with out of the box. It looks very cool and feels like you are floating. People will comment on how cool it is, and it is. The upper has made leaps and bounds and now fits high-volume and wide again. I picked this shoe up at a PCT stop and it only made it about 250 miles before I had to replace it. Here are the problems: -The forefoot compressed and lost more than half of its thickness while the heel did not- no more zero drop and no more ground protection. The whole front of the sole pancaked out and was notedly wider. This loss of rebound is a 'traditional' Altra problem, and I wish they would have addressed it here. -The independent toe lugs start to cave in, particularly in the middle. It is like the whole forefoot collapses around the middle toe once the foam is flat. So the rocks just dig right in - and no rock plate. -There is no grip on about half of the (effective) sole. Less rubber means lighter, but the center of the shoe is just foam with lugs that get trashed. This means that if you step on a rock with the center of the foot, you slip. Did my first ever face plant because of it. All said, it still may be the best shoe on the market for my foot and needs. I have already purchased a second pair, but I am nervous that Altra will not make the necessary improvements. I am concerned that a thru hike would take 8 or 9 pairs, especially at this price.